Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune

31 reviews

joyfulteacup's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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: Complicated

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Any opportunity to return to this lovable family of characters is a delight. I love them all. Only TJ Klune could balance heavier emotional and political weight of the narrative with silliness, joy, hope, and love so that the book remains a cozy fantasy. One of my favorite reads of 2025.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Grief, Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Colonisation, Deportation

Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, Transphobia

adrianereilly's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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: No

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Racism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Classism

erika_winters's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

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Wow, what a sequel! TJ Klune does it again with this one. Although this book is thematically different from the first, both can be read as two sides of the same coin. Told from Arthur’s perspective this time around, we get to hear how he thinks and feels being the last phoenix on Earth, and what it has meant to him over the years to shoulder the weight of everyone’s trauma, including his own. The way this book handles trauma makes it special because it doesn’t provide a cure for it; but rather a way to live through it and piece yourself together from the trauma. Arthur has found his family and beloved, and has to learn how to combat the hateful people in the world beyond Marsyas Island—including the hateful Harriet Marblemaw inspecting the home and his behavior toward the children—while also allowing the children to find themselves in the world and learning from it themselves instead of having Arthur shelter them away from it. Overall, I thought the conversation around this, and the looming fear of the government (including one Jeanine Rowder, who is probably based on a certain bigoted author of a popular fantasy series) taking the children away from Arthur and Linus. I cried 5 or 6 times from pure joy and from the emotional speeches shared between Arthur and Linus, so be prepared for tears here! This is now up there in my favorite books, along with the first book. Impeccable series (and I hope more is to come!)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization

Minor: Body shaming, Abandonment, Colonisation

tfaydoyle's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

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Another immensely enjoyable and profoundly moving novel. Having to take a break halfway through did not diminish the book, rather made the themes all the more devastatingly important for those who cannot put the book of their lives down and take a four month break. Wonderful and illuminating as always.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Classism, Deportation

plantdonut's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous emotional 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: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse

Moderate: Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, Classism

greendog95's review against another edition

4.25

emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Colonisation

Minor: Confinement

jennipea382's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail

aseel_reads's review against another edition

4.25

emotional funny 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: Complicated

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This was both stinking cute and also so infuriating. I loved the main characters, especially the kids and it was made more enjoyable because the kids each had distinct voices (applause for the voice actor). It was infuriating in that campaign against magical children could be an analogy for literally SO many marginalised groups in the real world 😠😔 I'm excited to see how the author continues the world

especially with Zoe making the town and island one area again and enforcing the old treaty

 

I also laughed at the whole anti-J.K. Rowling part at the end, hell yeah! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia

Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation

Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, Transphobia

readandfindout's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Abandonment, Classism

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Genocide, Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War

jamr3adsalot's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense 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: Yes

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Tj Klune is by far one of my favorite authors. He brings life and depths to the world and characters he creates. This book was beautiful in all ways. The way he wrote Arthur made me so happy beyond words. I love this book, and I love this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Grief, Colonisation

Minor: Death of parent, Gaslighting