bloop 's review for:

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

3.0

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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I'm still pretty ambivalent about this book, but I do have to say that most of my thoughts fall on the more positive end. All the characters really pull on your heartstrings, and I think TJ Klune does a great job at giving all of them very distinct personalities. I believe this book is a bit too preachy for my taste, and the allegory is too in-your-face and obvious. Klune abolishes any sense of subtlety in his writing...  There is a scene in the book that alludes to this fact, so it may be done purposefully, but that doesn't make it any less banal. Definitely too overhyped on BookTok. For the majority of the time, The House in the Cerulean Sea teeters between corny and... sophisticated (not sure if this is the most correct term?), making it difficult for me to keep a consistent perspective while reading the book. I still think the overall message over the novel is important, and I ended up rooting for all of the characters, but it was hard to escape the stale taste in my mouth that was left after I finished this book.