Analyzing how fiction might change the world is always a mysterious and somewhat difficult thing. Readers read stories differently, interpret books in varying ways, and glean from words what they need from them at the time of reading (which is why re-reading is a fantastic practice to have).
That said, I hope that the readers who pick up The Boy Who Loved a Swan will think and consider for a moment the impressions we form of others based on appearance alone. I hope they will meditate on the importance of a story and feel grateful that stories exist—too many of them to ever read them all. I hope that they will remember to look beyond easy appearances and easy explanations to see what might be simmering just under the surface: as King Willis will need to do in his future.
I hope readers will consider the greatest desires of their heart—and before acting upon those desires, they will remember to consider other people and the consequences that those desires might have—as Iddo likely wishes he had done.
(Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash)