The House in the Cerulean Sea (2020) is a queer fantasy novel by TJ Klune, Lambda Award-winning author of The Extraordinaires and the Green Creek series. Klune is a queer author whose works often explore supernatural elements. Many mythological species feature in this novel, while other books focus on werewolves, ghosts, and the like. The book explores themes of Nature Versus Nurture, The Perpetuation of Prejudice, and Found Family.

Klune’s work, particularly The House in the Cerulean Sea, has been praised for its warmth and messages of love and acceptance. It is part of a larger swell of LGBTQ+ representation in contemporary young adult and children’s literature. Other works by Klune include Under the Whispering Door and In the Lives of Puppets.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide include discussions of child abuse, body shaming, and forced institutionalization.

Plot Summary

Linus Baker is a case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY), a government agency that monitors the behavior and well-being of magical children living in orphanages and group homes. Some of these children have powers like telekinesis, and some are from nonhuman, many of which readers would consider mythological. Linus’s job is to follow up on incident reports and make suggestions regarding the fate of the children and the homes.

Linus himself is a serious, solitary man with a preference for order and clarity. He is cautious in life and careful with his words. Early in the novel, he is unexpectedly summoned to a personal meeting with Extremely Upper Management, elusive figures who are often whispered about but rarely seen.

At the meeting, Linus is given top-secret clearance to review an unusual orphanage run by Arthur Parnassus. It lodges six children who are considered “extreme” cases. He will be sent to the orphanage for a month, during which he will send thorough weekly reports. Charles Werner, a handsome young member of Extremely Upper Management, warns Linus to “beware” and spare no detail in his reports.

Located on Marsyas Island, the orphanage is isolated from civilization other than a small town on the mainland. It is populated by Arthur Parnassus, the children, and Zoe, an island sprite whose tremendous powers are and linked to the island.

The town on the mainland is openly hostile toward magical beings, and relations between the townspeople and the orphanage are strained. This tension is exacerbated by the extremity of the children’s magical natures. One of the children, Lucy, is listed in his files as the Antichrist, or the son of the Devil. Among the other children are a wyvern, a gnome, a forest sprite, a shapeshifter, and a gelatinous, tentacled child named Chauncey.

Linus, a man accustomed to rules, structure, and propriety, is initially wary of the children, but he soon falls in love with them and their guardian. His previous life did not allow him to form the close, loving relationships he experiences on the island, and as he spends time with Arthur, Zoe, and the children, Linus slowly comes to care for the island’s residents and starts to see himself in a new light.

There is romantic tension between Arthur and Linus, which Linus isn’t sure how to deal with. After further correspondence from Charles Werner, Linus discovers that Arthur is a phoenix who was raised on the island by one of the home’s abusive former masters. He also discovers that Arthur and Werner were in a romantic relationship, which explains Werner’s deep interest in the orphanage.

Linus becomes more confident, more willing to form emotional attachments, and more outspoken in his defense of children, magical and otherwise. As the island changes him, Linus also has an important effect on those around him—for example, he encourages Arthur to bring the children to town, initiating improved relations between the orphanage and the mainland. He also breaks through to Sal, a traumatized shapeshifter recovering from previous abuse.

Though it’s difficult, and although Arthur asks him to stay, Linus returns to the city at the end of the month to file his report. He feels a duty and obligation to advocate for the orphanage with Extremely Upper Management. Once back in the city, Linus brashly defends Arthur, the children, and the home. He implicates Management in the discrimination and abuses of the system. Even so, they accept his recommendation that the home remain open.

Linus quickly realizes that he is miserable and grieving the people he left behind, so he makes plans to return. First, though, he steals files from DICOMY to expose the abuses and failures he’s seen in his 17 years as a caseworker. Once he’s prepared and the orphanage is safe, Linus quits his job, packs his meager belongings, and returns to Marsyas Island.

After the children hold a brief conference—and communicate a number of adorable demands—Linus is welcomed home. He and Arthur begin a romantic relationship and petition to officially adopt all six children. The book ends with an epilogue in which the town mayor notifies them of an unregistered child in need of a home. Linus and Arthur quickly agree to take him in.