I fell down a rabbit hole of reading lists about diverse books when the colorful color of The House in the Cerulean Sea caught my eye. I noticed that the book is set in a home for magical children, which reminded me of one of my favorite series, Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I also want to bring more diversity to my reading, and The House in the Cerulean Sea was written by a gay man and features gay characters.
The House in the Cerulean Sea (2020)
Written by: TJ Klune
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
Pages: 396 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
The Premise:
Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He’s tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.
Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.
The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place — and realizing that family is yours.
Mild Spoilers Ahead.
Discussion: Normally, I’m not one to judge a book by its cover, but the bright, cheerful cover of The House in the Cerulean Sea drew me in. A red Victorian house and VW bus perch precariously at the edge of a cliff above a brilliant blue sea and below a beautiful sunset. If I hadn’t already known better, I might have mistaken this for a young adult or even a children’s book. Even though it could cause confusion, I found the cover perfect for this sweet, earnest story.
Linus Baker is a classic bureaucrat, a caseworker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He’s the kind of guy who forgets his umbrella and misses his bus when it’s raining. His social life consists of a cat, Calliope, and a nosy neighbor, Mrs. Klapper, who tries to set him up with her alcoholic grandson in between complaining that Calliope goes in her yard. Even the cat doesn’t especially like him.
One fatal day, Extremely Upper Management gives him an assignment to investigate the Marsyas Island Orphanage, run by Arthur Parnassus. Only six children live there, but they are considered unusual and dangerous, even by magical standards. The story could have easily become too cute but Klune embodies each child with a unique charm that still feels realistic. Chauncey is an amorphous blob whose life’s dream is to become a bellhop. My favorite child was Theodore, a wyvern who loves buttons. When Linus first meets him, he describes Theodore as “…smaller than Calliope, though not by much. His scales were iridescent, the light from the lanterns above casting a kaleidoscope of colors. His hind legs were thickly muscled, the claws at the tips of his feet black and wicked sharp. He didn’t have front legs; instead, his wings were long and leathery like a bat’s” (pg. 77).
The book handles sexual orientation very well. It doesn’t shock anyone that Linus is gay, not the kids or even his busybody neighbor. It was refreshing to see his relationship with Arthur unfold with no more controversy than there would have been if the orphanage had been run by Anne Parnassus instead. The magical children are an obvious metaphor for homophobia. Even Linus is frightened by their differences at first. The nearby villagers send a raft to the island with the message: “LEAVE. WE DON’T WANT YOUR KIND HERE.” The outside world has treated the magical children very badly, even abusively. Linus insists on taking the children on a field trip the village, where they experience prejudice but also learn that some people will accept them for their true selves.
If there is a fault to be found with this charming novel, it is predictability. Will Linus cling to his stick-in-the-mud ways and Rules and Regulations handbook or will he be charmed by going on pretend adventures with the children and having picnic dinners with the local island sprite? Will he return to his lonely bachelorhood or will he form a new family with the handsome, wonderful Arthur and lovable, magical children? It’s pretty easy to guess but sometimes it is good to assured of a happy ending.
In conclusion: In these stressful times, it is lovely to curl up with a book as uplifting and sweet as The House in the Cerulean Sea. The plot is a little predictable, but you will find yourself rooting for the charismatic characters. I’m not sure how well kids would relate to the middle-aged bureaucrat main character, but younger readers would definitely benefit from the book’s lessons about accepting differences and how love is more important to defining family than biology.
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