Mr. Parnassus' Heim für magisch Begabte

I'm sorry, but I just don't want to read any more books in which the main character is made fun of from the very first sentence. Where every sentence is an insult to idiosyncrasies and where power imbalances are used as a joke. I didn't get past the first few chapters.

Now I've read in retrospect what the book is based on (inspired by the Sixties Scoop). And thus, another even stronger no. How does one come up with the idea of writing something like that? The story is not cosy, treatment of the main character is not cosy, the background story is so much not cosy.

Linus Baker is a caseworker for the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth where he has progressed little over his quiet life. Each time inspecting orphanages of magical youth, he rigorously applies the RULES AND REGULATIONS that guides how magical people should be handled in this world of quiet but persistent discrimination. What becomes of the children in the orphanages he issues a negative report on, he has never quite considered. 

His life of quiet compliance is interrupted when he is given a confidential case from Extremely Upper Management, who’s taken note of his rigorous application of the rules. A remote island orphanage that is home to six children classified as extremely dangerous including “a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist” under the tutelage of a headmaster who has little regard for rules and regulations.

During Linus’ stay, he starts to see beyond the classifications ascribed by the department to see the beautiful dreams and gentle souls the children have. Little risk comes from the playful antichrist, the nearby villagers on the other hand pose a far more menacing threat thanks to the department’s ever-present fearmongering. And as he comes to care for the children, Linus begins to fall for their tender-hearted headmaster.

I found this incredibly sweet and hopeful in how it wove together this found family creating safety for each other to heal in the face of a world that doesn’t accept them. It might come across to sweet or YA for some people, but it gave me a lot of comfort and smiles given how stressful the world is at the moment. 

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked this book up, but it turned out to be a charming gay romance story but also so much more.

Sweet romantic queer dramedy with charming magical children. My only two complaints are that the general course of the plot was predictable from quite near the beginning and that the Underlying Message was conveyed entirely without subtlety. It's a good message, mind you, but I prefer the moral of the story to be offered rather than being hot over the head with it. But it's a fun and quick read and I definitely recommend it.

Un libro que me compré en un aeropuerto, por leer algo mientras mi avión se retrasaba. Y menuda maravilla.

Es una historia muy tierna, con humor a veces sutil, a veces desternillante. Unos personajes que te dan ganas de abrazar todo el rato y, creo que lo que más me gusta, unes niñes que puedes creerte. En definitiva, personajes con buen diseño.

La historia, pese a ser previsible, te hace disfrutar del viaje. Que al final, es de lo que se trata. Me gusta el slow burn, me gusta la representación positiva que hace (de hecho, me encanta que la orientación de la gente no suponga ningún drama, los dramas van por otro lado) y una reflexión interesante sobre la bondad humana. ¿Se nace o se hace?

No sé si estaba más tierna de lo habitual, pero me ha gustado mucho. Tanto, que me he hecho una lista de música con las canciones del libro.