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Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, Transphobia
Minor: Ableism, Physical abuse, Abandonment
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Arthur is such a great character and an even more incrddible father. The way he navigated being a good father while protecting his children from the harm of bigots was very well done. It was nice to see the evolution of his relationship with Linus as well. They are both such well-rounded and flushed out characters that juxtapose and compliment each other so well. I loved learning more about his past and the trauma he still carries. It was nice to see more of the children and how welcoming they were to a new family member. The conga line of bigots who wanted to tear this family apart infuriated me in the most tantalizing way. Their circular arguments and unwillingness to see anything beyond their own points was infuriating, which meant it was spot on.
The ending, however, felt satisfying at first before devolving into a happily-ever-after that was too sugar coated. For a series that tackles the homophobia the community faces every day, the ending felt flat and too perfect. It felt like a fantasy, which is ironic since the whole premise is fantastical. I'm happy for the characters but dissatisfied by it at the same time.
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, War
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
This pains me to write because I want to support queer authors writing queer stories, but it felt like Cerulean Sea was already complete story but the publisher wanted more and they decided to move forward with a sequel when it wasn't needed and there was no unique or compelling plotline.
It was heavy handed in its themes in a way that felt like it was tokenizing rather than about genuine representation. This may be a hot take, but coming from a queer person I'd rather queer authors write stories with queer love and queer families instead of writing a book just to say LOOK HOW QUEER THIS BOOK IS. The best way I can describe is that it felt like someone gave an AI bot Cerulean Sea and asked them to write another book from Arthur's perspective.
The best moments of this book - where TJ Klune continues to shine - is in developing the characters and the unique personalities of the children. They continue to be bright moments that truly made me laugh out loud throughout the book. The part where
I don't blame people for wanting more of the sweet, charming, "wrap you up in a blanket" cozy fairytale vibes of Cerulean Sea. I wanted more of that, too! Maybe that's why this book was such a disappointment to me. It was missing the magic and I hope that for future iterations (if this becomes a series), that Klune and his editors will take more time developing a story worthy of the characters, who are beautiful and wonderful and deserve that time and attention.
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Gaslighting
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
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.
Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Giving this book 4.75 instead of my original 5 given the fact that the author based this off of cultural genocide. Yikes.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail