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thatchickengirl23'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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Genocide and Sexual content
mariahmmm'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
4.0
This was a beautiful heartbreaking story of hatred born from fear, love and it's gentle change, and a man slowly becoming undone.
One star deducted because the story was inspired by the forced institutionalisation of native children in residential schools, and turning this trauma into a fantasy, with naive solutions and a magical happy ending to what is a complex problem, felt nonchalant. I do think, however, that this kind of story needs to be told to show how unintentionally ignorant we can be by sticking to the narrow viewpoint we've been told to live within- the rules and regulations we become accustomed to living by.
Graphic: Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Cursing
loriley'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? It's complicated
4.5
Loved the kids characters and the style of magical powers in a mundane and prejudiced world. Klune does a wonderful job of creating vibrant lovable characters. This is definitely a character driven story more than a plot driven story. Most of the story movement being Linus the MC’s change in his perception of magical people and his job at DICOMY.
My main issue for this book was the plot resolution felt very grade school fiction book-esque. There was a problem, then with little work it’s resolved. It felt anti-climactic.
Additionally, I wish the setting was a little more flushed out. What was the history of DICOMY/DICOMA and how it started. The vague history between Arthur and Mr. Handsome seemed like it was going to be super important to the plot but then wasn’t (or was, I’m unclear).
I did love the relationships that Linus developed with each of the children; especially his relationship with Lucy as his fear turns to love and indulgence.
Moderate: Child abuse and Confinement
Minor: Cursing, Genocide, and Hate crime
emptzuu's review against another edition
The author himself acknowledged this in a quote:
“I didn’t want to co-opt, you know, a history that wasn’t mine. I’m a cis white dude, so I can’t ever really go through something like what those children had to go through. So I sat down and I was like, I’m just going to write this as a fantasy.”
Despite being fully aware of the sensitive nature of the history he was touching upon, Klune created a story that trivializes the real and ongoing suffering of Indigenous children and their communities. These children were forcibly separated from their families and subjected to torture, sexual abuse, and murder as part of cultural genocide. Klune profits from a narrative that glosses over the severe and lasting impacts of these atrocities, which continued into the mid-1990s, on Indigenous people who still face systemic oppression today.
Additionally, the book is quite depressing. It follows a lonely man with a miserable life, working in a toxic environment, and disliked by everyone around him—including his cat, boss, coworkers, neighbors, and even the bus driver. He lives in a perpetually rainy city and perpetually forgets his umbrella. This gloomy narrative is masked in overly sweet language, lacking any nuance or real consideration of historical and systemic oppression.
Graphic: Genocide and Racism
iane_reads'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
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, and Gaslighting
Minor: Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
linde13'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
5.0
I bought this one immediately after I read it.
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, and Fatphobia
Minor: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
I added the body shaming/fatphobia tags because Linus is sensitive about his own weight for most of the book. Nobody else comments on it, except for the kids in a matter-of-fact and non-insulting way. Everything else is merely alluded to, either by Lucy (the Antichrist character) in comments that he makes for shock value that are all played for laughs (Blood/Body horror/Gore/Cannibalism) or as part of characters' backstories (Child abuse/Confinement/Death of parent/Genocide/Physical abuse).fanboyriot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Links:
Source: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A617930246/ITBC?u=uvictoria&sid=bookmark-ITBC&xid=0efbabda
Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixties_Scoop
Helpful Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4032060130
Another Helpful Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3601407534
Rep: Achillean, Queer MC
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
barefootbetsy'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
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Genocide
Minor: Death of parent
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: Genocide and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment
amberrenfrey'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
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail