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julleah's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
trapdorr's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
4.5
Started a little slow/boring but I know that was the point to show to contrast the children made on his life and perspective. It was a really well done representation of “found family.” Got me teary at the end. They’re good kids.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Abandonment
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Homophobia
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
bipoc_reading's review against another edition
Fuck this author trying to make money off Indigenous trauma.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Racism
zw_r1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
5.0
Best book I’ve read in a long time. It is so heartwarming and wholesome - can’t recommend it enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Racism
ladybug12793's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
3.5
A warm-hearted and whimsical book with a great message but everything felt too surface level. Good for children or middle grade. I wanted to love this book, but found it difficult to get all the way through. I liked it, but I didn’t love it like I expected I was going to.
Like others have said, I think this would make for a great children’s show or movie. I think it would translate better that way. I do not recommend the audio. I still plan on reading the sequel and hope I enjoy it more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse
margaret_k30's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Racism
alyssaszuch's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Racism