Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

63 reviews

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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: No

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adventurous emotional funny 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: Complicated

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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: No

A very good follow up by Klune. The story is good but the most interesting part happened at the end, so I assume we will be getting a third book. My only complaint is that the writing leans a little too much on cutesy-ness and forced quirkiness sometimes when it could shine without it. 

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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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Clear allegory addressing politics today othering LGBTQ+ and acknowledging all the historical atrocities of government, including Indigenous colonization and genocide. So it resonated with me deeply, but what I loved most about this book is the promise that a third must be coming based on the ending.

I’m so distraught about the state of humanity in the US right now. This book tells me to remain hopeful and believe in the righteousness and goodness of people who will stand in solidarity with us. With elections only a couple of weeks away and the MAGA party (I refuse to call them Republicans) setting up to destroy and rebuild the country in its pre-Civil War image, hope is a hard resource to find right now. The most I hope for is that this author is right - that we have the right to hope that our citizenship will be defended and allowed to live in peace with the full authority to exist as we are - someday.

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective tense 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: Complicated

Gorgeous. Must read. The perfect antithesis to JK Rowling. I’m 

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emotional funny tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This is a great sequel. In a very natural way, characters are reintroduced for those readers who only vaguely remember the first book.

This book caused me a lot of stress. All kinds of hate (xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia, and more) play a large role. It mirrored the current world and political climate too well to remain a cozy read. Thankfully the book ended in a heartwarming way.

At first I wondered if characters from the island and especially Arthur weren't acting too antigonistically at times. However, throughout the story I changed my mind. Why should they walk on eggshells when the government officials treats them without respect and hide behind rules and laws they themselves made up.

I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 due to lack of immersion. I feel bad about it, but there were many times where I didn't feel immersed. Often the characters said something which fit the situation a bit too well based on who they were without any big consequences. It made me think of the characters as puppets performing a play. I think it's also because the villains were very flat and unwilling to change. Though strong for this story, I prefer books with more nuance.

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dark emotional 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

Lots of cheesy moments, but I appreciated the respect and valuing everyone. 

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emotional funny hopeful 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: Complicated

Heartwrenching, hilarious, and will make you cry happy gay tears. 

Giving this book 4.75 instead of my original 5 given the fact that the author based this off of cultural genocide. Yikes.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional 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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