Scan barcode
A review by onyxisalive
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
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
3.75
On a purely surface level this book was a very enjoyable, cozy and fluffy fantasy read. I enjoyed reading it and the characters are well written and extremely likeable.
However, there is quite a controversy surrounding this book due to the author using the sixties scoop in Canda as source material. It complicates things quite a lot as it brings up the question of if it was this authors story to tell.
Although I don’t believe it was the authors intention it can come across like he is comparing indigenous people to magical creatures- which leaves a poor taste in your mouth.Linus being the bridge between the children and the village kind of came across like a white saviour complex, which yet again leaves a poor taste in your mouth
The book was relatively predicatable, but I don’t feel that takes away from it in any sense.
All in all if you take this book at the surface level as a fluffy fantasy story it is really enjoyable. However don’t take this book at all as a story of the sixties scoop in Canda, or an interpretation- just let it be a surface level queer fantasy love story and leave it at that.
However, there is quite a controversy surrounding this book due to the author using the sixties scoop in Canda as source material. It complicates things quite a lot as it brings up the question of if it was this authors story to tell.
Although I don’t believe it was the authors intention it can come across like he is comparing indigenous people to magical creatures- which leaves a poor taste in your mouth.
The book was relatively predicatable, but I don’t feel that takes away from it in any sense.
All in all if you take this book at the surface level as a fluffy fantasy story it is really enjoyable. However don’t take this book at all as a story of the sixties scoop in Canda, or an interpretation- just let it be a surface level queer fantasy love story and leave it at that.
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Cultural appropriation