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A review by liamliayaum
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
5.0
Content Warnings: Bullying, child abuse, confinement, racism, xenophobia
Linus Baker is a by the book, no questions asked sort of person. He has no intention to reach above his means or abilities, merely looking at a situation and only seeing facts. This quality suits him in his line of work as a caseworker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, or DICOMY. A comma never out of place in his reports, Linus is summoned by Extremely Upper Management to assess if a highly secretive orphanage on a faraway island is up to par. Not knowing what to expect, due to the lack of any substantial details, Linus meets the peculiar Arthur Parnassus and his handful of charges, which results in numerous shocks to him both good and bad. What will Linus' evaluation be? Will the children and their guardian show Linus that the world isn't just black and white or will Linus continue on his fact finding emotionless reporting path?
Besides struggling to get into the story at the beginning (this sat in my pile of books I was reading for quite awhile), I was soon entranced by the characters. They were descriptive, loveable, and relatable, even if they were mostly some amalgamation of human and magical being. Much like Linus, the children wormed their way into my heart with the joys and their trials and their humanity: Talia was fierce and snarky; Chauncey was pure and lighthearted; Sal was shy and poetic; Theodore was loving and made you smile; Phee was kind protective; Lucy was humorous and diabolical.
This book was precious and all I wanted was for it to never end. It was heartwarming and when I was finally done, a few tears escaped my eyes from the joy of being able to experience this book. The House in the Cerulean Sea gives new meaning to the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover."
Rating: 5/5 gloriously gay stars
Linus Baker is a by the book, no questions asked sort of person. He has no intention to reach above his means or abilities, merely looking at a situation and only seeing facts. This quality suits him in his line of work as a caseworker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, or DICOMY. A comma never out of place in his reports, Linus is summoned by Extremely Upper Management to assess if a highly secretive orphanage on a faraway island is up to par. Not knowing what to expect, due to the lack of any substantial details, Linus meets the peculiar Arthur Parnassus and his handful of charges, which results in numerous shocks to him both good and bad. What will Linus' evaluation be? Will the children and their guardian show Linus that the world isn't just black and white or will Linus continue on his fact finding emotionless reporting path?
Besides struggling to get into the story at the beginning (this sat in my pile of books I was reading for quite awhile), I was soon entranced by the characters. They were descriptive, loveable, and relatable, even if they were mostly some amalgamation of human and magical being. Much like Linus, the children wormed their way into my heart with the joys and their trials and their humanity: Talia was fierce and snarky; Chauncey was pure and lighthearted; Sal was shy and poetic; Theodore was loving and made you smile; Phee was kind protective; Lucy was humorous and diabolical.
This book was precious and all I wanted was for it to never end. It was heartwarming and when I was finally done, a few tears escaped my eyes from the joy of being able to experience this book. The House in the Cerulean Sea gives new meaning to the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover."
Rating: 5/5 gloriously gay stars