Special Edition, 412 pages
English language
Published Sept. 9, 2024 by Tor Books.
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.
But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus …
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.
But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.
An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
Oh, to be a man pining for gentle love despite all odds. Books don’t usually make me swoon like this one did.
First quarter so slow I nearly quit.
Half way, annoyed at belabouring a point.
3/4 interested but still this is not a subtle book and repeats itself too much.
The ending ohhh that ending so sweet and nice it nearly made up for everything else.
Sweet, gentle, uplifting, and incidentally an LGBTQ+ romance. I'll sleep with a smile tonight.
https://bookloverssanctuary.com/2020/12/29/book-review-the-house-in-the-cerulean-sea-t-j-klune/
I adore this book.
Heartwarming and heartfelt- fell in love with (nearly) each and every character. Highly recommend the audiobook, it's read beautifully by Daniel Henning.
Sooo charming, I wasn't sure I'd like this book but ended up finishing it in a couple days, it was a ray of sunshine. What an adorable cast of characters.
I wanted to like this more than I did. The characters and world building were fantastic, but I was sometimes distracted by the message being told by the story, which pulled me out. And I resent that. Still...I totally ship Arthur and Linus.
Best book I've read in a while. Broke my heart to pieces and put it back together again. So very beautiful, so achingly true. Every moment is so vivid, seared into my brain. I can't wait until I reread it, and next time I'll be marking my favorite passages and maybe making some art based on them, because - god I need more of this world and these characters in my life.
It is the sign of a talented and creative author when they can take the subject of child abuse, the other and prejudice and wraps it in a charming, positive and heart-warming package. In a nutshell, that's what The House in the Cerulean Sea is and it not only does it do it successfully, but with flying colours!
At the highest level, it is the story of a downtrodden government worker that excels at being objective being sent to spy and judge a group of magical children and their caretaker in the country. From the beginning it gives similar vibes as to the Series of Unfortunate Events series. It has a charm and a wit that contradicts scenes and themes that are generally negative and fairly serious.
The story follows the worker as he goes through a journey of self discovery, realising that the strict guidelines he has adhered to …
It is the sign of a talented and creative author when they can take the subject of child abuse, the other and prejudice and wraps it in a charming, positive and heart-warming package. In a nutshell, that's what The House in the Cerulean Sea is and it not only does it do it successfully, but with flying colours!
At the highest level, it is the story of a downtrodden government worker that excels at being objective being sent to spy and judge a group of magical children and their caretaker in the country. From the beginning it gives similar vibes as to the Series of Unfortunate Events series. It has a charm and a wit that contradicts scenes and themes that are generally negative and fairly serious.
The story follows the worker as he goes through a journey of self discovery, realising that the strict guidelines he has adhered to have limited him and he begins to grow while learning about the children, their special abilities and their caretaker. It shows how prejudice can grow, how on an individual and societal level we can get locked into bubbles of assumptions and preconceived notions.
The story never loses its positive charm throughout even when handling delicate and disturbing situations, it works to bring it all together in a way that makes you resonate and sympathize with each of the characters in the book.
From beginning to end I enjoyed it, it is wistful and creates a world that is vague in details but filled to the brim with questions and relevance. The relentless positivity that is baked into the core concepts of the story never falter and every page reveals something new and thought provoking!
Haven't shed so many happy tears for a book in a long time (even if this isn't my genre at all).
I originally gave this a 4.5 but I updated it to a 1 upon learning that this was based on (or at least partially inspired by) the Sixties Scoop, an decades-spanning event in which thousands of Indigenous children in Canada were forcibly removed from their homes and adopted elsewhere. That real-world context makes the "these orphans have powers" marginalization plot into a fantasy version of a real-world genocide. I'd waffled on whether to even bring up implications about race in the original review since the book seemed like it was trying to be about queerness rather than ethnicity, but it's horrible that it is actually about a major series of events in a racially/ethnically motivated genocide that hasn't really stopped in the present day. It also perpetuates a long-standing and racist tradition of depicting Indigenous people as magical or otherworldly, in this case many of the kids are literally inhuman. …
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. If you're looking for some sunshine this is the book for you. Its kind and fun. But also a bit predictable.
An unexpected read, but extremely charming.
Soft and Lovely!
i cried happy tears. twice.
