the house in the cerulean sea by TJ Klune

9th book of 2021

Reading period: Jan 17th 2021 – Jan 20th 2021

Summary

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.

Rating

Review

I started this book and couldn’t stop to read it. You dive into it from the first word to the last one.

The element that gives this feeling is the characters: the good ones, the “bad” ones, adults or children.
As you follow Linus (which is the main character), you have his thought and movements which help you to see him evolve through the whole book. This evolution is well-done, and it goes with the environment, which has a great place in this story.

The Marsyas Island Orphanage is like a timeless place, which makes you forget some story element, and when you remember them, it’s heartbreaking. This feeling of timelessness is also present thanks to the characters who live there. It was like spending time in a summer camp with a lot of unique people. Their personalities are so different, especially for the children. They are what we could imagine for their creature type but so human and sometimes more human than some humans present in this book.

While you read this book, you get through many feelings, happiness, sadness, and comfort, but in the end, you found a new family and don’t want this book to stop.

I cannot wait to read more from TJ Klune, and I will definitely preorder his next one.

Liz.