A sweet, thought-provoking tale about finding family in unlikely places.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This fucking book. :) It lives up to the hype. It truly is the sweetest damned book. You could stop here and read it if you want. You'll love it unless you're a monster. If you continue, I'll try and give some more impressions and reflections, but beware of small spoilers.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is a little hard to review. It's a beautiful, well-written, and immensely thought-provoking book. And that's the problem. There are too many reasons to like this book, far too many to really capture in any meaningful way.
And what's it's about? Well, Amazon's blurb has the plot down as "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." That's accurate, but it's not really about all that. That's the plot, but what about the story? That's where Cerulean Sea really shines. It's the story of how Lunus finds his place and helps to bring a lot of light and love into world in the process.
While entertaining me and warming my heart with its easy, yet compelling story and charming characters, it's a book that made me think about a whole slew of different things.
It's about love, care, and intention. It's about lifelong learning, feeling like you don't fit in (more Linus than the kids, as he's ostensibly "normal"), positive reinforcement in teaching, diversity and acceptance. Recovery (from trauma and abuse but also more in general). It's about accepting responsibility for things that need work and creative problem-solving. About learning to love yourself and seeing the value within you that others see.
It's also got some sharp social commentary delivered with sweetness and wit. And some astute observations about systemic prejudice and bureaucracy, how it serves the status quo and the lengths people will do to maintain it, and the absurdity and pointlessness of it all.
Reading about the children's situation, the nearby villagers' attitudes, and the role of DICOMY, I thought a lot about parallels with real-world divisiveness (which probably wasn't intended by Klune) left me wondering why people NEED to have an "other" they can beat at life. Is that just part of our nature? And, if so, how can we evolve past it, as it clearly doesn't serve us anymore, doing much harm and no good as far as I can tell. Tribalism without accepting (or worse, actively working against) those that are different feels like a weakness to me.
The theme that hit me the hardest was parenthood and what it's like to be a parent to children who aren't yours. As someone learning to be a step-father to a group of kids who are all vastly different, as different as they are the same, it's...fascinating to reflect on the ways Linus changes from bureaucratic worker to father.
But these musings took a backseat to the hopeful, sweet messages about tolerance, acceptance, and family littered throughout. "In order to change the minds of the many, you have to first start with the minds of the few."
So, yeah, a lot is going on here, but don't let that stop you; it's an easy, delightful read and highly recommended.