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He is cautious in life and careful with his words, making him particularly well suited for the inflexible structure of DICOMY. Early in the novel, he is unexpectedly summoned to a personal meeting with Extremely Upper Management, elusive figures that are often whispered about but rarely seen. At the meeting, Linus is given top secret clearance to review an unusual orphanage run by Arthur Parnassus.
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Soon, Helen brings David, an undocumented yeti boy who needs a home, to the island. Arthur and Linus intend to formally adopt all the children, including David. When Linus's time on the island concludes, Arthur asks Linus to stay with him and the kids, but Linus declines. He goes back to the office and makes a recommendation to allow the orphanage to stay open. He also accuses the DICOMY of running discriminatory orphanages by segregating out the magical beings.
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He will be sent to the orphanage for a month, during which he will send thorough weekly reports. Mr. Werner, a young, handsome member of Extremely Upper Management, warns Linus to “beware” and to leave no detail out of his reports. At times I found it a little too black-and-white for my tastes, with saintly “good” characters, villainous “bad” characters and pretty much no one in-between. While sweet and upbeat, The House in the Cerulean Sea was lacking in dramatic tension for me, since it was always quite clear how the story would play out. There's also Zoe Chapelwhite, an undocumented, adult island sprite who has lived on the island since before the orphanage. She helps to take care of the children in an unofficial capacity.
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This tension is exacerbated by the extremity of the children’s magical natures. One of the children, Lucy, is listed in his files as the Antichrist, or the son of the Devil. Among the other children are a wyvern, a gnome, a forest sprite, a shapeshifter, and a gelatinous, tentacled child named Chauncey. Linus Baker is a case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY), a governmental agency that monitors the behavior and well-being of magical children living in orphanages and group homes. Some of these children have powers such as telekinesis, and some are from non-human species, many of which we would consider mythological.
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It’s understandable, since that’s not what the book is really about, but I’m just someone who likes that kind of stuff. I recall thinking it had a great title and really lovely cover (see notes about the making of that cover here), but it wasn’t until I started seeing positive reviews of it from people I know that it really popped on my radar. Grim Oak Press is the award-winning small press specializing in creating beautiful SF&F books. Second part of an alien-contact trilogy (The Three-Body Problem, 2014) from China’s most celebrated science-fiction author.
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Linus Baker is a lonely case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth ("DICOMY"), a governmental organization which manages orphaned magical beings who are minors. His job consists of visiting orphanages to check up on them and then writing up a report. One day, he's called in by the organization's Extremely Upper Management ("EUM") to serve on a month-long classified assignment, reporting directly to one of the four members of EUM, Mr. Charles Werner. Despite his initial reservations, as Linus's days pass in Marsyas, in this idyllic setting among a coterie of magical children, Linus finds himself coming across a little romance, an unlikely family and possibly even a home. One day, he's given a secret assignment to assess a special orphanage on the island of Marsyas, run by a man named Arthur Parnassus, who has secrets of his own.
Linus is scared of the children at first, but soon sees that they act much like other kids. Arthur tells Linus that people see the kids as being threats, but actually the kids can be anything they choose to be. Meanwhile, the kids are scared that Linus will take away their home, since he will be making a recommendation whether to shut down the orphanage or not. Linus becomes more confident, more willing to form emotional attachments, and more outspoken in his defense of children, magical and otherwise. He is also able to break through to Sal, a traumatized shapeshifter recovering from previous abuse. The House in the Cerulean Sea is an uncomplicated feel-good book that is full of fantastical creatures and tells a well-meaning, upbeat story about acceptance and inclusivity.
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Among the six unique children living there, one of them is Lucy, short for Lucifer, who just happens to be the Antichrist. Once back in the city, Linus brashly defends Arthur, the children, and the home itself to Extremely Upper Management. He implicates Management in the discrimination and abuses of the system. Even so, they accept his recommendation that the home remain open. He quickly realizes that he is miserable and grieving the people he left behind, so he makes plans to return.
He also starts to develop romantic feelings toward Arthur, which are reciprocated. As Linus sends back reports to Extremely Upper Management, they are dismayed when they see how sympathetic Linus has become towards Arthur and the orphanage. Mr. Werner reveals to Linus that Arthur is actually a very rare magical being as well, a Phoenix.
Many mythological species feature in this novel, while other books focus on werewolves, ghosts, and the like. Klune’s work, and The House in the Cerulean Sea in particular, has been praised for its warmth and messages of love and acceptance. It is part of a larger swell of LGBTQ+ representation in contemporary young adult and children’s literature. In previous assignments, Linus had prided himself on being detached and viewing the children's fates as outside the scope of his responsibility, but on Marsyas, Linus finds his objectivity slipping away.
The House in the Cerulean Sea is a queer fantasy novel by TJ Klune, Lambda Award-winning author of The Extraordinaires and the Green Creek series. The House in the Cerulean Sea was published in March of 2020 and made the USA Today bestseller list. Klune is a queer author whose works often explore supernatural elements.
He gives Linus a key to a burned-out cellar on the island to show Linus how potentially dangerous Arthur can be. Book review, full book summary and synopsis for The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune, a warm-hearted story about kids in an orphanage for magical creatures.
We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006). A thoroughly enchanting novel that follows lovable Arthur, the caretaker of magical misfit orphans from around the world. Full of whimsy, romance, and a touch of intrigue, The House in the Cerulean Sea will make you smile from the first word to the very last.
First, though, he steals files from DICOMY to expose the abuses and failures he’s seen in his 17 years as a caseworker. Once he’s prepared and the orphanage is safe, Linus quits his job, packs his meager belongings, and returns to Marsyas Island. After the children hold a brief conference—and communicate a number of adorable demands—Linus is welcomed home. He and Arthur begin a romantic relationship and petition to adopt all six of the children officially. The book ends with an Epilogue in which the mayor of the town notifies them of an unregistered child in need of a home. Linus himself is a serious, solitary man with a preference for order and clarity.
I think I’m just someone who tends to prefer more layered novels in general, so this wasn’t entirely to my tastes. I think The House in the Cerulean Sea could probably have been categorized as a Young Adult novel. Even though the main character is an adult, many of the main storylines in the book involve the personal growth and development of a group of young children that reside in the titular “house in the cerulean sea”. There’s definitely some similarities to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, if you were a fan of that book. Of course, the main character arc is reserved for Linus (an adult), so I get why they didn’t mark it as a YA novel.
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