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

by T.J. Klune

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.

“The things we fear the most are often the things we should fear the least. It’s irrational, but it’s what makes us human. And if we’re able to conquer those fears, then there is nothing we’re not capable of.”

“I am but paper. Brittle and thin. I am held up to the sun, and it shines right through me. I get written on, and I can never be used again. These scratches are a history. They’re a story. They tell things for others to read, but they only see the words, and not what the words are written upon. I am but paper, and though there are many like me, none are exactly the same. I am parched parchment. I have lines. I have holes. Get me wet, and I melt. Light me on fire, and I burn. Take me in hardened hands, and I crumple. I tear. I am but paper. Brittle and thin.”

I relate to this deeply…

“Dreams are merely that—dreams. They’re meant to be flights of fancy. They’re not necessarily supposed to come true.”

I wonder, as an adult, do we deprive ourselves of opportunities that are different from the norm simply because we are now grown up? Are dreams only for children?

Just because you don’t experience prejudice in your everyday doesn’t stop it from existing for the rest of us.”

“Because people aren’t black and white. No matter how hard you try, you can’t stay on one path without diversions. And that doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”

“Humanity is so weird. If we’re not laughing, we’re crying or running for our lives because monsters are trying to eat us. And they don’t even have to be real monsters. They could be the ones we make up in our heads. Don’t you think that’s weird?” “I suppose. But I’d rather be that way than the alternative.” “Which is?” “Not feeling anything at all.”

How can we fight prejudice if we do nothing to change it? If we allow it to fester, what’s the point?”

As long as you listen, you can hear all manner of things you never thought were there to begin with.

“Just because I look the way I do doesn’t mean I can’t help people.

“Then why are you here if not to judge?”

Linus put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, much like he’d seen Arthur do. He shouldn’t have done it, but for once, he didn’t care what the RULES AND REGULATIONS said.

Yes! Rules and regulations be damned!

But Sal is second to last. And before I knocked on his door, I heard some new, happy sounds that I did not expect.” Linus fidgeted in his seat. “I’m sure it’s normal. He is a teenage boy, after all. They like to … explore. So long as you remind him that—”

lol

But even if you have bad dreams, you must remember they’re only that: dreams.

Sometimes wishes should never be spoken aloud as they won’t come true.

“I can’t just stay here. There are rules to follow. Regulations that must be—” “To hell with your rules and regulations!” He gaped at her. Then, he said the only thing he could, “Life, it—it doesn’t work that way.” “Why doesn’t it?” she snapped. “Why can’t life work whatever way we want it to? What’s the point of living if you only do it how others want you to?” “It’s the best we can do.”

We are who we are not because of our birthright, but because of what we choose to do in this life.

“Sometimes, you don’t know what you have until it’s no longer there.