The House in the Cerulean Sea
Ratings1,115
Average rating4.3
A very sweet, funny book. Probably more of a 3.5, but it was lovely enough that I gave it the extra .5.
This was the best book I've read so far in 2022. It was so nice and lovely and even though I already read quite a lot of LGBT themed books, this is something unique. I am almost speechless and full of positive emotions after finishing this book. I just have to recommend it to everybody!
I don't normally read fantasy books but this held my interest the whole time. The characters were definitely different and not what I was expecting!
Format read: ebook (Libby)
Reading time: 9h 9 min
Tags: fantasy, lgbt (m/m), found family,
Own a copy: no
Reread likelihood: 8/10
Summary:
The House in the Cerulean Sea starts off very Kafkaesque and Orwellian. Linus Baker, our protagonist, works for the Department of Magical Youths (DICOMY) as a caseworker in orphanages. DICOMY is a government-run institution that places magical children in orphanages “for their safety” because of the rest of society's prejudiced views about them. Linus is very good at his job because he follows and applies the rules to their maximum. Every day, Linus goes to work in in his tiny grey cubicle, takes the bus in the rain, walks to his little grey house, and starts all over again the next day. Because of his clinical efficiency, Linus is chosen one day by Extremely Upper Management to visit a particular orphanage that is off the beaten track. Linus is told that this place is peculiar, and its master even more so, and is given a file with the names and attributes of the children who live there.
When Linus arrives at his destination, he is struck by the beauty of the remote island. Soon, he meets the children and the master, Arthur Parnassus, and begins his investigation of the orphanage. In the beginning, Linus is set on following his rules, as always, but he soon discovers that DICOMY's way of doing things isn't as righteous as what he thought, and that prejudice is well and alive on the idyllic island. Against, his better judgment, Linus begins to develop an attachement to the children, and to Arthur, and finds himself in an increasingly difficult position: carry on with DICOMY's wishes and shut down the island orphanage, or follow his heart and do what's right for the children and, by extension, all magical persons.
Review:
This story was so warm and fuzzy, it was like being wrapped up in a fluffy blanket. Linus' character growth is well executed and a pleasure to witness as the story unfold.
I have a soft spot for Arthur in particular. His carefree attitude is endearing, and his love of philosophy comes through in all of his conversations with the children and with Linus.
Among the cast of characters, we have: Lucifer “Lucy,” the 6 year old son of Satan, Chauncey, a land jellyfish of sorts (no one is quite sure), Sal, a shapeshifter (he turns into a Pomeranian), Phee, a forest sprite, Talia, a garden gnome, Theodore, a wyvern, Zoe, an island sprite and caretaker alongside Arthur, and Calliope, Linus' cat.
The children themselves are endearing, especially Chauncey. His simple dream of being a bellhop is so deeply contrasted to who and what he is, and how people perceive him as a monster, that it makes the whole thing bittersweet and heart wrenching. As with all the children, you want them to be happy and for their dreams to come true, but the world they live in his harsh outside of their island home, and one cannot help but worry for them.
Linus and Arthur make a sweet couple. The first real sparks start off after Linus' visit to Lucy's room, and the tension only continues to grow after that. I liked the slow progression and how realistic their relationship is. It's not all rainbows and butterflies all the time, which is refreshing to see portrayed in a novel.
The author's writing is wonderful, and I enjoyed it very much. Klune describes the world in this book so vividly that it's as though you are a part of it. Linus' postcard on his desk says it all; “don't you wish you were here?” And indeed, I really wished I could be on Marsyas island with the characters.
”There was green. Bright and beautiful greens of waving grass, and what appeared to be flowers in pinks and purples and golds. They disappeared into white sand. And beyond the white was cerulean. ... Don't you wish you were here?”
”The others don't know, but I do. I can see things, sometimes. I don't know why. You. Arthur. He Burns. Did you know that?”
Under the Whispering Door
Un libro cálido con personajes entrañables (Theodore y Chauncey arriba en el podio, si me permitís) y un mensaje esencial que, aunque manido, está envuelto con tanto encanto que se siente casi como si uno lo leyera por primera vez.
Loved every second of this book and I did get misty eyed at some of the parts with the children and Linus.
Not a bad read but too twee and I was never emotionally engaged. Did not live up to the hype as the plot is formulaic and the narrative only skims the surface of whatever Klune was trying to achieve.
This was one of the loveliest books I have ever read. All of the characters were fantastic and human and beautifully written, and the ending was everything I could have ever wanted. Such a beautiful representation of found family and love and acceptance.
it has been a long time since a book has moved me to tears in such a profound way and this book managed to do so on multiple occasions. this is less a book than it is a joyous exploration of love, family, community and a reminder that optimism and joy can be found in even the darkest corners. a must read for anyone and everyone!
I read this book for a book club. I picked it up only after 2-3 members could not stop gushing about it. Did the audiobook in 2 days and I am not sorry.
Delightful, optimistic, fuzzy, wholesome goodness are some of the adjectives used for this read.
The characters in the book are clearly from a fantastical realm but even so, they are really quite believable. It is one where they actually talk to each other. Some really tough aspects have been touched in the book and jokes have been used very effectively to convey feelings and thoughts. Even though the book gets cheesy in places, it does have an important message for young people. This book is a must read.
What a wholesome feel-good book. It was a joy to read and the characters were just so much fun to read about.
Had some qualms about how the narrator's descriptions and Linus' actions felt at odds like they were tryna typecast the character but eh
Overall big big big fan
Within the first few pages I quickly knew this would be a new favorite read. The characters are all so lovable and memorable and the writing, THE WRITING!! The narration was wonderful and made me feel something a book hasn't made me feel in a long time. So so good!
Rating: 4.63 leaves out of 5Characters: 4.5/5Cover: 5/5Story: 4/5Writing: 5/5Genre: Fantasy/Romance/LGTBQType: AudiobookWorth?: Yes!Hated Disliked Liked Loved Favorited“I am but paper. Brittle and thin.I am held up to the sun, and it shines right through me.I get written on, and I can never be used again.These scratches are a history. They're a story.They tell things for others to read, but they only see the words, and not what the words are written upon.I am but paper, and though there are many like me, none are exactly the same.I am parched parchment. I have lines. I have holes.Get me wet, and I melt. Light me on fire, and I burn.Take me in hardened hands, and I crumple. I tear.I am but paper. Brittle and thin.”I did really love this book, even with a 4 star! First, about the story. I was angered and annoyed the how the people (even Linus) treated these kids. People like that are a joke, so if you are one of them.. just know it is on sight. Aside from that, I adored the journey I had with this book. There were somethings a bit off, like how the romance blossomed between two of the characters... it seemed very... beige and rushed. Other than I was trying really hard not to cry at work, so yay for that!
This was such a lovely story about the children being stigmatized by society the prejudice against them. The character development of Linus was also great. Many meaningful quotes and thoughts by Arthur and Linus! (tabbed like crazy and I usually don't!) It made me warm and tearful at some parts, I can relate when kids are just seen by what stereotypes are given to them and people don't try to learn or understand them. The ending was perfect (´ ⌣ `)
This was just so lovely. It was an easy read focussed on characters and relationships. With an important message too.
It was totally predicable but I didn't care. I have kept these characters with me.
I really thought I was going to like this book, but I simply didn't. There are so many issues with it, starting with a few and getting worse and worse.
To begin with, it's so easy to guess how the book ends after Linus is introduced in the first few chapters. A simple character that always follows the rules ... what else could happen other than him changing and/or having an ‘epiphany' about the fact that rules and laws aren't everything? Argh.
The first thing, and probably my biggest issue is with how creepy the book came across in several situations. I thought it was weird that one of the main characters literally shared a private room with one of the children but ignored it because I was waiting for the actual reasoning behind it or an explanation, which never happened. In general, very little gets resolved in this book.The second time I got creeper vibes was when Linus was talking to Sal about him showing his room, telling him that he, "Doesn't need to do anything he doesn't want to do." In connection to that I should probably mention that the book is a collection of superficial sayings, 'inspirational' life quotes, hipster tropes and so on. At times I felt I was scrolling through a tumblr blog from 10 years ago reading through this book. All the adults know better and seem to be preaching shit to each other and the children every chapter. It felt awkward and was way overdone.Another situation that felt off and completely out of place for me was Linus and Arthur talking about 'hearing sounds from one of the children's rooms', referencing masturbation. I'm far from prude, but this felt invasive, unnescessary and downright creepy, again. I literally grimaced during that passage.Since we're already talking about Linus and Arthur ... to me, there was nothing. Absolutely no chemistry. The book feeds you little mentions of Linus finding Arthur attractive, beautiful, him liking the sound of his voice or how he moves and does things, but it had absolutely no effect on me. Especially since it comes out of nowhere. He's barely interacted with him and those thoughts suddenly pop up. He barely knows this guy and is absolutely smitten. Again, it felt superficial and pretty silly.Before I move onto the other characters, big fucking TW for fatphobia. Linus' weight is mentioned again and again in negative ways. The way he looks at himself, the way society perceives him. That he's not sporty, that he's not thin, that he doesn't fit into clothes, that he shouldn't have too much to eat or sweets and the like. It is mentioned so many times that after a while you're just waiting for it to come back up. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, but this content could absolutely be dangerous to children or especially young teens struggling with their perception of themselves; which you know, is a thing for basically every teen at some point. The short mention of Talia saying that there's nothing wrong with being round doesn't protect you from the criticism, Klune. Especially since she's a gnome. Linus weight comes up again and again after, the way it's written is pretty disgusting at that point.The character of Helen, the town's major, came out of the blue for me and was WAY too supportive, quickly. It made absolutely zero sense, especially with how prejudiced the town as a whole was towards magical beings. With a soft major like that, I doubt people would've voted her into office. I doubt that a simple interaction with Talia would've had that huge of an impact for her to be not only supportive, but protective of children and beings she barely knows. No explanation to why the towns people were so negatively prejudiced either. No connection to the former orphanage's "master" either. What the heck.Talking about magical beings, this is probably the first and only fantasy book I've read and disliked. Maybe because the fact that they're magical has very little impact on the story, since it's so flat. That might even be the point of the book, that you could project it onto (other) minorites in general ... but if you're trying to sell it to me, don't call it fantasy and magical when there's very little of it. The reasoning for 2 instead of 1 star is the fact that I did like a few of the characters and how they were described. The children are likable in general. Zoe, Phee and Chauncey are precious. Even though I liked both Zoe and Helen I thought the ending of the story and them two getting involved felt again, out of place, out of nowhere. Just don't include it if you don't have time for the buildup. It feels empty (and tokenizing) to include relationships that way. The ending of the book felt rushed, diminishing all the issues raised within the book, especially with DICOMY. We also never find out about any of the schools or the futures of the (registred) magical beings that were part of the system in the past.
The writing style is simplistic and super repetitive; the characters regurgitate the same stuff over and over again. It's easy to follow and obviously geared towards Young Teens or even younger children, and I get where the ‘simple, wholesome' description in a lot of people's reviews comes from. Because it is indeed simple. ‘Wholesome' is very subjective. To me the book, the writing and the content was weak, downright annoying and uncomfortable.
