📚 102/100 (2024 Reading Goal)
📖 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙖
✍️ 𝗧𝗝 𝗞𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗲
🎧 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: Story,
𝗧𝗝 𝗞𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗲: Introduction, Acknowledgements
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱:
All the same characters from the previous book + new ones, created family, story from Arthur’s perspective, queer representation, humor, perseverance, love

𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲(𝘀):
“I won’t lie to you. The road ahead will not be smooth. No matter what I—we say, there will always be those who refuse to accept the truth. They surround themselves with like-minded people, and it creates an echo chamber that’s nigh on impossible to escape. A feedback loop that never ends.”

“But I believe the greatest weapon we have at our disposal is our voices. And I am going to use my voice for you, and for me. Hate is loud. We are louder.”

“That’s the funny thing about those in power. They underestimate everyone beneath them, even knowing their secrets are heard by someone.”

“You have to trust me. Trust us. We may be kids, but we’re your kids, Dad. You made us all believe we could do anything. Now you have to trust us to do that.”

“Hope is the thing with feathers, yes, and hope is the thing with fire.”

𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄:
This story, at its heart, is a love letter to the trans community. Yes, it’s a continuation from 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙚𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙎𝙚𝙖, but there’s a beautiful and powerful message embedded in every single page. TJ Klune has something to say about the hate he sees towards transgender peoples, and he is shouting at the people in the back.

It’s like a dream returning to Marsyas Island; these characters have felt like family to me and I loved getting to visit the inhabitants once again! There’s a magical child that has been in hiding, and Arthur and Linus want to be David’s forever home. But David has had a very difficult life and trust will not come easy.

Besides working on making David feel safe and integrating him into their family, the adults on Marsyas Island also have to contend with the new director of DICOMY. Jeanine Rowder has made it her mission to ruin Arthur’s reputation as well as remove the children from his and Linus‘s care. Miss Rowder immediately appoints a new case manager to report the goings on on the island in the hopes it will be Arthur’s undoing.

With all these adults going around, making decisions, they forgot to ask the people who this would impact the most, they forgot to remember that there are seven individuals who want to have a say in their life-the children. And the children are tired of being left out of the conversation. The children are going to take matters into their own hands and speak in voice so loud, they will no longer be ignored.

This book made me laugh, this book made me cry, and this book paints such a clear picture of where we are failing our children and where we need to start listening. Hate is not inherent, it is learned, and the adults in the room need to start doing a heck of a lot better if we want to see a world that is inclusive and accepting of all.

Daniel Henning is an incredible narrator, giving each and every child their own voice, identifying each, and every adult in the story. If you listen to the audiobook, there are some fun surprises with how the story is told. Definitely a must listen! TJ Klune also narrates the introduction and the acknowledgments and his voice is incredibly powerful.

Brand	N/A
Rating	4.6 (2587 ratings)
Price	$0.99
Category	Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Books

Somewhere Beyond the Sea: Cerulean Chronicles, Book 2