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iane_reads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Racism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Body shaming, Abandonment, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Bullying, Gaslighting, Confinement, Fatphobia, and Racial slurs
Minor: Car accident, Sexual content, Violence, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Hate crime, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Medical content
linde13's review against another edition
- 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
I bought this one immediately after I read it.
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Confinement, Body shaming, and Cursing
Minor: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Physical abuse, and Genocide
I added the body shaming/fatphobia tags because Linus is sensitive about his own weight for most of the book. Nobody else comments on it, except for the kids in a matter-of-fact and non-insulting way. Everything else is merely alluded to, either by Lucy (the Antichrist character) in comments that he makes for shock value that are all played for laughs (Blood/Body horror/Gore/Cannibalism) or as part of characters' backstories (Child abuse/Confinement/Death of parent/Genocide/Physical abuse).pen_to_paper's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Minor: Cursing
katelynndzindzio's review against another edition
- 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
"He thought of the life he had. How he could ever have thought it'd be enough. His thoughts were alll cerulean."-Linus
Linus found where he belonged. The children, though they didn't seem like it at times, found their home. Arthur found his other half.
Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Blood, Classism, Confinement, and Cursing
novella42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I wanted this to hit me like Sangu Mandanna's The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, which I realize was written two years after The House in the Cerulean Sea. Why was I swept away by that one enough to buy a copy for my comfort bookshelf, but not by this one? Especially when I love queer romances of all genders, I really thought that'd tip the balance for me. Maybe the spice level was higher in the other? Maybe because I don't do well with body horror, which felt fairly graphic in The House in the Cerulean Sea? (Probably folks who read a lot of horror would consider it tame, but it kept repeating a trigger for my C-PTSD, so I'm biased here.)
Spoiler about a problematic theme related to the children's make-believe adventures:
Still a good book overall. I might pick up the second book at the library someday, when all the furor dies down.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Death of parent, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, and Eating disorder
Minor: Cursing
scarlett_f's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Gaslighting, Drug use, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Hate crime, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Death, Confinement, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
cozyfantasyfaetay's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Cursing, and Body shaming
fuchsiarascal's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Fatphobia and Child abuse
Minor: Cursing and Panic attacks/disorders
kiwichill's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, and Hate crime
chelle22's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Animal death, Confinement, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, and Murder