Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #1)
Gaby Meares
We get trapped in our own little bubbles, and even though the world is a wide and mysterious place, our bubbles keep us safe from that. To our detriment.
This book took my breath away!
In a world shared by magical and non-magical folk, Linus Baker works for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth as a caseworker. He is sent to orphanages for magical children to assess if they are being cared for properly. Linus’ world revolves around his work, his tiny home, his records and his cranky cat, Calliope. He’s forty, and alone.
Linus is sent on a top secret assignment to investigate and report on an orphanage on an island where six magical children, who are described as ‘special’, live with their enigmatic carer, Arthur Parnassus.
As Linus begins to understand the children, and grows closer to Arthur, he also begins to question the rules and regulations that he has allowed to dictate how he lives. He witnesses the cruelty of people towards these unusual children and learns that people ‘fear what they don’t understand. And that fear turns to hate for reasons I’m sure even they can’t begin to comprehend. And since they don’t understand the children, since they fear them, they hate them.’
Klune has created wonderful characters - these children who are all so different, are three dimensional: full of mischief and naughtiness but all seeking love and family and a safe home: ‘a home isn’t always the house we live in. It’s also the people we choose to surround ourselves with.’
Watching Linus’ true character emerge into the daylight is a total joy. Everything about this book is a total joy! I didn’t want it to end, and when it did, I felt bereft. The House in the Cerulean Sea is about self discovery: about uncovering hidden strengths and embracing life in all its complexity.
The narrator of this book is a forty year old gay man. As the author is himself queer, this story shows a refreshingly positive queer representation. There is nothing to offend any reader here. Although the cover suggests this book is for younger readers, I feel it would better suit readers 12 years and older.
Highly recommended to everyone!