Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

46 reviews

kamiellen's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

"And what a party it was. There was food—so much so that Linus thought the table would collapse under the weight of it. There was roast and hot rolls and salad with cucumbers that crunched between their teeth. There was cake and pie and bowls of tart raspberries they could dip in cream.

And music! All kinds of music. There was a record player sitting on the counter, and the day the music died was bright and loud with Ritchie and Buddy and the Big Bopper singing from beyond. Lucy was in charge, and he never failed to disappoint.

They laughed on this day. Oh, how they laughed. Even though Linus thought his heart was breaking, he laughed until there were tears in his eyes, until he was sure his sides would split. As the sun began to set and the lanterns grew brighter, they laughed and laughed and laughed."
• • •

On paper, this book was right up my alley: gay romance, misfit children, magical beings, a home on the sea, a small town, outdoor adventures, cynicism becoming optimism, confronting discrimination, sticking it to the man... And the truth is, I liked it! Bit I didn't love it. It didn't blow me away. As heartwarming as it was, I felt that the world-building was lacking, some of the character development was lackluster, and the writing was littered with clichés—and that really reduced the impact of the story for me. Nevertheless, we love gay happy endings!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Bullying, Colonisation, Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Homophobia

kbairbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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? Yes

5.0

Yes. Just yes. I saw someone describe this in a similar way but it is a warm and bright and COLORFUL and happy queer hug. I fucking loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Child abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Grief, and Hate crime

Minor: Cannibalism and Car accident

atlas_shruggs's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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

V. E. Schwab described this book like getting wrapped in a warm, gay blanket, and going into this book it was exactly what I needed. It was warm, it was comforting, it was jarring, it was uncomfortable, it was like lying on a cloud or dancing with rainbows. It was so vibrant. The shift from the scenes in the city to the scenes in Marsyas felt like switching from black and white to a world of technicolour. The character creation was beautiful, and watching them blossom over the course of the book felt like I was watching something wonderful happening before my very eyes. 
I don’t feel like I can give this book a more solid review. It was perfect. It was a feeling more than a thought. I loved every moment of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Abandonment

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Hate crime

vee_the_tree's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, and Misogyny

faranae's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing slow-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Mental illness

Minor: Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol, and Fatphobia

The book handles a wide range of potentially difficult topics with the lightest and gentlest of touches, so I think most of them will not pose a problem. However, Lucy's a bit morbid and has "spiders in his brain", and these elements recur frequently. There is a past confinement incident that is described in some detail towards the end of the book, but it is softened by

knowing the person it happened to has already mostly healed from that trauma.

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

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

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

I haven’t cried this hard while reading since The Invisible Life of Addie Larue — this book is absolutely beautiful. When I started reading, I was not enthralled. I hated boring, stuffy, rule-abiding Linus and I thought the children were too similar to those in Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. What I didn’t know was how deeply I was going to fall in love with Linus, Arthur, Zoe, Helen, Lucy, Chauncey, Phee, Talia, Theodore, Sal, and Calliope. This book weaves a tale that on the surface is about magical orphans deserving to be cared for properly but at its depths is a critique of all types of bigotry, a call to action for doing what’s right even when it’s scary, and a manifesto about loving yourself no matter what the world thinks of you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Homophobia

trulydevious's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Xenophobia

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Homophobia

orchidd's review against another edition

hopeful medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Grief and Hate crime

mo345's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

this book is like being wrapped in a warm hug, or like drinking the perfect cup of coffee first thing in the morning. the ultimate comfort book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Violence, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Car accident, and Cannibalism