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adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed the previous installment of this series more. I'm not sure if it's because of the story or the narrator.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a fantasy story about a home for magical children. The department in charge of magical beings threatens the sanctuary Linus and Arthur have managed to build.
The characters are pretty much the same as in the last book. But this time, the villains are cartoonishly evil, rather than complex characters like Linus in the first book. Also the story is not as strong as in the first book in my opinion. In addition, the pacing in this book is not optimal: after the climax, there's over an hour's worth of wrap-up in the audiobook. I understand the importance of it to the story, but it still feels too long.
The narrator Daniel Henning will surely be too much for someone. I'm afraid for me too. His style of narration started to grate on me quite quickly. And especially during the climax, his dramatic style was too theatrical, making the events sound ridiculous.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a fantasy story about a home for magical children. The department in charge of magical beings threatens the sanctuary Linus and Arthur have managed to build.
The characters are pretty much the same as in the last book. But this time, the villains are cartoonishly evil, rather than complex characters like Linus in the first book. Also the story is not as strong as in the first book in my opinion. In addition, the pacing in this book is not optimal: after the climax, there's over an hour's worth of wrap-up in the audiobook. I understand the importance of it to the story, but it still feels too long.
The narrator Daniel Henning will surely be too much for someone. I'm afraid for me too. His style of narration started to grate on me quite quickly. And especially during the climax, his dramatic style was too theatrical, making the events sound ridiculous.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So good so so so so so good
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Chapter 12 has a PTSD trigger that gets pretty intense
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
Minor: Death, Blood, Death of parent
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Update: dropped review down to 2 stars after realizing the villains name was literally J. K. Rowder. I don't like having allegory shoved so hard down my throat.
I didn't like this as much as the first one. It felt a little less subtle, though I did listen to the audiobook so it might have been the narrator's extreme earnestness that did that.
I didn't like this as much as the first one. It felt a little less subtle, though I did listen to the audiobook so it might have been the narrator's extreme earnestness that did that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse
Brief mentions of child abuse that happened in the past (distant and recent) throughout the book
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Gaslighting
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
No
Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a beautifully written, poignant (though not entirely necessary) sequel. The summary is somewhat misleading, and I appreciated the commentary on politicians, but the photo of Rowder about to slap Lucy made me uncomfortable because I felt like it implied parallels between BLM and cops .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
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
An electric symphony of diversity, and dismantling oppressive systems of power. All wrapped up in Klune's own brand of cosy fantasy full of colourful characters!
If you haven't read the first book in this series, it follows a group of magical children in an oppressive orphanage system designed to take away their power and make them "normal". But despite this, the orphanage leader rebels, trying to bring joy and light to all of the children's lives. The cast of characters includes: a seaslug boy who wants to be a bellhop, a little girl who is a garden gnome, a teenage boy who shifts into a tiny Pomeranian dog, the actual Antichrist, and many more!
So much of this book was reality instead of fantasy. The trial which T.J Klune based on the horrific trial of the family of a trans child felt terrifying to read. Both because of the reality and parallels, and also because of a certain judge keenly modelled after a certain transphobic, sinister children's author. It was a heart-wrenching and so so grounded portrayal of systems of oppression and the people who run them, as well as those who fight back.
But alongside that, the beautiful queer and magical joy that Klune portrays brings so much light. We can kill them with kindness, kill them with words, with proof of their abuse. We can bite back by showing our queer joy, by being ourselves, being a community, being a family. All of us together.
The characters were electric as always, I loved getting to build on what I knew of old characters, and get to know new ones. My favourites are still Chauncey and Sal, but I truly love all of the Marsyas family.
I was also keenly following along with Klune's retro music references, adding them to a playlist as I went along, which really added to the ambience of the book! Despite all of the tension and worrying events, so much of this book gave a beautiful ambience. It is perfect to read on a summer day in nature, or nursing a chilled drink with Ella Fitzgerald on in the background. I would recommend making a day of reading some of it with the matching vibes! It will not disappoint.
All in all, a great queer read if you want a mix of tension and stakes, with a cosy and hopeful undertone. It will leave you with a glow, and a penchant for rebellion.
If you haven't read the first book in this series, it follows a group of magical children in an oppressive orphanage system designed to take away their power and make them "normal". But despite this, the orphanage leader rebels, trying to bring joy and light to all of the children's lives. The cast of characters includes: a seaslug boy who wants to be a bellhop, a little girl who is a garden gnome, a teenage boy who shifts into a tiny Pomeranian dog, the actual Antichrist, and many more!
So much of this book was reality instead of fantasy. The trial which T.J Klune based on the horrific trial of the family of a trans child felt terrifying to read. Both because of the reality and parallels, and also because of a certain judge keenly modelled after a certain transphobic, sinister children's author. It was a heart-wrenching and so so grounded portrayal of systems of oppression and the people who run them, as well as those who fight back.
But alongside that, the beautiful queer and magical joy that Klune portrays brings so much light. We can kill them with kindness, kill them with words, with proof of their abuse. We can bite back by showing our queer joy, by being ourselves, being a community, being a family. All of us together.
The characters were electric as always, I loved getting to build on what I knew of old characters, and get to know new ones. My favourites are still Chauncey and Sal, but I truly love all of the Marsyas family.
I was also keenly following along with Klune's retro music references, adding them to a playlist as I went along, which really added to the ambience of the book! Despite all of the tension and worrying events, so much of this book gave a beautiful ambience. It is perfect to read on a summer day in nature, or nursing a chilled drink with Ella Fitzgerald on in the background. I would recommend making a day of reading some of it with the matching vibes! It will not disappoint.
All in all, a great queer read if you want a mix of tension and stakes, with a cosy and hopeful undertone. It will leave you with a glow, and a penchant for rebellion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
Moderate: Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Minor: Transphobia
adventurous
challenging
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Abandonment