Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

209 reviews

ohyeah_karyn's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury

annorabrady's review against another edition

hopeful 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

4.75

This book started slower than other books I've read by TJ Klune but the story was no less wonderful. Klune makes loving the characters and their journeys seem effortless. 

I will say that care should be taken with those who might be affected by those who struggle with eating disorders. There is a lot of passages about negstige self-image surrounding weight, body shaming, and disordered eating. It is done as part of the character's development but it could be triggering. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Child abuse, and Hate crime

glammster's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Xenophobia, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Confinement, and Cannibalism

joensign's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Religious bigotry

tamara_joy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Grief, Body shaming, and Hate crime

fanboyriot's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

Read For:

Fantasy

Slow Burn

Found Family

Idiots in Love

Happy Ending

Think Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children vibes but kinda queer.  I just felt kinda neutral about it.  The humor was okay, the characters were okay, and the setting was kinda meh.  I just felt like I had to force myself to keep reading and if I didn’t already own the book I would have stopped.  Also, I thought there would be more queer rep to be honest so that was kinda disappointing.  Not to mention the fatphobia.

I wasn’t going to read this given the reviews I’ve been seeing recently, however, I already own the first two books so I figured I’d see if it was as bad as some of the reviews were saying.  And honestly, I just didn’t understand the hype about it.  Even not knowing what the book was based on it was barely a 3-star rating for me, it just fell flat to me.

However, learning that this was based on the Sixties Scoop and how the author decided to turn what was a cruel and tragic piece of history he read about on Wikipedia about how the Canadian government removed a bunch of indigenous children from their literal homes and away from their family only to be adopted to white, middle-class families and he then took that information and basically turned it into a happy little fantasy where the kids live not in an “orphanage” but a “home” like, dude, why?

This kind of thing is still something native people are dealing with and as a white person, it should not be something you’re involved in like this.  In America the Supreme Court literally is going to be voting soon on overturning ICWA so states can regain control to remove Native children from their homes and families, this isn’t just some fantasy.  This story could have been written way better and in a way that did romanticize trauma and make light of a literal genocide.

I just wouldn’t recommend this one.  There are some links on where I got my information from if you’re interested along with two reviews I think do a better job of explaining this than I did.

Links:

Source: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A617930246/ITBC?u=uvictoria&sid=bookmark-ITBC&xid=0efbabda

Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixties_Scoop

Helpful Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4032060130

Another Helpful Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3601407534

Rep: Achillean, Queer MC

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Classism, Grief, Homophobia, and Violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder, Death, Animal death, and Blood

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Bullying, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Child abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Body shaming, and Violence

abookwormspov's review against another edition

lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Death, Racism, Torture, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

natroze's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Hate crime, and Mental illness

Moderate: Xenophobia, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, and Child abuse

Not on content warnings list: adoption/foster system trauma and abuse. Note: most xenophobia and racism in the book is directed at mythical/fantasy being characters (fairies, shapeshifters, etc). Also of note: does fall into the “character of color turns into an animal” trope; the one character I recall being described as black is a shapeshifter who turns into a dog, who has also suffered some of the most realistic-to-life adoption system trauma/abuse.

jamirama's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, and Hate crime