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

by T.J. Klune

Sometimes, silence was the loudest thing of all.

(Linus was nothing if not a consummate worrier),

I do feel you, Linus

That information was above his pay grade.

WKWKWKWK

“Sometimes,” Mr. Parnassus said, “our prejudices color our thoughts when we least expect them to. If we can recognize that, and learn from it, we can become better people. Lucy?”

I’m not just the sum of my parts.”

“Arthur says that we should always make time for the things we like,” Talia said. “If we don’t, we might forget how to be happy. Are you not happy, Mr. Baker?”

“I like being round,” Talia announced. “It means there’s more of me to love.”

The fact that I must become a conversationalist in addition to my current duties is vexing.

Linus is funny for sure 😂

“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.”

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

The more you get, the less you appreciate their worth.”

“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.”

Because their worry was only a thin cover for fear and revulsion.

“These children are faced with nothing but preconceived notions about who they are. And they grow up to be adults who know only the same. You said it yourself: Lucy wasn’t who you expected him to be, which means you already had decided in your head what he was. How can we fight prejudice if we do nothing to change it? If we allow it to fester, what’s the point?”

“I am protecting them from a world that doesn’t understand.

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

“Words can hurt too,” Lucy told him. “I know. But we must pick and choose our fights. Just because someone else acts a certain way, doesn’t mean we should respond in kind. It’s what makes us different. It’s what makes us good.”

Look at you. Look at what you’ve made here. You are a fire, and they need to know how you burn. Not only because of who you are, but because of what they have made you into.”

It’s the little things, I expect. Little treasures we find without knowing their origin. And they come when we least expect them. It’s beautiful, when you think about it.

there can be magic in the ordinary.

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. You cannot say something is moral or immoral without understanding the nuances behind it.”

That we can find the most unexpected things when we aren’t even looking for them.”

“You dear, dear man. How I adore you.”

FIX SIH HOWL BGT