Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

168 reviews

fern_gulley's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

knerys's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

Probably the closest thing to a perfect book you could get. I adored this story immensely, and the whole time I just kep thinking how I wish I could write something like this.
StoryGraph asks if I "found the characters lovable" and while I answered yes the true answer is I would die for every single character in this book. All of them. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Forced institutionalization

sssssoup's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

This is hands down my favorite book I’ve ever read!! Not only is it 400 pages of free serotonin, it has important messages about prejudice and problems with the government that are especially relevant today. I think everyone should read it at some point in their lives because I believe everyone can learn something from it. It’s very well written and it makes my heart so happy (:

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Grief

winter_light's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Physical abuse

risemini's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Physical abuse

boba_nbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

5.0

I almost don’t know what to say about this book because I enjoyed it so much and am unsure I can quite capture its beauty. Linus’ character development was probably my favorite part - the way you saw him slowly begin to care for Arthur and the children as the book went on was so touching. Klune is a fantastic author who truly makes you care for every single character. I felt like I knew each of them inside and out. I began to believe I, too, was a part of their family. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Physical abuse, and Abandonment

heatherox's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Xenophobia

Minor: Confinement and Physical abuse

artemis_rose_reads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

Read this if: 
You are looking for something heartwarming about found family, celebrating bodily differences, with a gay  romance between middle age men. It also shows that a mediocre person with privilege has the power and a responsibility to stand up for those harmed by institutions and racism.

Don’t read this if: 
You are looking for a story that completely and satisfactorily addresses the many ways that the Sixties Scoop harmed indigenous peoples, look elsewhere. It does put the responsibilities of fixing the problems onto the privileged, however they are made into a hero because their efforts are sadly rare.

With that it mind:
If you can understand that this book is unsatisfactory when it comes to properly addressing the many horrors of stealing and institutionalizing peoples because the people in power have decided that their birth families cannot care properly for their children. However it does a fairly decent job in showing the long term emotional and mental damage that this clauses in the children, but also the adults who have also had to live through this situation. 
Does it solve everything and puts all the appropriate blame on the system and then fixes the problem? Nope, not even close. This is basically a love letter to the average person who does what is in their personal power to improve and protect the happiness of those who have been hurt by government and biases against the “other”.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

There is a lot of mentioning of potential triggers as it talks a lot about the traumas of foster care and a system purposely controlling underprivileged bodies and their rights. The current environment is safe, however all the children are battling the trauma from previous placements and this home is still under the control of the system. There is current bully and hate from the locals. Children also acting menacing/threatening death as a response to their previous traumas.

womxyn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

4.0

This is mostly a really cute and wholesome read. Overall I really liked it and I was really invested in the story and the characters from the start, it's 95% comforting and lovely and funny.

Unfortunately I felt a wee bit uncomfortable reading the (mildly-ish) fatphobic way Linus' body is described in the book. It's a body acceptance arc that is cute, but the tone feels clumsy at times. Possibly because it felt a bit out of synch with the rest of the book. So it's a minor let-down, not enough to stop me finishing the book.

Anyway here's a moderately spoilery outline of the  weird-to-read body stuff:

 

 In the first 50 pages, there's some fairly unpleasant negative self talk from Linus, cruel comments from colleagues and examples of (probably) disordered eating. Later, he has an adorable conversation with a child who is also fat and she celebrates her round body and encourages him to celebrate his. The arc then seems to kind of taper off a bit, until, towards the end of the book, he notices that his clothes are looser than they have been and he "found himself not caring at all" and shortly after he's described as "comfortable in his own skin for the first time in his life... life was so much more than worrying about a spare tire..." which is something, but given that most of the loose ends are tied up at the end of the novel in such a cosy way, I'd have liked to see Linus celebrating his body more, rather than choosing not to worry about it's size, and not caring if he bumped into desks

 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Physical abuse

In the first 50 pages, there's some fairly unpleasant negative self talk from Linus, cruel comments from colleagues and examples of (probably) disordered eating. Later, he has an adorable conversation with a child who is also fat and she celebrates her round body and encourages him to celebrate his. The arc then seems to kind of taper off a bit, until, towards the end of the book, he notices that his clothes are looser than they have been and he "found himself not caring at all" and shortly after he's described as "comfortable in his own skin for the first time in his life... life was so much more than worrying about a spare tire..." which is something, but given that most of the loose ends are tied up at the end of the novel in such a cosy way, I'd have liked to see Linus celebrating his body more, rather than choosing not to worry about it's size, and not caring if he bumped into desks

annapox's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent