Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
Confidence is silent. Insecurities are loud."
It was cute being back in this world, following these characters. I have a lot of nostalgia for the first book in this series.
I don't want to give too much plot away with this being a sequel but I did find this quite similar to the first book. It often had me thinking if this book almost made the first book redundant? But at the same time I do think this would keep happening to people in their position.
I think this books shines because of the characters. All plot aside, it is just fun to spend time with these characters again and hear more of their stories. I thought Miss.Marblemaw was a fun character - she kind of brought Nanny Mcphee/Mrs.Doubtfire/Miss.Trunchbull vibes. The audiobook narrator sounded like Caitlyn Jenner doing her voice and so I could only picture her as the character, which was fun.
There is part of me that doesn't fully understand this world. Magical beings are policed but there doesn't seem to be any repercussions for magical people? People are often referred to as 'unregistered' but again, DICOMY/DICOMA don't really seem to do anything about this. Maybe I missed something. Maybe there's a bit of a plot hole. Or maybe I'm completely overthinking it.
I think TJ Klune is doing important work with his queer stories. So many of the issues faced in these books are parallel to real life. I do sometimes find his writing a bit heavy handed when it comes to this. But as an older queer person I'm so happy these stories exist in the world - I wish I'd had more of this growing up!
This book is worth buying just for the acknowledgments. TJ Klune writes about wanting to be the anti-JK Rowling, which I think he does wonderfully.
I have the Torr sprayed edge versions, and maybe this is knit-picky, but I had to peel each page apart (which I've never encountered with spredges before) and the foil came off the front of the second book as I was reading it which is a bit disappointing when you've spent so much an special editions. Just a heads up!
In summary (she's blabbing again), I enjoyed my time with this. Not sure it brought anything new to the table, but does it always have to? I'd highly recommend this to everyone who likes a little magic and wants a big queer hug!
It was cute being back in this world, following these characters. I have a lot of nostalgia for the first book in this series.
I don't want to give too much plot away with this being a sequel but I did find this quite similar to the first book. It often had me thinking if this book almost made the first book redundant? But at the same time I do think this would keep happening to people in their position.
I think this books shines because of the characters. All plot aside, it is just fun to spend time with these characters again and hear more of their stories. I thought Miss.Marblemaw was a fun character - she kind of brought Nanny Mcphee/Mrs.Doubtfire/Miss.Trunchbull vibes. The audiobook narrator sounded like Caitlyn Jenner doing her voice and so I could only picture her as the character, which was fun.
There is part of me that doesn't fully understand this world. Magical beings are policed but there doesn't seem to be any repercussions for magical people? People are often referred to as 'unregistered' but again, DICOMY/DICOMA don't really seem to do anything about this. Maybe I missed something. Maybe there's a bit of a plot hole. Or maybe I'm completely overthinking it.
I think TJ Klune is doing important work with his queer stories. So many of the issues faced in these books are parallel to real life. I do sometimes find his writing a bit heavy handed when it comes to this. But as an older queer person I'm so happy these stories exist in the world - I wish I'd had more of this growing up!
This book is worth buying just for the acknowledgments. TJ Klune writes about wanting to be the anti-JK Rowling, which I think he does wonderfully.
I have the Torr sprayed edge versions, and maybe this is knit-picky, but I had to peel each page apart (which I've never encountered with spredges before) and the foil came off the front of the second book as I was reading it which is a bit disappointing when you've spent so much an special editions. Just a heads up!
In summary (she's blabbing again), I enjoyed my time with this. Not sure it brought anything new to the table, but does it always have to? I'd highly recommend this to everyone who likes a little magic and wants a big queer hug!
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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book lacks the heart of the first book. I didn’t even like the first book very much, so I’m cutting my losses with this one.
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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:
Complicated
I didn't care for this one as much as the first, but it was still very good and made me cry a few times.
adventurous
funny
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It’s a nice sequel that delves more into the prejudices of society rather than one man. The challenges of trying to enact acting, nationwide change. It’s evoking and cute, but the resolution seemed a little quick. More time was spent on the shenanigans of the children than the actual solution. In fact, the shenanigans didn’t lead to any difference in the characters at all. The trauma living inside you and just growing like a monster was also an interesting point, but had little to no build up that marked it was happening. Everything was shown, consequences made and resolved all in one chapter. I think this is meant to be a cute little story that covers heavy topics while being gentle on the reader. Not exactly my cup of tea (I guess I’m a glutton for punishment), but an overall decent read.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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