Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

144 reviews

torikate7's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Xenophobia

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful 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: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Xenophobia

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Violence, Grief, Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia

caitlyngem's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-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

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another heartwarming TJ Kline book that brings me to tears by the end. While I prefer the first book, the second book is a beautiful successor. It was more pointed in the message and clear. This story and the stories of the characters are so important and hope that people give this series a read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Police brutality, Grief

sandysmith's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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

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I really enjoyed this sequel. It was great to revisit the characters and just what I needed in terms of positivity and diversity. It's beautifully written, inclusive, and it3 demonstrates what it means to be different, in this case, a world seeking to appress the magical people. Parallels, you can't help but sadly acknowledge in our current times.  I did wonder how a new character would fit in with the other children, but the introduction of David the Yeti was expertly woven in, and I began to love him as much as the other children.  Their quirky selves made me laugh and smile throughout. I love positive ending and this one had it in spades.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Death of parent

Moderate: Body shaming

jjsoupsworth's review against another edition

5.0

funny hopeful 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: Yes

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(There will be spoilers in this review!)

It took me a pretty long while to finish this book and I am absolutely shocked to say that it is just as wonderful as its predecessor to me.

This book is simultaneously more of the lighthearted shenanigans I've come to love in Klune's work and something infuriating and gut-wrenching. The courtroom scene that introduced Rowder made me want to set something on fire. As did everything out of the mouth of the secondary antagonist Marblemaw. The exchange between Arthur and Phee at the end of Chapter 11 nearly made me cry. The latter half of Chapter 12,  but especially the line "And for the first time, Arthur Franklin Parnassus wept for himself" did make me cry.

And talking about moments that made me cry, I would be remiss to not mention the opening dedications. I started reading this book in early December of 2024 (if you know, you know). It was something I desperately needed to hear, and a great opener to a heartwarming story about the lengths people go to to protect their loved ones against hatred and abuse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Xenophobia

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, Transphobia

ravensis's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting

jasminrain's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful 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: No

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The House in the Cerulean Sea is one my all time favorite novels. While I enjoyed reading this book, I don't feel like it lived up to the first book of the series. It was cozy, wholesome and the characters were as loveable as ever. It discussed difficult topics and it has very relevant messages. However, I felt like the storyline itself was all over the place and as such it wasn't as enjoyable of a reading experience as the previous book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Grief, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder

Minor: Cursing, Death of parent

elx_ix's review against another edition

5.0

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism

james_webb's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

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This fell a little short of its predecessor, The House In the Cerulean Sea, but still a great read with all the laughs and feels. A very timely book in its treatment of social issues and the marginalizing and silencing of groups outside the mainstream.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia

ladythana's review against another edition

5.0

challenging 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry

Moderate: Genocide, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Death of parent