the bright moon and gentle breeze

And then the sneaky descriptions of "spintry." Another term for a male prostitute. There is no judgement for a spintry, no one finds it strange and both female and male prostitutes are treated exactly the same, as just a job, as any other in the Rouge's Court. It was such a simple and refreshing take in a children's book, and it's done so well with no judgement or any acknowledgment that it's not normal.

That feeling of normality is an ongoing theme in the Provost's Dog books. There are a lot of shocking and liberal topics in the books, but they are treated as normal, everyday things, so it takes away any shock value and makes the reader simply accept it. Considering most readers are teens, that's a pretty great thing.

Take Okha/Amber. A transwomen/gender queer person who is in a long-term relationship with a man, a police captain. It's described as a normal thing. Beka is a bit confused at first, because she has never met a gender queer person before, but accepts the explanation and moves on. Amber's gender is never really fully explained, but thay makes sense. Gender isn't simple. In a fantasy world without modern labels, Amber is just Amber. They are who they are.

Beka has several flings throughout the series, and its treated normally. That is not usually seen in a teen book. The main female character having casual relationships, going into them knowing they won't last? That is super rare, and is how real life works. It's a great break from normal ya relationship drama.

There is some relationship drama in the series, with Beka's fiance, Holborn. He dies before Mastiff starts, and we never met him. But later, it is revealed that she was planning on breaking up with him because he was emotionally abusive towards her. She ends up meeting Farmer and getting over Holborn quickly. She feels guilty for not feeling more guilty over his death, instead feeling relieved that their toxic relationship is over. She loves some of the time they spent toghether though, and she does mourn him. It's a fascinating and nuanced relationship you never see in a ya book. But her and Farmer's relationship is wonderful.

As a young teenager growing up in a conservative, rural, small town, the Provost's Dog books were revolutionary, not that I realized it at the time. The book's description of gender, of relationships was so normal I didn't even realize it could be something debated. I just accepted it as normal. Okha/Amber was the first time I ever learned thay trans/gender questioning people could exist, and I just acted like Beka, accepted it and moved on. When people talked about poly relationships, how strange and unusual it was, l was confused, because Kora, Aniki and Rosto were normal to me. Learning prostitutes were discriminated against was shocking. Complicated relationships were normal.

I remember once in highschool, my teammates were talking about a scenario where your husband cheats on you with another woman, and that woman had a child with him, and they are now homeless. Your husband loves this woman and you. Would you accept the child and the other woman living with you? Or something inane like that.

I said, "Well, yeah, if she's a good person. If my husband loves her, then she's probably a good person, and I would try to fall in love with her too. And raise the child together."