The House in the Cerulean Sea
by TJ Klune
Summary
Linus Baker is a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He lives alone, follows regulations, and inspects orphanages to decide whether their children are safe. Extremely Upper Management sends him on a classified assignment to Marsyas Island, where six children live under the care of Arthur Parnassus.
The children include a gnome, a wyvern, a forest sprite, a shapeshifter, an unidentified green creature, and Lucy, the six-year-old Antichrist. Linus arrives expecting evidence for a report and instead has to examine the assumptions behind the department's rules. His growing attachment to Arthur gives the story its romance, while the island's conflict with the nearby village supplies most of its external pressure.
The tone stays gentle even with bureaucratic satire running underneath it. Threats exist, but the book spends more time on meals, lessons, jokes, and Linus's gradual willingness to disobey. It is low on violence and gives most of its attention to the family forming on the island.
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Themes & motifs
About TJ Klune
TJ Klune is an American novelist who writes queer fantasy and romance. The House in the Cerulean Sea is followed by Somewhere Beyond the Sea, which returns to Arthur and the children of Marsyas Island.
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