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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'
La casa en el mar más azul. Edición especial: Edición especial con cantos tintados by TJ Klune, Carlos Abreu Fetter
1362 reviews
Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization
Was it a little corny? Yes. Did I still love it? Also yes.
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement
Minor: Death of parent
Our experience of this magical world that poignantly parallels our own - where those who are different are systematically isolated and marginalized - is shaken up as Linus himself embraces a new trajectory. I appreciate how serious issues are brought up in a way that doesn't leave the readers stuck in re-living traumatic triggers. There is flow here, and enough resolution towards the end so that we land softly in the realm of possibility, which I thought was very important.
Through this story, we see how the changing tide of Linus' life is responding to structural needs for change and healing. We join him as he navigates the challenge and the courage to be led by love. The pacing, writing, and characters were enjoyable. I had to remind myself it was okay to finish reading this because it meant I can re-read it later (lol). Highly recommended for a cozy, hopeful read that brings in a boost of chosen family love, heartfelt character growth, and funny dialogues 🌈
Moderate: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Xenophobia
Moderate: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse
The book definitely is hard to put down, so it was a fast read, and all the scenes with the children on the island were absolutely adorable. I loved their magical forest, and how much the main character sometimes reminded me of Aziraphale from Good Omens, who is one of my absolute favourites.
Still, I feel like this story didn't quite meet my (very high) expectations. It took about 150 pages before I finally had the feeling that it had really started, and while it makes sense that the reader needed to be given a lot of information about this world, I really felt this could have been tightened up with some thorough editing.
My biggest issue was that I didn't quite "feel" the romance.
Looking back at my review for Under the Whispering Door, I'll have to conclude that TJ Klune's writing style is just a little bit too zoomed out for me. Seeing everything at a distance can be useful to maintain the sense of comfort that his books all have, but for me personally it makes it harder to really be as invested in the characters' emotions. Then again, I doubt I'd call The House in the Cerulean Sea a "comfort read" for myself, considering the underlying themes that made this world so unsafe for children that are "other", and I wasn't entirely satisfied with how Linus' internalised fatphobia was handled.
I'm definitely happy that many readers got to know this book and the cosy fantasy genre in general thanks to the marketing behind it, but for me personally, it didn't quite hit the spot I'd hoped it would.
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia
Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury