The House in the Cerulean Sea — TJ Klune

Rating: 4.5/5

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is a wonderful work of fiction that transports you to a world where magic is alive but dominated by non-magical bureaucratic processes. Klune's ability to keep up with world building, a forbidden romance, and a rather large main cast is captivating and engaging to readers such as myself. The book's imaginative text presents itself as an incredible escape from the outside world as Klune transports you to the world of slice-of-life fantasy. And as with all journeys, Klune takes the reader through the eyes of an unlikely hero, a government social servant.

The book follows the perspective of caseworker Linus Baker who works for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY). The word "Magical" being a blanket term that both identifies children with abilities like shapeshifting or telekinesis, and also children that are not human, such as a human-bird hybrid or forest sprite.

Linus is a sarcastic, uptight, and detail oriented character, whose job's sole purpose is to investigate orphanages housing magical children. He acts as the final decision maker between these orphanages staying operational. Unfortunately for many of these homes, Linus follows his Rules and Regulations rulebook, word for word, with little room for something as trivial as a "moral compass". But all of this changes when Linus is assigned the unique case of the Marsyas Island Orphanage whose magical inhabitants are branded especially dangerous by the government.

Presented as mysterious and charming, Arthur Parnassus is introduced as the caretaker of the orphanage to a cast of a diverse set of magical children. Although at first Linus tries to distance himself emotionally and physically from Arthur and the kids, the bond that the characters develop becomes so strong by the end of the book that they become nothing short of a found family.

Speaking of which, something I love about the interaction between Arthur and Linus is that Arthur's light hearted personality always seems to unravel whatever tightknit persona that Linus tries to keep while Linus is around the kids. And as Linus spends more time with the kids, he also begins remembering each kid's small quirk about them, which reveals how much he really does care about the children.

Some may call this writing overtly saccharine or corny, but I appreciate writing that remains positive, and does not limit itself by forcing drama at every twist and turn. In short, Klune is very good at writing a book that is more fun and humorous than a melodramatic drama. But I do admit that sometimes this writing can get boring at times, mainly due to the everyday life scenes like making breakfast, or the preachy scenes, where Klune decides to spell out the moral of the story. But these scenes almost always are diffused by dry jokes or sarcastic humor that I do not really mind the boring scenes at all.

In essence, The House in the Cerulean Sea is a story about acceptance and retribution that is played out in elegant Rom-Com fashion. I honestly would recommend this book to anyone and everyone that would like to read a feel good-story during this turbulent time (for me especially because I am in college right now). From witty dry humor to philosophical arguments, there is a lot to unpack in this novel that I hope others will enjoy.