Reviews with content warning for Violence - The House in the Cerulean Sea

Absolutely superb story driven by Amazon characters and what it means to understand who we are and seeing beyond the things that divide us to the people beneath.

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readandfindout's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars

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izzywoo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

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solenodon's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Cute at times but ultimately lots of critiques

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stubbornjerk's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book reads like a dated children's movie that feels as whimsical as Klaus and tries very hard to be progressive. It's been touted as a YA novel and as difficult as some of these topics might be for more children, marking it for YA while having older white men as protagonists seems like a stretch. At best, it's middle grade.

I appreciate its blunt cartoonish-ness though, it suspends your disbelief for a while. An orphanage for difficult, magical children visited by a dull, old caseworker who does his best to do right by them. His world gets a little less dull when meeting the unorthodox orphanage at Marsyas and its owner (or, master, however weird that sounds on paper). It writes itself like a rom-com, and it kind of is. A really cartoonish, quirky, and charming rom-com with a lot of little kids running around.

I found myself growing to like this book even after the initial chapters. It was slow-going at first, and the turn wasn't as subtle as it was fast. The narration itself wanting both to put us in Linus' head (especially in cases of extreme anxiety) while also keeping us out of it (in this case, when he starts warming up to the children).

A little nitpick of mine while reading this book was that I couldn't place its time period or place. It deems itself to be placed in the South but the speech patterns for some were suggestively British. There are scenes where it suggests that it is set in the present (record stores telling one of the children that they liked old music and the existence of computers), but Linus still has to send correspondences and reports through the post and if it were placed in America, the speech patterns would also suggest that this would technically be a period piece on top of its magical realism.

It all comes to a head during the later chapters, when Arthur and Linus talk about how Arthur is the first magical being to ever have run their own orphanage and that he was silenced and prohibited from revealing it. Holding the suggestion that of all the years these institutions have existed not a single activist group had arisen. Linus talks of magical beings in professional roles but says nothing of activist groups or names any.

Again, this is a cartoonish rom-com of a children's-not-YA book banking on the fiction of a fake marginalized group, but so maybe expecting it to be a little less like that would be disingenuous. The criticism exists though.

Here, on the other hand are some very problematic things I found about it:

That the concept of children in homes like these were allegorical to the abduction and institutionalization of Indigenous children is a tad concerning, seeing as there is not a single child of color.
There's a lot of rampant fatphobia in this book, coming from the narrative character and the people he used to work with.
There were a lot of Whoopi Epiphany Speeches that kind of feel awkward.
We also have a Black woman who fulfills a caretaker role
and is a being of magic
, and though the book doesn't treat her badly, one should be mindful of the fallings of tropes like these.

Overall, despite its flaws, it's a cheesy rom-com of a book that reads like a dated children's movie on the vein of Klaus and maybe a bit of The Parent Trap. It is what it is and despite all of that, is kind of stronger than the sum of its parts.

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sophiethebookishturtle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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 am but paper. Brittle and thin. I am held up to the sun, and it shines right through me. I get written on, and I can never be used again. These scratches are a history. They’re a story. They tell things for others to read, but they only see the words, and not what the words are written upon. I am but paper, and though there are many like me, none are exactly the same. I am parched parchment. I have lines. I have holes. Get me wet, and I melt. Light me on fire, and I burn. Take me in hardened hands, and I crumple. I tear. I am but paper. Brittle and thin.”

What a ride... I did not expect this to have such an impact on me. The premise was interesting enough for me to read, but I thought that it would be the usual 3-4 star reads. This book was absolutely beautiful. From the moment I began reading, it had this whimsical feeling. With every word and action done by each character, I had this animated style of enactment in my brain. Or perhaps, a live-action enactment in the style of "A Series of Unfortunate Events". I would love for this book to be adapted into a film :)

My heart was in a constant state of awe as I read this book due to how pure and wonderfully written it was. The dialogue, the actions, and how the characters were portrayed were perfectly splendid and nuanced. I have categorized this as an adult book due to the main character's age, however I believe that this is suitable for all ages. The messages in this book are ones that all ages may relate to and carry as tools in their daily lives. They don't sound pretentious and were written in such a simple way for all ages to understand while also giving that sparkle, that impact. Each character, all of which had made permanent homes in my heart, were also given the right amount of attention and loving by the author. I understood why Linus did what he did, and I would have done the same. Those kids deserve good things, no matter their differences or qualities.

This book is different from what I would usually read. I mostly look for action, thrill, and mystery. Despite my preferences, I still absolutely loved this. I found no faults in this book and would be glad to say that it is now one of my favorites of all time. TJ Klune, I'll be looking out for your other novels ;)

In one sentence: A comforting and feel-good book to read with valuable lessons to carry for life.

Rating: 5 stars, chef's kiss

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