The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Kline
Paperback | Tor Books | December 29, 2020
The Gist
A single, no-bs caseworker gets assigned to a Level 4 critical mission to assess an orphanage on a magical island that houses children with rare superpowers and catches feels.
Read if you like
Miss Pergrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Other books by TJ Kline
Found families
Speculative fiction
Verdict: Solid
In The House in the Cerulean, Sea Klune explores the consequences of people staying silent and complacent in the face of racism and social injustice, and how all it can take is one voice to start changing things for the better. Linus Barker is a forty-year-old no-nonsense caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youths (DICOMY). He’s good at this job and believes his work makes a difference in the lives of the children DICOMY serves. However, these beliefs are challenged when Linus is assigned to a classified, Level 4 mission to assess the Marsyas Island Orphanage and report on the extraordinary children and their headmaster Arthur Parnassus. The longer Linus stays on the island, the more he begins to connect and care for the children, fall for Arthur, and realize that he’s been a pawn in DICOMY’s uncaring, political machine. He also can’t deny that the mainlanders harbor ill feelings toward the orphanage. Klune’s writing is quirky but witty, the plot moves rapidly, and Linus’s character development is well-paced and clear. But where Klune really shines, is the dialogue where the children are talking amongst themselves and with Linus. In these scenes, Klune seamlessly packs a balanced mix of heart, humor, and truth that drives his plot forward.
