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cassidy_rain's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
"And what if the treasure was the friendships we solidified along the way?" Arthur asked.
Lucy pulled a face. "That's the worst treasure in the world.
They already were my friends. I want rubies."
If I had to describe this book in one word it would be- whimsical. It also gave me Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends vibes. If you love found family tropes, you’re gonna eat this up!
The book’s setting is a world where there are both “normal” people and magical beings of all varieties. It follows our main character, Linus, who is a government/case worker and his job to ensure that magical children in the orphanages are being cared for and treated appropriately. His new assignment is super classified and takes him out to investigate the children in the house of the cerulean sea.
The children are the stars of the show in this novel. They’re all so unique and quirky and I absolutely adore them all. I think the author does a great job of describing and building out the characters, I could picture them vividly in my mind. Linus has a lot of growth as a character, which I really enjoyed. You can tell he always had good intentions, however misguided. He has to unlearn a lot of propaganda which his latest assignment really helps him with. I do think there could have been better chemistry between Linus & Arthur.
I thought there were some slow parts throughout the book. I was really unsure about the writing style in the first 25%; I felt I was reading a children’s book, but it did pick up for me after that. The chapters are on the long side which made it drag a bit. It’s a predictable story, but overall sweet and endearing. I like that the characters were able to inspire change by the end of the story.
If I had to describe this book in one word it would be- whimsical. It also gave me Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends vibes. If you love found family tropes, you’re gonna eat this up!
The book’s setting is a world where there are both “normal” people and magical beings of all varieties. It follows our main character, Linus, who is a government/case worker and his job to ensure that magical children in the orphanages are being cared for and treated appropriately. His new assignment is super classified and takes him out to investigate the children in the house of the cerulean sea.
The children are the stars of the show in this novel. They’re all so unique and quirky and I absolutely adore them all. I think the author does a great job of describing and building out the characters, I could picture them vividly in my mind. Linus has a lot of growth as a character, which I really enjoyed. You can tell he always had good intentions, however misguided. He has to unlearn a lot of propaganda which his latest assignment really helps him with.
I thought there were some slow parts throughout the book. I was really unsure about the writing style in the first 25%; I felt I was reading a children’s book, but it did pick up for me after that. The chapters are on the long side which made it drag a bit. It’s a predictable story, but overall sweet and endearing. I like that the characters were able to inspire change by the end of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Minor: Child abuse, Body shaming, and Confinement
_izzi_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Emotional abuse, Violence, and Forced institutionalization
spellbindingtomes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘢, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.
Linus Baker is a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He strictly adheres to the rules of his job and has accepted he'll forever be alone in his mundane life. So when he gets assigned a peculiar case to assess 6 dangerous kids and their caretaker, he sets out to do his job, not knowing the many surprises that are in store for him.
If a book can encompass a warm, fuzzy feeling, it would definitely be this one. This was such a joy to read. The narrative and prose had me laughing multiple times.
𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦.
𝘛𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.
Don't even get me started on the children. Each of them were so chaotic and loveable in their own unique quirky way, it's so hard to pick a favorite! Sal's the gentlest boy. Chauncey and his fascination with bellhops was priceless. Lucy and how he always delivers the best lines highlighting his parentage with the most deadpan expressions killed me 😂
𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.
I highly recommend the audiobook. It was truly an experience to listen to. Daniel Henning did an impeccable job with his clear distinct voices for every character.
If you're looking for a lighthearted read with so many endearing characters and tender moments that tug on your heartstrings, then check this out! I'm officially a TJ Klune fan and will definitely read his other books!
Linus Baker is a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He strictly adheres to the rules of his job and has accepted he'll forever be alone in his mundane life. So when he gets assigned a peculiar case to assess 6 dangerous kids and their caretaker, he sets out to do his job, not knowing the many surprises that are in store for him.
If a book can encompass a warm, fuzzy feeling, it would definitely be this one. This was such a joy to read. The narrative and prose had me laughing multiple times.
𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦.
𝘛𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.
Don't even get me started on the children. Each of them were so chaotic and loveable in their own unique quirky way, it's so hard to pick a favorite! Sal's the gentlest boy. Chauncey and his fascination with bellhops was priceless. Lucy and how he always delivers the best lines highlighting his parentage with the most deadpan expressions killed me 😂
𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.
I highly recommend the audiobook. It was truly an experience to listen to. Daniel Henning did an impeccable job with his clear distinct voices for every character.
If you're looking for a lighthearted read with so many endearing characters and tender moments that tug on your heartstrings, then check this out! I'm officially a TJ Klune fan and will definitely read his other books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Minor: Child abuse
jacobevje's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Child abuse
anchik's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, and Child abuse
scmiller's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Child abuse, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, and Body shaming
Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Torture, Colonisation, and Abandonment
chenderson79's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Xenophobia
shamciar's review against another edition
hopeful
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
I enjoyed this book a lot. I wanted to find a fantasy book with queer characters that didn't use typical fantasy love stories, and this book delivered. Unfortunately, Klune's inspiration for the premise of this book is extremely questionable at best and I would heavily consider that anyone look that up before decided to read this book. Part of me wants to say that you can enjoy the story if you can look past it, but personally I can't ignore it when he could have entirely avoided most if not all of the problematic content. Disheartening, but that's on me for not doing my diligence beforehand.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Torture
d0505's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse and Forced institutionalization
hidemybook's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia and Racism