Scan barcode
honeywine's review against another edition
- 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
I marked genocide as a content warning because
Graphic: Colonisation and Genocide
Moderate: Racism, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Confinement, and Abandonment
kamiellen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
And music! All kinds of music. There was a record player sitting on the counter, and the day the music died was bright and loud with Ritchie and Buddy and the Big Bopper singing from beyond. Lucy was in charge, and he never failed to disappoint.
They laughed on this day. Oh, how they laughed. Even though Linus thought his heart was breaking, he laughed until there were tears in his eyes, until he was sure his sides would split. As the sun began to set and the lanterns grew brighter, they laughed and laughed and laughed."
• • •
Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Bullying, Colonisation, Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Homophobia
allybw's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Colonisation, Classism, Fatphobia, and Child abuse
inke410's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Fatphobia, Bullying, Colonisation, Racism, Xenophobia, Eating disorder, and Slavery
julesadventurezone's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Fatphobia and Body shaming
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Misogyny, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, and Homophobia
jamiedark10's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Moderate: Colonisation
cluckieduck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I adored that the story centred around Linus, a middle-aged, slightly tubby, self-described nobody - Linus doesn’t seem like much at the start, but as we (and Linus) eventually realize, sometimes the most magical things can come from the ordinary.
I am but paper, brittle and thin…
Graphic: Xenophobia and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Colonisation, and Fatphobia
offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Colonisation and Child abuse
artemis_rose_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
You are looking for something heartwarming about found family, celebrating bodily differences, with a gay romance between middle age men. It also shows that a mediocre person with privilege has the power and a responsibility to stand up for those harmed by institutions and racism.
You are looking for a story that completely and satisfactorily addresses the many ways that the Sixties Scoop harmed indigenous peoples, look elsewhere. It does put the responsibilities of fixing the problems onto the privileged, however they are made into a hero because their efforts are sadly rare.
With that it mind:
If you can understand that this book is unsatisfactory when it comes to properly addressing the many horrors of stealing and institutionalizing peoples because the people in power have decided that their birth families cannot care properly for their children. However it does a fairly decent job in showing the long term emotional and mental damage that this clauses in the children, but also the adults who have also had to live through this situation.
Does it solve everything and puts all the appropriate blame on the system and then fixes the problem? Nope, not even close. This is basically a love letter to the average person who does what is in their personal power to improve and protect the happiness of those who have been hurt by government and biases against the “other”.
Moderate: Bullying, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
There is a lot of mentioning of potential triggers as it talks a lot about the traumas of foster care and a system purposely controlling underprivileged bodies and their rights. The current environment is safe, however all the children are battling the trauma from previous placements and this home is still under the control of the system. There is current bully and hate from the locals. Children also acting menacing/threatening death as a response to their previous traumas.archaicgambit's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.5
So I had to wait 20 holds on my library to get my hands on this book. I love the illustrator, I heard there was a queer romance and it felt like slice-of-life a fairytale. I was hyped.
The prose is solid (though it did not blow me away), the characters are sweet (this is what earns it the 2.5 alongside the gorgeous cover), but the sophistication in which the political issues were handled felt supremely lacking. At first I thought the magical children were a placeholder for all types of discrimination at once, which felt more becoming for a MG book than an adult one. I asked some friends if it ever became more nuanced but they admitted it resolved with a "first step."
The idea of magic orphanages or safehouses is well-explored territory. X-men, Umbrella Academy (which is used as a comp on the cover), HBO's The Nevers. In each of these the magical childrens' inception is spontaneous. At first I thought this book followed suit and it would be a metaphor for disability or homophobia.
The House on the Cerulean Sea does itself a disservice by racializing the childrens' magic, tying them to magical races that the text casually admits have been largely genocided and forced to assimilate to the human world. Another friend of mine tipped me off that the author admitted to being directly inspired by the history of Residential schools, and knowing that made it very difficult to keep reading as bodies keep being found in the news, though I tried another 60 pages.
While I believe regardless of identity one should be able to explore social issues, historic tragedies, and their meaning, the tone felt eerily saccharine given the inspiration and the allegory of the magical children both felt too close to the Residential schools and not directly connected enough. The tonal dissonance may be triggering for some, though I don't mean to shame anyone who loves this book.
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Colonisation, and Xenophobia