Review: Caring for Your Clown Book Three: Letting Go of Things by Oleander Blume
Read April 23-30
Overview
Caring for Your Clown Book Three: Letting Go of Things (276pg) is a young adult contemporary sci-fi novel following Oliver and his friends as they attempt to navigate various traumas, investigate strange occurrences, and look for ways to stop the evil alien clowns.
Rating and Review
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.
While I found this book a little harder to get into than the first two (which, I feel is important to note, is only due to a certain missing character), it was just as exciting and packed with terror and devastation.
The plot twists! The suspense! The character growth!
And, of course, the ending!!
Nothing could have prepared me for the way this book played out.
Something I really need people to understand is that while this series is classed as sci-fi, it’s not a very sci-fi kind of book. Yes, there are alien clowns and there’s fancy technology and occasionally other space stuff, but it’s largely a contemporary with sci-fi elements and features. It’s set in a town, following some teenagers in high school, and… there just happens to be a group of alien clowns up to sneaky things in the middle of it.
So if you’re avoiding this book because of the sci-fi label, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Really though, the character growth in this series is huge, but in this book in particular we get to see quite a lot of change in some of the characters. We also get a little bit more insight into the lives of some of the side characters, which is exciting and interesting, but also helps us understand them a little better and recognise why they are the way they are.
There were also a lot of really clever hints about things to come or things that are happening scattered through the first two books that I completely missed and am now very excited to go back and find next time I read them.
Reading this book and every few chapters something happens that has me going “I am both terrified and intrigued by this” is possibly the most accurate way I can describe my experience with the series.
While I want to see this series get more recognition, I do think it’s important to note that it’s quite dark. Yes, there are some sweet moments, but it is, overall, an exploration of trauma and a deep-dive into the effects trauma can have on a person and on their life, so… y’know… don’t take those content warnings lightly.
Content warnings
- abuse (physical, emotional, psychological)
- childhood sexual abuse and assault
- miscarriage mentions
- bullying
- transphobia
- medical abuse
- suicidal ideation
- panic attacks and anxiety
- depictions of drug use
- death
Who I’d recommend this to
If a series with a largely queer cast, alien clowns, and lots of trauma sounds good to you, check this one out. Especially if you’re in the mood for an emotional rollercoaster and things that will hurt to read (be sure to have those tissues handy).
See also: hurt/comfort, grumpy/sunshine, ending that might ruin you & contribute to those trust issues