The House in the Cerulean Sea: TikTok made me buy it! Paperback – 16 September 2021

My 5 star read of this year. Amazing world with amazing characters.If you're looking for a magical feel good book, just go for it.

#TheHouseintheCeruleanSea is pure magic.A story of love and acceptance; of ‘misfits’ and ‘outcasts’; of how to create your own family; of free will where you choose who you want to be.We follow Linus, a social worker, on special assignment to evaluate an orphanage of special cases of magical youth. He leaves his dreary life in the city to reach an island in the middle of sea, cerulean in colour.‘A home isn’t always the house we live in; it’s also the people we choose to surround ourselves with.’As Linus spends more time with the children he begins to understands each of their journeys, and who they are - beyond mere perception and looks. He comes to realise that the house is not just an orphanage: it is home and a safe haven for the children, loved and protected by the master Arthur, and the caretaker Zoe.Soon his time his up and he must leave to file his report with his office. Which report will be the basis of the future of the orphanage and its residents.Stories unfold and you fall in love with the characters: Linus listening to old records and talking to his cat; the children running around wanting to be children - not judged or feared because of their magical abilities; the master and his indulgence with each of his children and their particularities.✨The world is a weird and wonderful place. Why must we try and explain it all away.✨Allow him to dream of such things because he is a child. Who knows what the future will bring. Change often starts with the smallest of whispers.✨Curiosities lead to flights of fancy; I can’t imagine a life lived (without). It sounds like no life lived at all.✨Regardless of their background they are just children after all; if they don’t feel welcome in the real world, how can we ever hope to integrate them into society?Special is a label given by us. Children are children with the right to live and be safe.Stop everything else and read it now. Feel the magic.

The House in the Cerulean Sea is a heartwarming and whimsical tale that feels like a warm hug for the soul. Blend of humor, charm, and depth that makes this book shine. The characters are quirky, lovable, and beautifully flawed, making them impossible to forget. The writing is atmospheric and magical, reminiscent of a modern fairy tale. While the story is cozy and uplifting, it also challenges societal norms and prejudices in a gentle yet impactful way. The House in the Cerulean Sea is a truly delightful and heartening read.

"House in the Cerulean Sea is a hug in form of a book". Not my words, the words of the author TJ Klune but I couldn't agree more. The author started this book in an attempt to find a ray of light in a dark and desolate world. I am glad I came across when I did, it reminded me what book reading is for me, a way to see good in the world when every time you open a newspaper or radio you just hear hate , death, destruction , more so after the covid pandemic started.When Linus Baker confesses “He’d accepted long ago that some people, no matter how good their heart was or how much love they had to give, would always be alone.” , it plucked on my heart strings. Believing yourself to be alone and unworthy of love is one of the hardest things we as people have to deal with and no one especially not little kids should be made to feel unloved.Linus Baker lives in dreary city filled with grey skies and monotonous murmurings of daily life when he is assigned a special task. To supervise and investigate an orphanage , a special “orphanage”, where some of the most special kids ever born live, hidden away, scared, feared by everyone outside except by their warden “Arthur Pagassus”.Linus’s life had just one color grey, before he met these kids, he just survived, blending into the wall. For the first time in his life he felt real, he felt seen and he could see , all the colours hidden away from him, all the beauties this world had to share. He finds a place where he can belong , a family he can call his own and a man who is worth looking up to and fighting for.Some nights when I’ll despair and wonder at the meaning of it all, or feel unwanted and unloved. I’ll go back to this story, to Arthur , Lucy, Talia, Chauncey, to the love and hope they gave me and I’ll always be grateful because a life without hope, isn’t a life at all.

Absolutely worth it. A really good read.

Linus Baker is a simple 40-year-old fellow who works with the Department of Magical youth and overlooks the orphanages meant for these kids with magical abilities. He does his job with perfection and has read the book of rules and regulations hundreds of times.One day out of nowhere, his simple, plain life gets the biggest shock. He has been summoned by the extremely upper management. When he is thinking about getting sacked they offer him a secret task to visit a small island called Marsyas and report about a particular orphanage there.With little knowledge about what he is getting into the reached the island with his cat Calliope. There he discovers that the orphanage is not like any other it is filled with some of the most exquisite youth - a gnome, a wyvern, a boy-Pomeranian, a sprite, and a green blob (not identified) and an Antichrist. Also, Arthur Parnassus - the caretaker.But along with this, the island is filled with secrets of its own which Linus is still unaware of.This book is an exciting and delightful journey with so many unforgettable characters and a story of a home away from home. I literally cried my eyes out and laughed so hard. I can say this book is going to be so so close to my heart. I'm not going to say I recommend it or that you should read it, I leave it to your personal preference.Including this book to my all-time favourite reads. ❤