Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

173 reviews

haleybspiegel's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? No

5.0

Perfect book, no critiques. 

Very well written, amazing storyline about choosing your own path and accepting people for who they are

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Sexual content and Child abuse

friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

I loved the narrator! 
The story is very wholesome, reminds me of the secret society of irregular witches, maybe even better:) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Child abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Confinement, and Cursing

lizziemarie01's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, and Child abuse

Moderate: Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Cannibalism

hypofocus's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.5

I was sucked right in and found myself sobbing on my eReader at 1am as I finished it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Cursing and Violence

suzydunk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Forced institutionalization

ravenpuff's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Religious bigotry

silverhill's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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

4.25

Go with the audiobook. I usually prefer print, but the audio was a delight with all the different voices! 

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Confinement

lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

On the surface this is a sweet book.  A bureaucrat named Linus goes to an orphanage to see how things are going with the magical children and their mysterious headmaster, for lack of a better term.  The kids are sweet and he comes to love them and Arthur, the headmaster (who deeply loves and cares for the children).  I was very fond of Arthur and the children, and was passingly fond of Linus.  We are told he is by the book and seems unflappable, which is why he was chosen for this review by the government agency he works for.  But he sort of dithers around and seems very surprised and shocked by the kids.  We are constantly told how wonderful he is, but I don't quite see it?  Because he is open-minded and not a jerk to the kids?  I also think the book is a smidge too long.  I found it to be a soothing book about giving people chances and not judging them for being different, and that everyone deserves a place to call home with people who love them.  

HOWEVER, there are some controversies about this book, as Klune was at least partially inspired by residential schools, where Indigenous children were taken from their families and placed in to orphanages, treated brutally (some even killed) to try to assimilate them into white society and culture.  There are also some excellent points to be made about trauma and children in foster care systems, and whether or not that is accurately reflected here in the book.  As I have no experience with the foster care system, and I am not an Indigenous Person, or even a person of color, I do not want to make a judgement call on this, nor do I feel able to.  I have seen comments on both sides about these issues.  What is clear is that Klune is using the magical children as an allegory to show the oppression of a marginalized group by society, culture, and the government.  I think we can all appreciate the attempt. But how people feel going from there is really going to be up to each person and their individual lives and experiences.  The story and the characters are sweet and soothing, but there is still a lot I feel uncertain about.  I did not want to ignore the issues that many other readers have addressed much better than I have.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Bullying, and Confinement

Minor: Grief, Torture, Hate crime, Violence, Body shaming, Death, and Emotional abuse

graceert's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Fatphobia, Xenophobia, Body shaming, and Bullying

Minor: Death of parent

katiej's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

What an absolute joy of a book! This has has completely overtaken every book this year by a million miles! All of the characters were a joy to go on an adventure with. Talia was by far my favourite, her wicked sense of humour and her gnomish ways.
Arthur and Linus were a gorgeous pairing who deserve all the happiness in the world. 
A huge cup of coffee and a warm blanket of a book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization