The House in the Cerulean Sea Review

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.

Review

‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ follows the story of Linus Baker. A social worker designated with the task to evaluate a peculiar orphanage master’s capability to care for its orphans—six dangerous children: a gnome, a wyvern, a sprite, a Pomeranian, an unidentifiable green blob, and an Antichrist.

With its accessible writing style, the book is fairly easy to get through. The pacing of the story is relatively quick as well. It sequences from a certain event with the next chapter or page-cut instantly jumping to an expected point. Most, if not all, of the characters are charming and witty (especially the kids—with their dark humour covered sweet personality). And the setting of the story is well put; giving a distinct separation of ambience.

If there is anything that didn’t vibe with me in this book, it is the fact that the readers are constantly reminded of Mr. Baker’s physique. It guts me every time to the point that I need to stop reading from those parts to take a little breather. Perhaps some saw the beauty of its placement but the way it was translated in the book was (at least for me) a bad execution.

As it might be obvious with the cover, this book is certainly marketed looking like a middle grade book but it is most definitely not one. What it is, though, is a wonderful story of friendship, love, understanding, learning to outgrow your fear, and breaking the barrier of prejudice. Highly recommended!

About the Author

TJ KLUNE is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author (Into This River I Drown) and an ex-claims examiner for an insurance company. His novels include The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Extraordinaries. Being queer himself, TJ believes it’s important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.

2 thoughts on “The House in the Cerulean Sea Review”

  1. Pingback: Top 5 Wednesday: Recent Purchases - Wander with Jon

  2. Pingback: Top 5 Wednesday: Favourite Books of the Year - Wander with Jon

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Get all the latest book reviews and posts sent to your inbox.