SamThere have been many times while writing reviews that I know I’m going to have trouble being objective. This is definitely one of those times, but thankfully I’m under no obligation to be anything but truthful. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune is easily one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time.
As a queer person there can be some unfortunate tropes that you’ll continuously come across while looking for representation. So many LGBTQ+ characters are shown going through the same struggle of coming out or hiding their love, or of even giving up on life all together. Though all of these situations have been someone’s reality, we can be thankful that so many people don’t have to go through such terrible things today. We can have adventure, fantasy, romance and so much more without having to be confronted by the stench of homophobia. If we can’t entirely avoid it in real life, we should at least be able to in our fiction.
The House in the Cerulean Sea is everything you could hope for in queer literature. It truly feels like a hug in a book. The characters are the sort of people you could only wish to meet in real life.
Linus Baker is a forty-year-old case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He lives a quiet, somewhat lonely life, spending his days investigating the well-being of gifted children living in orphanages. Sweet but strict, Linus is the perfect employee, following the rules to the letter. When Linus is assigned a special case by Extremely Upper Management, he finds himself in possession of a file of very confidential information. He is sent to the Marsyas Island Orphanage, the home of six supposedly dangerous children. One of these children just happens to be the antichrist.
As Linus observes the daily lives of the children and learns more about them, he begins to have doubts about the structures and authorities he’s always trusted. The idyllic surroundings of Marsyas Island, along with the charm of the gentle orphanage caretaker Arthur Parnassus, shows Linus that maybe there could be more to be had out of life.
Released in 2020, The House in the Cerulean Sea is a credit to T.J. Klune. His writing beautifully demonstrates the importance of found family.
