The Reception of Russian Young Adult LGBTQ+ Books on TikTok: The Case of Days of Our Lives

Recently, the Russian Parliament banned ‘LGBTQ+ propaganda’ for all adults in public and online. Against the background of this law, I examine how users on BookTok engage with LGBTQ+ themes in Russian Young Adult literature based on the case study of Mikita Franko’s Days of Our Lives (2020). Drawing attention to a community that is currently being marginalized in Russia, this chapter analyzes the 300 most liked TikToks tagged with #dninasheizhizni with a focus on literary consumption and community building. Discerning between the categories of reader community and fan community, the analysis shows that the TikToks mainly fit into the first category. I demonstrate that we are dealing with a specific type of reader, namely the Popcorn Book reader, who moves between different online communities. Notably, the videos do not only discuss LGBTQ+ themes but frequently focus on other topics such as family dynamics or depression as well. I conclude with possible factors that might have influenced this specific reception of the novel on TikTok, which include the book’s marketing, genre, plot, setting, and characters.