Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune

31 reviews

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-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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hopeful inspiring sad fast-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: Complicated

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first. I loved the children just the same, though.   Chauncey is my favorite. For some reason, the narrator didn't work for me.  Everything he said sounded too ominous and dramatized.   

I didn't understand why they let the investigator stay if they were just going to kick her out.

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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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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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dark emotional funny hopeful 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: Complicated

Wish it was more hot chocolatey, like the first book! 

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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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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I'm sure I'm biased because I'm a fan of Klune, but I really enjoyed this sequel. It honestly wasn't what I expected, but who he dedicated this novel to immediately told me my assumption that this would be another extremely cozy, funny fantasy, was incorrect. 

It's been a very difficult few years, as so many politicians, authors, etc have been extremely vocal about their disdain for specific members of the LGBT+ community. And I really felt like Klune was fed up and ready to use his skills as a writer to express this. That's what this book is. The politics are heavy, the analogy to real life is no longer charmingly blurred, and Klune does not mince words. I can understand why some people might find this repetitive and too in your face, but as someone who has watched friends suffer and fear for their own safety, some even having to leave their homes due to discriminatory laws- I didn't think it was over the top at all. 

I laughed, I cried, and in the end, I'm left with the hope that change can happen if we fight for it. The children were just as delightful as the first book and their growth was realistic and sweet. There wasn't much romance in this one, but the little bits we did get were sappy and adorable. 

It's a difficult read, which I didn't expect prior to starting. But I hope people will still give it a shot, because it's good. We need books like this. And I'm so happy it was Klune who took on the challenge.  

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

Just as The House in the Cerulean Sea was uplifting so too is Somewhere Beyond the Sea. The story continues with Arthur and Linus and a new member to the Parnassus-Baker family. David, a yeti, who is unregistered. DICOMY is back, loudly exclaiming their hateful laws, but as Arthur says “they may be loud, but we are louder” and that is a really important message for us to remember. There are so many good people in the world and they need to be loud and stay positive. 

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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.

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I love this duology (with House in the Cerulean Sea) so much!! These characters are so relatable and wonderful 🥰🥰❤️

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