From the Bookshelf of The Rebellious Readers …

The House in the Cerulean Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #1)

T.J. Klune

Start date: February 1, 2021

Finish date: February 28, 2021

Discussion: BOTM Discussions

Discussion leader: Lucy Tonks (the invisible life of a reader)

Why we're reading this: It won second place in the BOTM poll and so people would have more variety I decided this month to have t…more
[close] It won second place in the BOTM poll and so people would have more variety I decided this month to have two BOTMs!

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February BOTM 2021 - The House in the Cerulean Sea (T.J. Klune)
By Lucy Tonks , Shadowhunter - Head of BOTM · 5 posts · 23 views

last updated Feb 09, 2021 09:14AM

February BOTM 2021 - Red, White and Royal Blue
By Lucy Tonks , Shadowhunter - Head of BOTM · 2 posts · 14 views

last updated Feb 01, 2021 09:24AM

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What Members Thought

Oct 02, 2020 Lucy Tonks (the invisible life of a reader) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: need-to-buy-a-copy

“Change often starts with the smallest of whispers. Like-minded people building it up to a roar.”

This was so good and god this book gave me so many happy feels! I just was in a very good mood the whole time i was reading it and I had such a great time. This book deserves the whole hype it is getting! I'm so happy I decided to pick this up!

I have never read any book like this, it has such an unique concept. The world-building was amazing and I fell in love with the characters. Our main character “Change often starts with the smallest of whispers. Like-minded people building it up to a roar.”

This was so good and god this book gave me so many happy feels! I just was in a very good mood the whole time i was reading it and I had such a great time. This book deserves the whole hype it is getting! I'm so happy I decided to pick this up!

I have never read any book like this, it has such an unique concept. The world-building was amazing and I fell in love with the characters. Our main character, Linus, had such an amazing character development, you could claerly see, through out the book, how he changes while he is staying at the Marsyas Orphanage.

This book follows Linus Baker, a forty year old, who lives a quite and kinda lonely life working as a Case Worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. But one day, he is unexpectedly summined by Extremely Upper Managed who gives him a highly classified assignment. He has to visit Marsyas Island Orphanage where six "dangerous" kids live: a gnome whose name is Talia, a sprite named Phee, a wyvern called Theodore, an unidentifiable green blob, Chauncey, a were-Pomeranian named Sal, an the Antichrist, a six year old boy called Lucy. And then enters their carekeeper, the charming and enigmatic, Arthur Parnassus.

At the beginning of the book Linus is this lonely caretaker. He lives a really quiet life in a small house with his cat. But once he arrives on the island, his life starts to change and the bubble that he has created to protect himself, the bubble that he lives in, starts to weaken. He does something he has never done. He opens his heart for this kids and starts seeing them for what they truly are.

These kids broke my heart. Lucy was my favourite character through out the book. From the beginning we are told that he is the Antichrist so we are excepting the worst. But once we get there we see that he is this six year old who tries so hard to be good and who cares so much about Arthur and the other children. I also really loved Sal, from the start he was weary of Linus, he was so afraid that he will close down this orphanage, that he did not want to trust him. In the end we see him starting to warm up to Linus and Linus to him. And this book is so cute and emotional and I just cannot deal with this!

This is a book about love. We see how the children love eachother, we see them having such a cute sibling relationship through out the book and you cann see that no matter what, they care about eachother. We see Arthur loving the kids and the kids loving Arthur. And then we see Linus slowly starting to care and love for the children and Arthur.

This was such an amazing book. It is for sure one of my favourites of the year and I was kind of late to the hype, I feel like everybody read it before me, but if you still have not read this book you should totally do! ...more

81 likes · Like · see review

Apr 01, 2021 ☆Pelumi☆ added it · review of another edition

OK, I was today years old when I found out that this book was based on a historical tragedy, the sixties scoop, that's still ongoing.
The author based it off of the Sixties Scoop that happened in Canada where Indigenous children were stolen from their families to be taken into foster care and raised in white households to become "more white".
I am in no way trying to incorporate the story but I'd love to point out that the main reason why this is deemed problematic is because he tried to sugarcoat ...more

48 likes · Like · see review

Dec 17, 2020 Amelie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, standalones, buddy-read

“A home isn’t always the house we live in. It’s also the people we choose to surround ourselves with.”

Linus Baker lives a lonely life as a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) where he evaluates the wellbeing of magical children in government-sanctioned orphanages. But one day, he is assigned a confidential case to visit and monitor an orphanage with six powerful children including a gnome, sprite, wyvern, unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichr “A home isn’t always the house we live in. It’s also the people we choose to surround ourselves with.”

Linus Baker lives a lonely life as a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) where he evaluates the wellbeing of magical children in government-sanctioned orphanages. But one day, he is assigned a confidential case to visit and monitor an orphanage with six powerful children including a gnome, sprite, wyvern, unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. There he also meets the mysterious caretaker of the orphanage, Arthur Parnassus, who will do whatever it takes to protect the children.

“We are who we are not because of our birthright, but because of what we choose to do in this life. It cannot be boiled down to black and white. Not when there is so much in between.”

This book was written in such a moving way, that really filled me with happiness and giddy joy. It was such a beautifully written story about accepting others regardless of their background or differences, and how families aren’t always made up of the people we expect them to be made up of, and they’re instead made up of the people we surround ourselves with who we can truly care for and vice versa. The prejudice against the children for their magic was another common theme where we got to see how they were judged by others for their differences, and how their separation from ordinary people inspired fear among citizens. It was horrible seeing how poorly some of the children had been treated in the past, and I loved how this book showed that change can be gradual and slow thing, but it’s not impossible, and certainly not too late for people to overcome their initial prejudices against magical people and accept them, much like Linus did.

“Our perception is colored by what we’re taught. Even as children, we’re told the world is a certain way, and these are the rules.”

A highlight of this book for me would definetely be the characters. They are each so unique and painted with their own individual struggles, yet they persevere and still find joy in their lives. The protagonist Linus, started off as an avid rule-follower living a lonely life and never questioning the government decisions and authority, and gradually transitioned into a more empathetic person who prioritised the needs of the children, after seeing that it wasn’t fair to judge them just by their power, and how it was important to realise they were simply children who deserved to be treated like any child. I was so impressed when he vehemently voiced his opinions to the public and DICOMY, to help initiate change.

Linus and Arthur’s relationship was highly enjoyable to read about throughout the course of the book, and was incredibly heartwarming with LGBT+ representation. I loved how they bring out the best in each other, and both were so compassionate towards the children. Arthur was such a great character, and I truly admired his kind-hearted nature. His true identity came as a surprise to me, but made things a lot more interesting. Zoe was another character I really liked, and I admired her protectiveness of the children, and her relationship with Helen!

“But those of us who dream of impossible things know just how far we can go when pushed to do so.”

Of course, I cannot forget about the children. In fact, they were what truly made this book so special. Each have their own individual perks, qualities and struggles, and this is what truly made each of them human in their own way. After all, they’re only children and they deserve all the happiness they can get, regardless of their differences. We have Talia, a grumpy and prickly gnome with a love of gardening, who is fiercely loyal to those she cares about, Phee, a forest sprite who can make plants grow and is protective towards her loved ones, Theodore, a wyvern who loves collecting buttons and has a big heart, Chauncey (my favourite), an unidentifiable blob constantly judged for his monstrous appearance but persistently dreams of becoming a bellhop, Sal, a shy writer who transforms into a dog when frightened, and Lucy, the Antichrist, who despite his destructive dreams and powers, is a little boy who enjoys exploring. They were all such great characters I absolutely loved!

Overall, this was a wonderful book about accepting others regardless of their differences, and finding a family even in the most unlikeliest of people and places. It gave me so many happy feels, and I just couldn’t stop smiling for the majority of the book. It’s a book I would highly recommend reading, and absolutely loved!!

5/5 stars ...more

26 likes · Like · see review

Apr 25, 2021 gaby rated it it was amazing

Shelves: god-tier-high-school-edition

i was a little bit intimidated by the 4.53 avg goodreads rating if i'm being perfectly honest, but this book blew me out of the water. (no pun intended)

if you look in my goodreads bio, under my favourite books i list it as "the ones that make me question everything i know, and/or make me sob uncontrollably". this book is that statement. it's about oppression, found family, being more than people assume of you, finding your own meaning and happiness. it is beauty personified and i couldn't be ...more

22 likes · Like · see review

Feb 05, 2022 Katie rated it really liked it

4.25+ stars

May need to increase rating. Will think on it.

I listened to this via Audible and hats off to the reader-he was so good. Every character-and there were a lot-had their own unique voice and personality told brilliantly.

This story has its controversies (the inspiration of the story) but if one focuses purely on the writing and the story and character development, the interactions, the plot-well, it was amazing. So whimsical and hopeful and utterly charming.

6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 19, 2021 Sunny rated it it was amazing

Expectations met and exceeded.

5 likes · Like · see review

Oct 29, 2021 Karina Flores rated it it was amazing

I have no much to say about this book! Stay tuned for review!

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 06, 2021 maria basilio rated it it was amazing

the house in the cerulean sea deserves every star possible i laughed like no other book has made me laugh, i cried and continued to cry till the end. such a beautiful book and definitely one that i will recommend nonstop to people because everyone needs to read about these wonderful kids, their two fathers, and zoe

Like · see review