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A review by fleeno
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
5.0
Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely anticipated sequel to TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea. After a traumatic childhood Arthur Parnassus is rebuilding and reshaping his life in an orphanage, the site of his mistreatment, where he lives with his adopted magical children and the love of his life Linus. When Arthur is summoned to the Department In Charge of Magical Youth to make a public statement about his past things don't go to plan and his peaceful life and family may be under threat.
Heart warming and uplifting, this series soothes the soul. It is definitely a book which is more about the characters and vibes than plot. Although there is a plot the stakes seem fairly low given the power of the magical children. I enjoyed reading the story from Arthur's perspective and seeing how his relationship with Linus has grown. The magical children are a metaphor for LGBTQIA kids and there is a strong emphasis on acceptance, diversity making life more colourful, and fighting hate with love - but also taking no shit. While I love the messaging and I love some of the conversations between Arthur and Linus and the children, I think given the trauma suffered by the children, the varying ages, and how different magical beings age at different rates (Thalia the gnome is in her second century but is still a child, Lucy is 7 but has an eternal demon inside) it is very hard to get the conversational tone right. At times the characters start waxing lyrical in speeches that sound like they come from a sociology text book. Whilst I agree with the messaging these are still children and 7 year olds or even 15 year olds rarely show the level of insight these children do. But I suppose that's why we read books, so that characters can show love, compassion, care, and fierce loyalty rarely seen in real life. In our current time I think we need messages of love and acceptance now more than ever.
Heart warming and uplifting, this series soothes the soul. It is definitely a book which is more about the characters and vibes than plot. Although there is a plot the stakes seem fairly low given the power of the magical children. I enjoyed reading the story from Arthur's perspective and seeing how his relationship with Linus has grown. The magical children are a metaphor for LGBTQIA kids and there is a strong emphasis on acceptance, diversity making life more colourful, and fighting hate with love - but also taking no shit. While I love the messaging and I love some of the conversations between Arthur and Linus and the children, I think given the trauma suffered by the children, the varying ages, and how different magical beings age at different rates (Thalia the gnome is in her second century but is still a child, Lucy is 7 but has an eternal demon inside) it is very hard to get the conversational tone right. At times the characters start waxing lyrical in speeches that sound like they come from a sociology text book. Whilst I agree with the messaging these are still children and 7 year olds or even 15 year olds rarely show the level of insight these children do. But I suppose that's why we read books, so that characters can show love, compassion, care, and fierce loyalty rarely seen in real life. In our current time I think we need messages of love and acceptance now more than ever.