If he genuinely decided to do this, to recapitulate the traumas of real-world peoples, but turn them into monsters first, my opinion of him downgrades 1000 notches, and this review will lose its last star. So from that I assumed that this book was supposed to be somewhat farcical, which I was not expecting in an adult fantasy book, but I went with it.

Can you imagine if someone said this EXACT same thing but with using the holocaust, or slavery in America? Humor is so subjective, so I'm not sure how this would appeal to everyone, but it totally resonated with me and kept me delighted. In Canada, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1980s, indigenous children were taken from their homes and families and placed into government-sanctioned facilities, such as residential schools. And at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, he’s spent many dull years monitoring their orphanages. He's worked in the same government department for several years and he prides himself on his objectivity.The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. I wasn't sure how this book would be, to be honest, because it is billed as "contemporary fantasy," and I'm not really a fantasy reader. When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. The word antichrist puts in mind a boy with evil at his very heart, however, Linus discovers a child who jokes with his friends, loves music and dancing, does chores around the house and suffers at night because he is fearful of what he could become. I was incredibly put-off by the fatphobia while reading it, as well as the love interest being the "master of the orphanage" (which is also a conflict of interest + there’s an uneven power dynamic .

There is darkness at the heart of the DICOMY, and though Linus is part of the organisation he has no idea what happens once he has filed his reports and done what has been asked of him. I enjoyed Cerulean Sea, especially once our milquetoast hero, Linus, makes his way to the orphanage and meets the very special children The Department In Charge of Magical Youth wants examined.TJ Klune wears his heart on his sleeve, and The House in the Cerulean Sea is that much better for it.