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megthecatlady's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
5.0
Oh my gosh this was such a wholesome book!!! I took a risk stepping out of my usual genre and I'm so glad I did. Each of the characters were so well developed and the story was so good. Daniel Henning did a great job narrating and bringing the story to life.
I know there was some controversy around this book and it's potential ties to some not so great things in history. Personally, I didn't get those vibes at all reading it. I think if anything it was more a narrative on the downfalls of the child welfare system with a feel-good fantasy twist.
I know there was some controversy around this book and it's potential ties to some not so great things in history. Personally, I didn't get those vibes at all reading it. I think if anything it was more a narrative on the downfalls of the child welfare system with a feel-good fantasy twist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Body shaming and Confinement
Minor: Child abuse
delirious_wraith's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
Perfect
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment
ladythana's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
rewatchrereadrewind's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Homophobia
flam1ngv0id's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
A beautiful story with interesting world building and fun, lovable characters. Very wholesome.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse and Confinement
jialianyang's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
What a wholesome book! At first the main character seems dull, an unlikeable, unremarkable bureaucrat. When he leaves for a mysterious important assignment, he is scared flustered, and overwhelmed. He leaves the place a changed man- courageous, curious, and in love in more ways than one. Perfect for lovers of fantasy, adventure, magic, and queer romance. A wholesome book about family, belonging, and home that is more than meets the eye.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Extremely mixed feelings.
I definitely get why this book speaks to so many people and why it feels so comforting to them. The vibes are indeed very cozy, and the kids are great. Linus's arc was fine. Not the most satisfying for me personally, but I can see it being incredibly relatable to many readers. In particular, I think that Klune handled Linus's internalized fatphobia pretty well, and the treatment of his fatness by other characters was refreshing. Lucy was my favorite of the kids for sure, and I also enjoyed both of the silly ladies immensely. Any time we focused on the kids and their interests and hobbies, I was having a good time. Some of the bureaucracy stuff worked for me, too, as did aspects of the romance.
The biggest issue with this book is a lack of real, deep, thoughtful worldbuilding. We have no idea why things are the way that they are. There is a magical underclass, but why are they the underclass? What sociopolitical happenings created this regime? What justifications were used by those in power? We really only see the world through the eyes of 1) bureaucracy and 2) the main characters in this book, which means that the scope is small and it should be able to work with limited worldbuilding. Unfortunately, Klune writes in a lot of wider-reaching implications that made it impossible for me not to ask questions, and this is the sort of world where everything falls apart if you poke it a little bit.
TJ Klune has stated that he was "inspired by residential schools" (among other influences) in the writing of this book. I find that incredibly weird of him. Any reading of the children as indigenous-coded immediately further highlights the way that they are used to further the character development of the white protagonist. It also shows a shocking lack of care on the part of the author. If he wanted to use such a horrifying aspect of real-world history to inform some of his worldbuilding choices, then he should have actually committed to confronting those horrors, but he does not, and several parts of the book left a bad taste in my mouth.
Another sign of this book's poor worldbuilding is the total lack of thought put into ways that world history and culture might look different given the presence of magical creatures. You mean to tell me that no magical being has written a hit song? That no US presidents were elected based on their policy regarding magical people? As if. Maybe this vaguery would have worked if the world itself were clearly different from our own, but it wasn't. Don McLean's "American Pie" canonically exists, as do multiple other real-world songs and figures, and absolutely nothing about them is different. Lazy! So lazy! If you're writing fantasy oppression, you HAVE to think through your metaphors and how your marginalized fantasy people interact with the world as a whole. You HAVE to. And it feels like TJ Klune just had no interest in interacting with or developing his own world beyond the main characters and their direct experiences, and I think that's a real shame.
Overall, the parts that worked for me worked really well, and I genuinely enjoyed reading most of this book, but the utter thoughtlessness of the worldbuilding and influences cannot be overstated.
I definitely get why this book speaks to so many people and why it feels so comforting to them. The vibes are indeed very cozy, and the kids are great. Linus's arc was fine. Not the most satisfying for me personally, but I can see it being incredibly relatable to many readers. In particular, I think that Klune handled Linus's internalized fatphobia pretty well, and the treatment of his fatness by other characters was refreshing. Lucy was my favorite of the kids for sure, and I also enjoyed both of the silly ladies immensely. Any time we focused on the kids and their interests and hobbies, I was having a good time. Some of the bureaucracy stuff worked for me, too, as did aspects of the romance.
The biggest issue with this book is a lack of real, deep, thoughtful worldbuilding. We have no idea why things are the way that they are. There is a magical underclass, but why are they the underclass? What sociopolitical happenings created this regime? What justifications were used by those in power? We really only see the world through the eyes of 1) bureaucracy and 2) the main characters in this book, which means that the scope is small and it should be able to work with limited worldbuilding. Unfortunately, Klune writes in a lot of wider-reaching implications that made it impossible for me not to ask questions, and this is the sort of world where everything falls apart if you poke it a little bit.
TJ Klune has stated that he was "inspired by residential schools" (among other influences) in the writing of this book. I find that incredibly weird of him. Any reading of the children as indigenous-coded immediately further highlights the way that they are used to further the character development of the white protagonist. It also shows a shocking lack of care on the part of the author. If he wanted to use such a horrifying aspect of real-world history to inform some of his worldbuilding choices, then he should have actually committed to confronting those horrors, but he does not, and several parts of the book left a bad taste in my mouth.
Another sign of this book's poor worldbuilding is the total lack of thought put into ways that world history and culture might look different given the presence of magical creatures. You mean to tell me that no magical being has written a hit song? That no US presidents were elected based on their policy regarding magical people? As if. Maybe this vaguery would have worked if the world itself were clearly different from our own, but it wasn't. Don McLean's "American Pie" canonically exists, as do multiple other real-world songs and figures, and absolutely nothing about them is different. Lazy! So lazy! If you're writing fantasy oppression, you HAVE to think through your metaphors and how your marginalized fantasy people interact with the world as a whole. You HAVE to. And it feels like TJ Klune just had no interest in interacting with or developing his own world beyond the main characters and their direct experiences, and I think that's a real shame.
Overall, the parts that worked for me worked really well, and I genuinely enjoyed reading most of this book, but the utter thoughtlessness of the worldbuilding and influences cannot be overstated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Fatphobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement and Violence
nyantastic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, and Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Homophobia, and Death of parent
htc's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
This book is a treasure. It’s a beautiful story about a guy just doing his job who has self isolated so long he doesn’t even realize he’s lonely. He is great at staying uninvolved, being neutral, reporting a high degree of detail, and not questioning orders. Because he’s so good at his job (inspecting “orphanages” where children with magical powers are raised), he is given a special task by “extremely upper management”: to inspect an extremely classified “orphanage” on a remote island where children of unimaginable powers reside. The month he spends on the island with the children and their caretakers changes him in ways that lifted my spirits and made me laugh out loud. A great book for pre-teens, teenagers, and adults of all ages. I’d love to see this done as a movie. The best part: there’s also a sequel now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Confinement, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
kat_smith24's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Xenophobia
Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment