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keen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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
5.0
I came into this book immensely hesitant. I'm not a fan of romance. I find most stories to be either be too quick with the development, or so slow I forget it was even a part of the book. And overall, it's just not my thing. Additionally, I'm a fan of horror and thriller stories. So, aside from the urban fantasy and found family aspects, I thought I wouldn't get much from a "lighthearted" and "romance" book. This was not helped by me finding the main character, Linus, to be a very different protagonist than I expected: A 40-something year old child service worker with a stuffy, distant attitude.
I teared up three times, and by the epilogue, my eyes were so wet I had to wipe them with a paper towel to be able to see the words on the screen.
I very rarely cry from any story. When I do, I know it has ensnared me. I also very rarely think about books in terms of "Boy, I really wish people would write fanfiction about this." So imagine my surprise when I read nearly seven chapters straight.
The romance isn't the main aspect of this story. The main love story is Linus taking on a fatherly role towards the children in the 'orphanage' and how those kids grow to love him. The way each character developed was so subtle I barely noticed how much had changed until the end.
One complaint I had while reading this story was, "How is this described as lighthearted and middle-school reading?" The story almost feels dystopian at first. A society blatantly prejudiced against the supernatural, going as far as to harm children in its hatred. I'm a black, trans-masc person, so some parts of this story took me by such surprise that I was actually uncomfortable.
But that's not an actually a complaint. By the end of the story, I understood. It's a story about overcoming your own bigotry, learning from people you never expected to interact with (much less care for), and taking the first steps in changing society. Parts of this story gets dark, but I would happily hand this book to a pre-teen.
This story literally made me feel brighter. It made me more confident about choosing the best path in my life, no matter what society says it should be.
I teared up three times, and by the epilogue, my eyes were so wet I had to wipe them with a paper towel to be able to see the words on the screen.
I very rarely cry from any story. When I do, I know it has ensnared me. I also very rarely think about books in terms of "Boy, I really wish people would write fanfiction about this." So imagine my surprise when I read nearly seven chapters straight.
The romance isn't the main aspect of this story. The main love story is Linus taking on a fatherly role towards the children in the 'orphanage' and how those kids grow to love him. The way each character developed was so subtle I barely noticed how much had changed until the end.
One complaint I had while reading this story was, "How is this described as lighthearted and middle-school reading?" The story almost feels dystopian at first. A society blatantly prejudiced against the supernatural, going as far as to harm children in its hatred. I'm a black, trans-masc person, so some parts of this story took me by such surprise that I was actually uncomfortable.
But that's not an actually a complaint. By the end of the story, I understood. It's a story about overcoming your own bigotry, learning from people you never expected to interact with (much less care for), and taking the first steps in changing society. Parts of this story gets dark, but I would happily hand this book to a pre-teen.
This story literally made me feel brighter. It made me more confident about choosing the best path in my life, no matter what society says it should be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cursing and Murder
kammitrout's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Mental illness
jehansflowers's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
this book was really cute. it had a major whimsical vibe, and i absolutely ADORED all of the kids. i was a bit disappointed by linus & arthurs' characters though. i just kinda found linus annoying and arthur bland.
edit: going back and changing my rating from 4 stars to 3.5 bc this book just really didn’t leave an impression
edit: going back and changing my rating from 4 stars to 3.5 bc this book just really didn’t leave an impression
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
bookishnatalia's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Bullying, and Mental illness
Moderate: Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, and Homophobia
rini's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
CW: talk of weight, fat-shaming, and dieting (with pushback against it!)
I don't remember the last time I cried this many happy tears while reading a book!
And sad tears!
And laughed!!
This book has ALL the feels and all the delightful feel-good lovely unexpected characters and yes, they're queer, and no, it's not a big deal in the story, it just is, and yes there's talk of weight, fat-shaming, and dieting, but it's pushed back against throughout the book (except for right at the very start when Linus hasn't yet met the characters who push back against it, but that's hardly any of the book at all).
I don't even have a favourite character, I just love them all!
Though, my one little disappointment was that Zoe, Helen, Arthur, and Linus couldn't all adopt all the kids together...
I don't remember the last time I cried this many happy tears while reading a book!
And sad tears!
And laughed!!
This book has ALL the feels and all the delightful feel-good lovely unexpected characters and yes, they're queer, and no, it's not a big deal in the story, it just is, and yes there's talk of weight, fat-shaming, and dieting, but it's pushed back against throughout the book (except for right at the very start when Linus hasn't yet met the characters who push back against it, but that's hardly any of the book at all).
I don't even have a favourite character, I just love them all!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Mental illness
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Xenophobia
kirkspockreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was extremely MY SHIT! I love found families, but queer found families? YES PLEASE! I want that shit in my eyeballs ALWAYS.
What a delightful read after all the shit I’ve been feeling recently because of... *gestures at everything*. This book was soul cleansing and heartwarming. An incredibly lovely ending. Reminded me a bit of “In Other Lands” because it also deals with magical children in a world similar to our “real” world.
If you have a younger reader in your life I think they would enjoy this, especially if they’re an HP person.
What a delightful read after all the shit I’ve been feeling recently because of... *gestures at everything*. This book was soul cleansing and heartwarming. An incredibly lovely ending. Reminded me a bit of “In Other Lands” because it also deals with magical children in a world similar to our “real” world.
If you have a younger reader in your life I think they would enjoy this, especially if they’re an HP person.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia and Body shaming
Minor: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Hate crime, Cursing, Confinement, and Bullying
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