My sisters are my favorite people in the world. We are triplets – I have quite literally only lived one minute of my life without them. Hence, we tend to share a lot. While I buried myself in novels, Abbey found solace in comic books. We regularly bickered about if comics were actually books and my book recommendations were steadily ignored. You can only imagine my joy when Abbey showed up one day with a physical book (with more than 200 pages and no pictures!) and demanded I read it. I frankly wasn’t expecting much, but the subsequent reading experience was one that both warmed my heart and punched me in the face. The book was TJ Klune’s breakout novel The House in The Cerulean Sea, whose front cover aptly described it as a “big gay blanket”.
“Oh dear,” Linus Baker said, wiping the sweat from his brow. “This is most unusual.”
The front cover of “The House in the Cerulean Sea”
The Book
I actually can’t think of a better description than a big gay blanket – that’s exactly what this book is. The book is a contemporary fantasy novel, centering around Linus Baker. Linus is a social worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth who lives by the rules. He doesn’t change his routine, he doesn’t challenge The Guidebook, and he most certainly does not question The Extremely Upper Management. Linus investigates magical children – often those who live in orphanages – making sure that they are healthy.
His whole world is flipped on its axis when he is summoned by the higher-ups on an extremely confidential mission and sent to Marsyas Island Orphanage to investigate the livelihood of the six extremely dangerous magical children who live there – Talia (a gnome), Sal (a werewolf), Theodore (a wyvern), Phee (a forest sprite), Chauncey (a green amphorous blob), and Lucy (the antichrist). Another mystery is Arthur Parnassus, the charming caretaker of the orphanage hell-bent on keeping the children safe with him. As Linus tries to fulfills his assignment, he also learns about the importance of acceptance, unbiased opinions, love, and – more import than anything else – the power of family (whether or not it is bound by blood).
Klune’s characters are fleshed-out and lovable, even if they aren’t all human. You’d be hard pressed not to fall in love with Arthur and the kids as the galavant around the island getting into all sorts of mischief. Linus himself is an enigma. He’s not your classic action hero – rather, he’s 40 year-old portly government worker whose only friend is his cat. His evolution throughout the novel is endearing and inspiring as he comes to terms with the uprooting of his entire belief system. TJ Klune works to vividly describe the magical environment and emotional context the main characters are living in, and this enhances the novel that much more.
The House in the Cerulean Sea is another five star book for me. Not only do I associate it with my sister, but the whimsical setting brings me back to the fantasy novels of my childhood while adding another dimension with the biases and political aspects that my adult self can appreciate. I’m always a sucker for a found family – and this one is an especially good one.
The Bop
The House in the Cerulean Sea‘s bop is “Sweet Creature” by Harry Styles. It’s an acoustic ballad reminiscent of The Beatles’s song “Blackbird” with its soft background track. The title derives from a scene in Othello describing Desdemona, making me love it even more. The song describes a relationship going through a trying time, but realizing that the love that is present is enough to bridge any divide. Although romance is a side plot in The House in the Cerulean Sea, familial love is the overarching thread tying the story together – “Sweet Creature” can apply to both types of love and is therefore a perfect song for the novel.
To tie up this big gay blanket in a nice bow, take the time to read The House in the Cerulean Sea. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will emerge with a newfound love for record players, shovels, and Lucifer.
Sometimes, he thought to himself in a house in a cerulean sea, you were able to choose the life you wanted. And if you were of the lucky sort, sometimes that life chose you back.