The House in the Cerulean Sea: warm fuzzies

Title: The House in the Cerulean Sea

Author: TJ Klune

Publisher: Tor Books

Pages: 394

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Who will like it? Someone who likes a wonky candied apple studded with crushed nuts and chocolate chips.

Moving and transitioning into an unfamiliar environment let me appreciate this book slowly, as I follow poor Linus through his monotonous and underappreciated life. It is a simple book with a simple story, full of magical youth who are all little nuggets of gold, waiting to be discovered, just hidden behind rocks. A dose of self-love we need in turbulent times.

These magical youth are ostracized from society, put into orphanages, out of sight and out of mind. On a top-secret mission as a caseworker, Linus visits the Marsyas Island Orphanage, where extremely strange and dangerous youth reside, about to bring on the end of the world, or so The Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) makes Linus believe.

This is a little story with a big heart. Unlike Harry Potter or other fantastic stories, The House in the Cerulean Sea is a simple one without time-turners or dementors or Veritaserum (powerful truth serums). It has an easygoing story with snappy remarks from everyone who cares deeply about each other, and it breaks down barriers of hatred and neglect.