The House in the Cerulean Sea

Hardcover, 389 pages

English language

Published July 29, 2020 by Tor.

ISBN:
978-1-250-21728-8
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4 stars (26 reviews)

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus …

5 editions

Very cozy-fierce

No rating

This is about outgrowing the oppressive structures you've been supporting, and working to tear them down.

Also I think the message is "you can always choose to be a weirdo and live with the weirdos", which makes me very happy.

Yeah I like this one. Much more than I liked Under the Whispering Door, even though that was also nice.

Warm story

5 stars

Content warning Spoilers about themes and character development.

Review of 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

The House in the Cerulean Sea is a young adult story story about Linus Baker, a case worker for the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth (DICOMY) who is sent to investigate Marsya Island Orphanage, a government-sanctioned orphanage where a number of unique children currently reside. Deemed “dangerous” by the government these children are looked after by Arthur Parnassus, a mysterious man with a secret of his own. Linus, who would rather spend his days at home listening to golden oldies in the presence of his cat, Calliope, initially just wants to remain impartial, observe the children, make his report and then head home. Instead, what he finds on Marsya Island will change him forever.

I’m in two minds about this book. One the one hand, it was kinda cosy and warm and hopeful. On the other hand I cannot ignore that it was apparently inspired by the Sixties Scoop. …

Review of 'House in the Cerulean Sea' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Sweet romantic queer dramedy with charming magical children. My only two complaints are that the general course of the plot was predictable from quite near the beginning and that the Underlying Message was conveyed entirely without subtlety. It's a good message, mind you, but I prefer the moral of the story to be offered rather than being hot over the head with it. But it's a fun and quick read and I definitely recommend it.

Review of 'The house in the Cerulean Sea' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Un libro que me compré en un aeropuerto, por leer algo mientras mi avión se retrasaba. Y menuda maravilla.

Es una historia muy tierna, con humor a veces sutil, a veces desternillante. Unos personajes que te dan ganas de abrazar todo el rato y, creo que lo que más me gusta, unes niñes que puedes creerte. En definitiva, personajes con buen diseño.

La historia, pese a ser previsible, te hace disfrutar del viaje. Que al final, es de lo que se trata. Me gusta el slow burn, me gusta la representación positiva que hace (de hecho, me encanta que la orientación de la gente no suponga ningún drama, los dramas van por otro lado) y una reflexión interesante sobre la bondad humana. ¿Se nace o se hace?

No sé si estaba más tierna de lo habitual, pero me ha gustado mucho. Tanto, que me he hecho una lista de música …

Review of 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' on 'Storygraph'

No rating

I found out the inspiration for this story came from the horrific history of residential schools in Canada and the 60's scoop (for non-Canadians, this is a particularly dark period of our recent history where we stole Indigenous children from their families and adopted them out to white families for no other real reason than that they were Indigenous children...and many families have never been reconnected with their lost children). It does not sit well with me that a self-professed white dude decided to cash in on this horror while simultaneously trying to make it sound like less of the horror it was by whimsifying it.

Review of 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Thank you, sir. May I have another? This is just what I needed: at turns funny, sweet, and magical (and sometimes sad or maddening, though that's not the part I needed).

It's been too long since I read 1984 to comment on any similarities. I did see elements of Umbrella Academy (comparisons made by others) and Miss Peregrine.

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