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Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'
La casa en el mar más azul. Edición especial: Edición especial con cantos tintados by T.J. Klune, Carlos Abreu Fetter
351 reviews
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It is NOT as cozy as I anticipated. In fact, there is a strong dystopian element to it.
Warming up to the main character took me over 100 pages; He reminded me of Percy Weasley.
Warming up to the main character took me over 100 pages; He reminded me of Percy Weasley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Murder
Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a fun story. I can see the importance of its message and that it could be very uplifting to read particularly for people who identify with LGBTQIA+ identities.
For people who are fat though, it's a lot of wincing. There is fatphobia throughout the book. Some would argue that the character becomes comfortable with their size toward the end. That is true to a point but the fatphobia is not just that of the character. It seems to come from the author. (Likely unknowingly.) The person writes the character's relationship with their weight (constant and obsessive) in ways that small people assume all fat people think about their weight. Not the way we actually do.
I would recommend it with a caveat to young LGBTQIA+ friends. I would not recommend it to my friends in fat bodies.
For people who are fat though, it's a lot of wincing. There is fatphobia throughout the book. Some would argue that the character becomes comfortable with their size toward the end. That is true to a point but the fatphobia is not just that of the character. It seems to come from the author. (Likely unknowingly.) The person writes the character's relationship with their weight (constant and obsessive) in ways that small people assume all fat people think about their weight. Not the way we actually do.
I would recommend it with a caveat to young LGBTQIA+ friends. I would not recommend it to my friends in fat bodies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Violence, Xenophobia
Moderate: Body shaming
Content Warning: There is a lot of language similar to Bible's book of revelation by a character. If reference to concepts of an anti-Christ and use of that type of talk is problematic for you, this may be a book to wait on.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Xenophobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What a cozy, warm hug of a book. I’ve heard so many good things going into it, I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype but I’m so glad it did. I live all the characters, felt all the emotions, and left their world with a big beaming smile. What more could you ask for?
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Hate crime, Racism
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Fatphobia, Xenophobia
Minor: Violence, Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm very conflicted. I read this book as a queer person who has struggled with self-love and self-image, and I absolutely loved the story because of that. A review from V.E. Schwab on the cover of the copy I own reads "It is like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket." and that couldn't be more accurate. All the characters are wonderful, and I fell in love with each of them as they grew and changed. They are all unique but support each other, and there are constant affirmations of how perfect, and loved each child in the orphanage is. There are strong themes of chosen family, self-love, healing through trauma, following your passions, and finding a community who loves you for you and nothing else. There are also definite themes of discrimination in the book, and based on the protagonists, I got the impression it was against queer or disabled people who are often 'othered' in society. Linus also stumbles into the most wholesome romance with the master of the orphanage, and watching their romance blossom while also challenging each other's worldviews was wonderful. I found the unconditional love in an otherwise cruel, grey world to be beautiful. The House in the Cerulean Sea is very different from anything I've ready in quite a while.
All that being said, I've also been informed that Klune was drawing inspiration from the Sixties Scoop to write this book. (The Sixties Scoop was a period from the mid- 1950s to 1980s in Canada where a series of policies were enacted that enabled child welfare authorities to take indigenous children from their families for placement in foster homes. It's estimated that about 20,000 children were taken from the communities and birth families during this time.) I did not see this while reading, though if it is a comparison Klune meant to make, it's a distasteful one. The overall tone is a self-love & acceptance fantasy, which I know does not mirror the reality so many children and families faced during that time. As a non-indigenous person I cannot speak more to this issue, so I'd highly recommend looking into those implications and reading/hearing indigenous perspectives on this book.
Based on the above fact, I have a hard time recommending this book to others. I enjoyed it immensely while reading, but find discomfort in Klune's inspirations and the possible effects, hurt, and misrepresentation there.
All that being said, I've also been informed that Klune was drawing inspiration from the Sixties Scoop to write this book. (The Sixties Scoop was a period from the mid- 1950s to 1980s in Canada where a series of policies were enacted that enabled child welfare authorities to take indigenous children from their families for placement in foster homes. It's estimated that about 20,000 children were taken from the communities and birth families during this time.) I did not see this while reading, though if it is a comparison Klune meant to make, it's a distasteful one. The overall tone is a self-love & acceptance fantasy, which I know does not mirror the reality so many children and families faced during that time. As a non-indigenous person I cannot speak more to this issue, so I'd highly recommend looking into those implications and reading/hearing indigenous perspectives on this book.
Based on the above fact, I have a hard time recommending this book to others. I enjoyed it immensely while reading, but find discomfort in Klune's inspirations and the possible effects, hurt, and misrepresentation there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Xenophobia, Abandonment
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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:
No
It took me a little to get into the book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. This book speaks on so many levels! On a surface read, it's a delightful "collection of misunderstood children" and the grown-ups who love them. Digging deeper, it becomes a biting commentary about the society that we are on the edge of creating, where everything that has color becomes othered. "If you see something, say something" sounds very Orwellian without being heavy-handed. The play of Lucy being who he is and being so delightfully playful and loving is a story in itself. They grey at the beginning, which made it hard for me to connect to the book, was the necessary foil to everything that was to come. I am so glad that I hung in there!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Body shaming