Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

43 reviews

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

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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

kaimetcalfe's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Confinement, Child abuse, and Cursing

Minor: Cannibalism, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content

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caitlinjadams's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

What a lovely, lovely book about humanity. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

jencolumb0's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

A solid queer romance in a magical world. It felt like someone put Alyssa Cole books in a blender with Harry Potter. Satisfying but I would have preferred more of the joy in the epilogue unleashed earlier in the book and milder threats from Lucy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Death

Minor: Cannibalism and Death of parent

jennywinder'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

4.25

This was a delightful take on a familiar magical beings trope. The main focus is on Linus’ journey as he comes to know the children and gain new perspective on the status quo. It is a hopeful story on acceptance and love and the power of a few to make a real change.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Bullying

Minor: Cannibalism, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

zoecjohnson's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Child abuse, Death, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death of parent, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

annieisawesome's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

I loved this book. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I picked it up because I saw that it was a very popular book— for good reason! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child abuse, and Confinement

amberrenfrey's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Genocide

Minor: Body horror, Homophobia, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

isaaah's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Self harm

theseasoul's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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? Yes

3.5

|| 3.5 stars ||

In so many ways, this was such a sweet and enchanting book. The character development was some of the best I’ve read in a while! Klune’s creative mind really shines through in each of the magical children: who they really are, vs. who people think they are; their unique personalities, passions, and aspirations. I loved each of the magical children in their own way (maybe some a little more than others. …Chauncey.)

The beginning of the story gave me 1984 vibes, and I wasn’t quite sure how on earth it would manage to live up to its magical hype. I continued to feel that way for a few chapters, and then it really started to unfold into something else. I don’t know why, but at some points throughout the book it felt very Dr. Seuss-esque but more mature and realistic. Specifically, a bit like The Lorax maybe? With the stark contrast between a world of black and white and gloom, and a world exploding with colour and nature’s beauty and joy.

This would have probably been a 5-star read if it hadn’t been for the romance. As a Christian, I was very disappointed in that aspect and it ended up dimming the magic for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Cannibalism