Scan barcode
witcheep's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
Kirja tuo esiin ennakkoluulojen kohtaamista ja erilaisuuden – ei vain hyväksymistä, vaan myös – arvostamista saarnaamatta. Taustalla pilkistelee tämän tästä ajatus siitä, että jokaista tulisi arvostaa omana itsenään, ja jokaista tulisi pitää keskenään tasa-arvoisena henkilönä eroavuuksista riippumatta. Näitä teemoja tarkastellaan kirjassa sekä yksilötason kokemuksina että laajemmin yhteiskunnallisena ongelmana.
Maagisiin henkilöihin tutustuminen pakottaa päähenkilö Linus Bakerin tarkastelemaan omia käsityksiään ja asenteitaan uudessa valossa:
"Vaikka te ette kohtaakaan ennakkoluuloja jokapäiväisessä elämässänne, se ei estä niitä esiintymästä meidän muiden elämässä."
Ennakkoluulot erilaisuutta kohtaan satuttavat kaikkia. Jos Linus ei olisi ollut valmis kuulemaan muita ja yrittämään elää sopuisasti, hän olisi jäänyt paitsi monista hienoista asioista aina rakkaista henkilöistä ja paikoista onnellisempaan elämään. Linus ei siis voi enää sulkea silmiään ongelmalta, joka koskettaa hänelle tärkeitä henkilöitä.
Linusta – ja samalla lukijaa – herätellään siihen, että itselle tärkeät ihmiset voivat löytyä sattumaltakin, ja heidän puoliaan on pidettävä sen sijaan, että eläisi itse tyytyväisenä kuplassaan vain itsestään ja kaltaisistaan välittäen:
"Koti ei aina ole se talo, jossa asuu. Se on myös ihmiset, joilla päätämme ympäröidä itsemme. [--] Sinun kuplasi, mr. Baker, on puhkaistu. Miksi antaisit sen kasvaa takaisin ympärillesi?"
Teos pyrkii herättelemään lukijaa siihen, että kun silmät on yksilötasolla avattu läheisten elämään vaikuttavalle ongelmalle, on yhteiskunnallisen vaikuttamisen aika: tulisi pyrkiä kohti maailmaa, jossa jokainen voi olla turvallisesti oma itsensä ja sellaisena arvokas sekä tasavertainen yhteiskunnan jäsen. Teoksen viesti on, että muutos kohti tätä parempaa maailmaa lähtee yksittäisistä henkilöistä ja kuka tahansa voi vaikuttaa. Vaikka viesti esitetään fantasiamaailman erilaisten maagisten olentojen kohdalla, se on erityisen tärkeä myös nykypäivän arkitodellisuudessa, joka etenkin somessa kuplautuu ja polarisoituu hyvin herkästi.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Racism
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
astrangewind's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.75
The House in the Cerulean Sea is a gem of a book, & TJ Klune is a gem of an author.
Being queer & autistic, I have often felt othered throughout my life by virtue of who I am. The story of Arthur Parnassus & his wards teaches us that it's not who we're born to, or what we are, that defines us; it's how we treat others. & poor, misguided Linus Baker teaches us that it's never too late to change your mind, to learn to accept, to love, to let color into your life despite said color turning your world upside down.
Truly, Linus learns what really matters and where he belongs, casting aside his grey, corporate existence & finding his stride. He learns to love those who are different, & to use his connections (& newfound confidence) to keep them safe.
Klune's love stories, too, are flawlessly executed. As a queer person, it's important for me to see representation, but not just any representation - representation that's kind, & whole, & free of tragedy. The central love story (Linus & Arthur, though that's not hard to guess) isn't a story of coming out, or being hurt, or being discriminated against for their queerness; it's as normal as any non-queer relationship, & so little attention is drawn to the fact that they like men. It's so necessary to have queer stories where queerness is normalized.
This same principle shows up with the children, too. Talia - a female gnome, who is also a child - has a beard, as she should. I'm also a big fan of media where the dragons (or wyverns) are friends instead of enemies. Everything that the children are is normalized.Truly, I don't think anyone else would've been able to pull off the Antichrist bit, too.
While I did love this book, it started to drag its feet by the end. It seems like the last quarter of it was just characters monologuing at each other, and then the other side just magically changing their minds after being lectured. (I do love a happy ending, but I love a realistic happy ending more.) It just moved so slowly, & was extremely heavy-handed in terms of the message. This was perhaps intentional, but the book was doing fine getting across the message without the monologuing. Reminds me of trying to hit an essay word count in high school. Really, though, this is a minor thing in comparison with the rest of the book, which I deeply, deeply, enjoyed.
Being queer & autistic, I have often felt othered throughout my life by virtue of who I am. The story of Arthur Parnassus & his wards teaches us that it's not who we're born to, or what we are, that defines us; it's how we treat others. & poor, misguided Linus Baker teaches us that it's never too late to change your mind, to learn to accept, to love, to let color into your life despite said color turning your world upside down.
Truly, Linus learns what really matters and where he belongs, casting aside his grey, corporate existence & finding his stride. He learns to love those who are different, & to use his connections (& newfound confidence) to keep them safe.
Klune's love stories, too, are flawlessly executed. As a queer person, it's important for me to see representation, but not just any representation - representation that's kind, & whole, & free of tragedy. The central love story (
This same principle shows up with the children, too. Talia - a female gnome, who is also a child - has a beard, as she should. I'm also a big fan of media where the dragons (or wyverns) are friends instead of enemies. Everything that the children are is normalized.
While I did love this book, it started to drag its feet by the end. It seems like the last quarter of it was just characters monologuing at each other, and then the other side just magically changing their minds after being lectured. (I do love a happy ending, but I love a realistic happy ending more.) It just moved so slowly, & was extremely heavy-handed in terms of the message. This was perhaps intentional, but the book was doing fine getting across the message without the monologuing. Reminds me of trying to hit an essay word count in high school. Really, though, this is a minor thing in comparison with the rest of the book, which I deeply, deeply, enjoyed.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Genocide, Hate crime, Torture, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
milesdrn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Xenophobia, and Abandonment
panopticemu's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I cried. 10/10 would cry again.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Xenophobia, and Abandonment
This book is written in a hopeful tone, with many loveable characters doing their best to foster love and kindness in a world full of hatred for anything and anyone that doesn't conform to their societal norms. Any mention of the above triggers is consistently dealt with in a very respectful way, acknowledging their existence in the world, and encouraging the reader to remain hopeful and keep doing what they can to foster kindness and inclusivity wherever they can regardless of the situation.marmalade_and_books's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
tense
slow-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
4.75
A slow read for me, but so incredibly charming. Whoever said this book is like a warm hug was absolutely correct. It reminded me of all the joys that come with working with kids and drove home that they deserve to live and thrive, not merely survive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Racism, and Abandonment
foxclcves's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime and Racism
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
nz_elle's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
gemloukay's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Linus Baker is a Case Worker for the Department of Magical Youth, whose job it is to inspect the Orphanages where they often live. When he gets sent on a special assignment by Extremely Upper Management, he finds himself on an island with some very special and potentially very dangerous youngsters, and the master of their home, Arthur Pernassus. But as he gets to know them all, he must decide between his head and his heart.
A beautiful story, full of hope and plenty of heart. I adored both the story and the characters, and can’t wait to read the sequel.
A beautiful story, full of hope and plenty of heart. I adored both the story and the characters, and can’t wait to read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Violence
mariahmmm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
A world of dismal grey becomes cerulean for Mr Linus Baker when he is assigned to assess the suitability of a Level 4 orphanage that houses dangerous magical children.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Cursing
rachelpacz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, and Xenophobia
Minor: Confinement