Welcome to the new series I’m working on where I gush about my favorite book of every month! We’re starting off strong with January, and I’m honestly so excited to talk about this book, because I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for it to be published so other people can enjoy it just as much as I have!
My favorite book of January was, in fact, The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. This book will be released on March 17th, 2020 (a month away from the time this post is public), BUT Goodreads ran a giveaway at the end of last year and I was one of 100 people to win an arc (advanced reader’s copy) of it. I was SO excited when I received the email saying I was a winner, and even MORE excited when it arrived on my doorstep before I left for work on Christmas Eve. I’ve followed T.J. Klune pretty closely after I discovered his book How to Be a Normal Person, and this book is the first with his new publisher Tor Books. So, what’s the book even about? Well, I’m glad you asked.
Linus Baker has been a case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) for more than a decade. At work, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of magical children in government-sanctioned orphanages. At home, he lives a solitary life in his tiny house with a devious cat, his old records, and nosy neighbors – a rather exciting life for a 40-year-old man. He is a lover of routine, until one day he is summoned to the fifth floor of his work building for a meeting with Extremely Upper Management, who send him on a highly classified mission to the Marsyas Island Orphanage for one month. To do what? Evaluate the six children and caretaker living there and determine whether these individuals are capable of bringing about the end of days. Simple, right? He meets Talia, Phee, Theodore, Chauncey, Sal, and Lucy: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and, oh yeah, the Antichrist. There’s also Arthur Parnassus, the charming and enigmatic caretaker fully prepared to protect his wards from any proposed threat at all costs. Will Linus be able to survive the month, and what ever will he report back to Extremely Upper Management?
I absolutely loved this book. T.J. Klune has a way of weaving minor fantastical elements to appeal to both contemporary and fantasy readers. The beginning of this book is slow, but before I knew it I was falling in love with every single person on Marsyas Island (well, at the orphanage, some of the townspeople are rather unlikeable). I feel like a big part of this book is being able to overcome some of society’s misconceptions about things you don’t fully understand before you yourself are able to experience them. Linus had so many misconceptions about the children (and Arthur) because of how they are framed by Extremely Upper Management and their case files. But once Linus has had time to interact with them for himself, and get to know them for who they truly are, he begins to understand how his initial thoughts and feelings could be wrong. Each of the children in the orphanage has a personal struggle they’ve had to overcome, which I think will allow readers to relate to one, if not more, of them. For me, my personal connection with Sal, the were-Pomeranian, was the strongest. As the newest resident to the orphanage, he is a scared kid due to trauma from his past, and is often unable to trust new people until he’s gotten to know them better and he can be sure they won’t hurt him. He also had such a hard time being able to find his voice until being able to express himself through writing, and finding people who care about him – and his voice – and help to amplify it. Recently, in a blog entry, T.J. Klune posts a memo straight from the desk of Extremely Upper Management, and reader, I broke Rule #2 about halfway through this book.
In conclusion, The House in the Cerulean Sea is just another book that I will cherish forever, from its cast of characters to its emotional bonds and ultimate message of hope. I have no doubt it will be one of those books that I return to when I need to a little burst of happiness in an otherwise sadness-filled day. T.J. Klune continues to be one of my favorite authors, and I cannot wait to see what other books we can expect from him and Tor Books in the coming years. If you are at all interested in heartwarming books with magical children and a message of hope, I highly suggest picking up The House in the Cerulean Sea when it is released on March 17th!
Thank you for checking out the first installment of my “Favorite Book of the Month” series, and I can’t wait to see what great ones are in store for me in February!
More ways to check out The House in the Cerulean Sea
Goodreads
Excerpt
Preorder
T.J. Klune’s Website
Thoughts About Things 