Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by i_love_big_books
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
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? No
5.0
The best way to describe how this book made me feel is to say it filled me with warmth; it really did. Definitely one of the most heartwarming stories I have ever read. Totally magical and enchanting!
Just like the cover and the images evoked by cerulean blue.
Linus Baker who will definitely be on my list of favourite fictional people forever, is the kind of person who is so much more than he knows himself to be. Sent to check on the orphanage on Marsyas Island by the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) whom he works for, he is unprepared for the feelings the 6 children on the island arouse in him. They may be magical beings;a garden gnome, a forest sprite,a wyvern,a shifter, one of as yet unknown magic and even an Antichrist child,but he sees past that to the innocence and the simple everyday dreams beneath the surface. He sees how fiercely Arthur Parnassus, the master of the orphanage, loves and protects them. As he gets pulled further into their orbit, the rules and regulations he lives by seem unimportant and the children and Arthur, even with the mysterious something about him that Linus does not yet know fully, become his world.
For as Arthur Parnassus says, 'The world is a wierd and wonderful place. Why must we try and explain it all away?' The perceptions that are drummed into us need not define how we think. We can and should look beyond the defined boundaries and accept the marvels that we find.
Filled with fun, lightness and colour, the story touches upon how humans fear what we don't understand and seek to isolate ourselves from it. It is an ode to those who may look different and have abilities the rest of us don't but nevertheless deserve to be loved just like us. It is about believing in something and standing up for it; making a home with the people we surround ourselves with and choose to love.
This is a world that totally charmed me and I didn't want to get out of it. A book that left a smile on my face after i read the last page. A must read.
One of the many beautiful quote worthy lines in the book, profound because it is so elegantly simple..
"We should always make time for the things we like. If we don’t, we might forget how to be happy."
Just like the cover and the images evoked by cerulean blue.
Linus Baker who will definitely be on my list of favourite fictional people forever, is the kind of person who is so much more than he knows himself to be. Sent to check on the orphanage on Marsyas Island by the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) whom he works for, he is unprepared for the feelings the 6 children on the island arouse in him. They may be magical beings;a garden gnome, a forest sprite,a wyvern,a shifter, one of as yet unknown magic and even an Antichrist child,but he sees past that to the innocence and the simple everyday dreams beneath the surface. He sees how fiercely Arthur Parnassus, the master of the orphanage, loves and protects them. As he gets pulled further into their orbit, the rules and regulations he lives by seem unimportant and the children and Arthur, even with the mysterious something about him that Linus does not yet know fully, become his world.
For as Arthur Parnassus says, 'The world is a wierd and wonderful place. Why must we try and explain it all away?' The perceptions that are drummed into us need not define how we think. We can and should look beyond the defined boundaries and accept the marvels that we find.
Filled with fun, lightness and colour, the story touches upon how humans fear what we don't understand and seek to isolate ourselves from it. It is an ode to those who may look different and have abilities the rest of us don't but nevertheless deserve to be loved just like us. It is about believing in something and standing up for it; making a home with the people we surround ourselves with and choose to love.
This is a world that totally charmed me and I didn't want to get out of it. A book that left a smile on my face after i read the last page. A must read.
One of the many beautiful quote worthy lines in the book, profound because it is so elegantly simple..
"We should always make time for the things we like. If we don’t, we might forget how to be happy."