The House in the Cerulean Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, 1) Paperback – December 29, 2020

TJ Klune continues to blow me away with his books and this one is simply extraordinary. He’s balanced his amazing and crazy sense of humor (think books like the "Verania" series and "How to Be a Normal Person") and his keen sense of storytelling (the epic "Green Creek" series or the standalone "Murmuration") and created a tale of found family, the importance of kindness and the courage to speak up for those who need it most.The story revolves around Linus Baker, a caseworker with the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He leads a dreary, by-the-book life, checking up on the orphanages under the department’s care and making sure they’re operating by following the extensive guidelines. He’s known for his detailed reports and it’s because of that he’s tasked by Extremely Upper Management to go to the Marsays Island Orphanage to check up on its caretaker, Arthur Parnassus, and the six unique, magical children that live there.Linus’s life changes just going out to the orphanage. He’s always wanted to go to the sea–and that’s where he ends up on an island surrounded by the sea. As he gets away from the city, he gets out of the gloom and rain and into the sun. It’s really a Wizard of Oz moment as his world goes to color from gray. Linus’s journey of self-discovery is the heart–or one of the hearts–of this story and his progression into the light is part of what makes this story so great. He finds that there’s much more to life than rules and regulations. There’s a need for kindness, compassion and understanding.The kids at the orphanage are an incredible array of characters that I think could only spring from TJ mind: Lucy–or Lucifer; Talia the gnome; Chauncey, a green blob with eyes on stalks who just wants to be a bellhop; Sal, a shapeshifter who when nervous becomes a tiny dog; Phee a forest sprite and Theodore, a wyvern who hordes buttons. The kids and Arthur have formed an amazing family. The kids have come here from other orphanages for various reasons and Arthur does his best to protect and teach them. Perhaps most importantly that they don’t necessarily have to be who people think they should be–like Lucy doesn’t have to give in to the idea that he’s the destroyer of the world.Early on Arthur challenges Linus and it really sets Linus off on his journey. “I think if you open your eyes, you’ll see what’s right in front of you rather than what’s listed in a file,” Arthur says. And boy are Linus’s eyes opened. The children are all incredible with their childlike wonder, their massive sense of protection for each other and, even though they’re all young, they are well aware that the world doesn’t really want them–especially the town that is across the sea from the island.TJ’s created six distinct characters that you can’t help but fall in love with from Theordore’s delight in buttons to Chauncey’s bellhop dreams and his protective urges towards Theodore. And there’s Lucy, he’s wildly funny as he pushes Linus’s buttons sometimes, but as you see his other facets, including a love of classic music from the 50s and that he knows that the could really cause damage you want to wrap him up in a hug and protect him.As Linus spends his time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to see how messed up Extremely Upper Management is and that made the rules aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. And when it comes to that hateful town, he realizes that there are changes needed, changes he needs to speak up for.Oh, and there’s a super sweet, terrific romance that blooms between Linus and Arthur too. The book isn’t a romance, but the spark between these two is pure romance and it feels like old school courting. That’s not to say they don’t have problems–oh my do they have issues to take care of–but it’s a beautiful part of the story.Yes, I love everything about "House in the Cerulean Sea"–Linus self-discovery, his romance with Arthur and the delightful kids living at the Marsays Island Orphanage. There’s something in this book from everyone and this book can be read by all ages. My hardback sits on my shelf of all-time favorites, that’s how much this book means to me.

I absolutely adored this book!The first and most important thing about this book are the characters. I genuinely loved and cared about each and every one of these characters (and I sort of feel so protective of them that I swear I would die for any one of them). Linus Baker, our protagonist, is living a quiet life working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) as a Case Worker. He seems to mostly enjoy his job, but it's clear to readers that despite whatever Linus chooses to tell himself about his life, he isn't really living and to say he's 'happy' seems a stretch. Linus is one of those characters that you sort of just want to hug (although you probably wouldn't because he doesn't seem like the type to enjoy hugs from random people) and watching him embark on an experience unlike any he's ever been on, where he learns new things about himself and the world around him, was remarkable. I was so drawn to Linus' character and found that so many of the things he struggled with were applicable to my own--such as realizing that sometimes 'good enough' isn't really enough--and I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful character to follow. He isn't the most enthusiastic sort of person, but he has this fantastic dry wit for his sense of humor that I couldn't get enough of.In addition to Linus is the rest of our phenomenal cast of characters: there's Arthur Parnassus, the man in charge of the orphanage Linus visits; the magical youth living at the orphanage: Chauncey, Lucy, Sal, Talia, Phee, and Theodore; the resident island sprite, Zoe; and, of course, we can't forget Linus' cat, Calliope. I fell so hard for all of these characters and sincerely loved all of them. Each one was so carefully crafted with such distinct and wide-ranging personalities--it's rare to see such amazing characterization that holds strong and true for each and every character, but I can tell that characters must be Klune's strong point because they were all so well-written. I would try to pinpoint one of my favorites, but honestly, I think they are all my favorites. Linus' cat, Calliope, truly steals every scene she's in, though. Altogether, each and every one of these extremely varied and rather odd characters makes up the most perfect mismatched family and I have never want to be a part of a family as much as I wanted to be a part of this one!Klune also appears to be a master at writing dialogue, and the banter among all of the youth easily became of the most enjoyable parts of this book. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book and I felt so fulfilled and happy every time I picked it up and put it down. The way that he captures what it's like for an adult like Linus to be interacting with such a wild and unpredictable group of magical youth was a true delight. Additionally, the more serious dialogue that occurred for more serious and difficult topics was also carefully done and felt both authentic and full of impact. Klune is really good at maneuvering within a huge variety of topics in such a deft way that never makes it feel difficult to get through or understand.I don't want to spoil anything specific about the plot, but I can tell you that one of the reasons that I think I liked this so much is because of it's sort of 'slice-of-life' feel, where there aren't really intense action-packed scenes or anything, but rather it is following Linus as he observes and tries to understand how things at Mr. Parnassus' orphanage work and about the youth that live there. The pacing was perfect for me and was what I would call very steady--not too slow, but not too fast, either, just very continuously moving forward while still taking the time to focus on certain topics and scenes whenever necessary. There is also a tiny bit of romance in this book and it is so beautiful and innocent and truly made my cold black heart just melt. It doesn't take over the story, but it fits in like the perfect final piece of a puzzle--small, but vital to the completion of the entire puzzle.This story handles some extremely heavy but very important topics and I think Klune weaved all of those elements into the story so smoothly so that they never felt overwhelming, but they were very clear and easily understood. Honestly, this book is just beautiful. I laughed and teared up (for both happy and sad reasons) and I also found myself subconsciously reading this book so slooowly because I don't think I ever wanted to finish. It was hard for me to move on from this book and get my headspace ready for another book after because it just made me feel so good to read this book. It spoke to me not only from a personally relevant standpoint, but because it's such a wonderful story of love, acceptance, and what it means to be a family.This is easily going to be a book that I re-read and re-read over and and over, especially when I'm struggling a lot with depression or anxiety because it made me feel so at home and content and happy. I really can't recommend this story enough--it's bittersweet at times, but also hilarious, relevant, and full of life and love and family.

This book was such a breath of fresh air from my normal read. This book is a fantastical story that follows Linus, an inspector of orphanages for magical children. Linus is put on a top secret assignment to inspect a home on a faraway island to make sure all are safe and appropriate guidelines are being followed. On the island he lives with two magical adults and a gaggle of magical children ranging from the Antichrist to a garden gnome- each with wonderful personalities, interests and backgrounds. I felt like it was a mix of Harry Potter and X-men and it was a delight to read- funny, sweet, poignant, creative. I loved the themes woven throughout the book focused on accepting differences, not judging people based on appearances, and putting the good of humanity and love first always. It was very refreshing given the current political climate. I’d recommend if you’re looking for a light fun read and also as a YA book!