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lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
On the surface this is a sweet book. A bureaucrat named Linus goes to an orphanage to see how things are going with the magical children and their mysterious headmaster, for lack of a better term. The kids are sweet and he comes to love them and Arthur, the headmaster (who deeply loves and cares for the children). I was very fond of Arthur and the children, and was passingly fond of Linus. We are told he is by the book and seems unflappable, which is why he was chosen for this review by the government agency he works for. But he sort of dithers around and seems very surprised and shocked by the kids. We are constantly told how wonderful he is, but I don't quite see it? Because he is open-minded and not a jerk to the kids? I also think the book is a smidge too long. I found it to be a soothing book about giving people chances and not judging them for being different, and that everyone deserves a place to call home with people who love them.
HOWEVER, there are some controversies about this book, as Klune was at least partially inspired by residential schools, where Indigenous children were taken from their families and placed in to orphanages, treated brutally (some even killed) to try to assimilate them into white society and culture. There are also some excellent points to be made about trauma and children in foster care systems, and whether or not that is accurately reflected here in the book. As I have no experience with the foster care system, and I am not an Indigenous Person, or even a person of color, I do not want to make a judgement call on this, nor do I feel able to. I have seen comments on both sides about these issues. What is clear is that Klune is using the magical children as an allegory to show the oppression of a marginalized group by society, culture, and the government. I think we can all appreciate the attempt. But how people feel going from there is really going to be up to each person and their individual lives and experiences. The story and the characters are sweet and soothing, but there is still a lot I feel uncertain about. I did not want to ignore the issues that many other readers have addressed much better than I have.
HOWEVER, there are some controversies about this book, as Klune was at least partially inspired by residential schools, where Indigenous children were taken from their families and placed in to orphanages, treated brutally (some even killed) to try to assimilate them into white society and culture. There are also some excellent points to be made about trauma and children in foster care systems, and whether or not that is accurately reflected here in the book. As I have no experience with the foster care system, and I am not an Indigenous Person, or even a person of color, I do not want to make a judgement call on this, nor do I feel able to. I have seen comments on both sides about these issues. What is clear is that Klune is using the magical children as an allegory to show the oppression of a marginalized group by society, culture, and the government. I think we can all appreciate the attempt. But how people feel going from there is really going to be up to each person and their individual lives and experiences. The story and the characters are sweet and soothing, but there is still a lot I feel uncertain about. I did not want to ignore the issues that many other readers have addressed much better than I have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Bullying, and Confinement
Minor: Grief, Torture, Hate crime, Violence, Body shaming, Death, and Emotional abuse
maresuju's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Confinement, and Fatphobia
Minor: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse
tamara_joy's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Grief, Body shaming, and Hate crime
fanboyriot's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Read For:
Fantasy
Slow Burn
Found Family
Idiots in Love
Happy Ending
Think Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children vibes but kinda queer. I just felt kinda neutral about it. The humor was okay, the characters were okay, and the setting was kinda meh. I just felt like I had to force myself to keep reading and if I didn’t already own the book I would have stopped. Also, I thought there would be more queer rep to be honest so that was kinda disappointing. Not to mention the fatphobia.
I wasn’t going to read this given the reviews I’ve been seeing recently, however, I already own the first two books so I figured I’d see if it was as bad as some of the reviews were saying. And honestly, I just didn’t understand the hype about it. Even not knowing what the book was based on it was barely a 3-star rating for me, it just fell flat to me.
However, learning that this was based on the Sixties Scoop and how the author decided to turn what was a cruel and tragic piece of history he read about on Wikipedia about how the Canadian government removed a bunch of indigenous children from their literal homes and away from their family only to be adopted to white, middle-class families and he then took that information and basically turned it into a happy little fantasy where the kids live not in an “orphanage” but a “home” like, dude, why?
This kind of thing is still something native people are dealing with and as a white person, it should not be something you’re involved in like this. In America the Supreme Court literally is going to be voting soon on overturning ICWA so states can regain control to remove Native children from their homes and families, this isn’t just some fantasy. This story could have been written way better and in a way that did romanticize trauma and make light of a literal genocide.
I just wouldn’t recommend this one. There are some links on where I got my information from if you’re interested along with two reviews I think do a better job of explaining this than I did.
Links:
Source: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A617930246/ITBC?u=uvictoria&sid=bookmark-ITBC&xid=0efbabda
Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixties_Scoop
Helpful Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4032060130
Another Helpful Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3601407534
Rep: Achillean, Queer MC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Classism, Grief, Homophobia, and Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder, Death, Animal death, and Blood
tiernanhunter's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Bullying, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Child abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Body shaming, and Violence
neurospicyreader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Heartwarming, vulnerable, and achingly human.
I absolutely adored this. Were there flaws? a few. But this book had me crying in the best way. It is a massive hug.
I absolutely adored this. Were there flaws? a few. But this book had me crying in the best way. It is a massive hug.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, and Bullying
Minor: Xenophobia, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, and Racism
anna_wa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse
yoolia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Grew to love literally every main character. Yes, even the children.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Grief, and Child abuse
sirkeili's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I am absolutely floored by how much I love this book. From Linus' introduction, to his growth throughout the novel, to his final arc where he shines the brightest had me hooked.
Linus is both incredibly oblivious, and incredibly endearing. He reminds me a lot of Aziraphale; trying to do his job perfectly, but ultimately failing due to his endless compassion, empathy and boundless love. The amount of times I was screaming both "Linus, for the love of god, LOOK" followed by me nearly crying at how soft he was is numerable.
The kids? Arthur? Zoe? All of them were so endearing, and I loved them all so much. Theo and Lucy both are top contenders for my favourite kid, mostly due to their antics, but all of them are hilarious gremlins and their meddling is priceless.
I was not surprised Arthur was magical, as the hints were there, but the fact he was a FUCKING PHEONIX did actually. The scene where Linus protects Helen from the rock, and you see how absolutely lethal Arthur can be in his form was absolutely cinematic. The fact they have to have Zoe babysit the kids so they can bone each other in peace was absolutely hilarious as well, the poor things can't catch a break. They're adorable dads, and the fact they are trying to save more children to give them a safe home, made me so damn emotional.
Overall, this feel-good story about found family and overcoming our own self-made limitations is a phenomenal novel. I hope to see more of Linus and his family soon, I do miss them so! ❤️
Linus is both incredibly oblivious, and incredibly endearing. He reminds me a lot of Aziraphale; trying to do his job perfectly, but ultimately failing due to his endless compassion, empathy and boundless love. The amount of times I was screaming both "Linus, for the love of god, LOOK" followed by me nearly crying at how soft he was is numerable.
The kids? Arthur? Zoe? All of them were so endearing, and I loved them all so much. Theo and Lucy both are top contenders for my favourite kid, mostly due to their antics, but all of them are hilarious gremlins and their meddling is priceless.
Overall, this feel-good story about found family and overcoming our own self-made limitations is a phenomenal novel. I hope to see more of Linus and his family soon, I do miss them so! ❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Child abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Cursing, Fatphobia, Confinement, Grief, and Religious bigotry
litliz's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Fatphobia, Grief, Bullying, Confinement, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Forced institutionalization