Scan barcode
A review by skiaphilia
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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
I don't often make time for lengthier, more serious reviews when I'm logging stuff on storygraph, but I have a lot of thoughts about this book.
House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my favorite books. I was a little apprehensive about a follow-up, because it felt pretty self-contained, and I wasn't sure what a sequel would have to say. I *do* think that Somewhere Beyond sort of poked at the limits of what this story can do - in particular, I lost the thread a little when it came to the climax; it felt abrupt, and their solution to the issue of DAICOMY was a little contrived, a little out of place in a relatively grounded conflict. (Ready for a Zoe sequel, though!)
However.
The book really, really shines when it comes to Arthur. This may be in part to the audiobook narrator, Daniel Henning, but whenever things came to a head with him - during the hearing, his breakdown, the epilogue - I held my breath through the entire scene. Learning to come to terms with the deep and terrible anger inside of him, and when to deploy that anger in service of protecting what you love, is a beautiful thing to witness.
I also think that I feel so strongly positive about this book because of how much it loves me - my community - my family. It's fucking hard to be trans right now and it's nice to read a book where the people who matter say "I see you, and even if I don't know what you're going through, I'm here to help." Yeah, Somewhere is often a little heavy handed. It's good for people to be in your face about this; that's what helps us not hide any more.
House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my favorite books. I was a little apprehensive about a follow-up, because it felt pretty self-contained, and I wasn't sure what a sequel would have to say. I *do* think that Somewhere Beyond sort of poked at the limits of what this story can do - in particular, I lost the thread a little when it came to the climax; it felt abrupt, and their solution to the issue of DAICOMY was a little contrived, a little out of place in a relatively grounded conflict. (Ready for a Zoe sequel, though!)
However.
The book really, really shines when it comes to Arthur. This may be in part to the audiobook narrator, Daniel Henning, but whenever things came to a head with him - during the hearing, his breakdown, the epilogue - I held my breath through the entire scene. Learning to come to terms with the deep and terrible anger inside of him, and when to deploy that anger in service of protecting what you love, is a beautiful thing to witness.
I also think that I feel so strongly positive about this book because of how much it loves me - my community - my family. It's fucking hard to be trans right now and it's nice to read a book where the people who matter say "I see you, and even if I don't know what you're going through, I'm here to help." Yeah, Somewhere is often a little heavy handed. It's good for people to be in your face about this; that's what helps us not hide any more.