The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Linus Baker works for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. His job as a case worker is to investigate orphanages full of magical youth to ensure the children are being looked after properly. He takes his role so seriously he memorizes DICOMY’s Rules and Regulations and does not divert from those words. He is a single, middle aged man, his only roommate a stray cat that decided to move in that he isn’t entirely sure he likes, and spends his free time listening to records on his Victrola. His days are near mirror images of themselves, never changing his routine and that’s just the way he likes it. That is, until he’s summoned by the Extremely Upper Management for a meeting. Thinking he’s about to lose his job he is even more stunned that they’ve selected him for a top secret assignment. There’s an orphanage located on a distant, secluded island that not only houses magical youth but the children that reside are potentially dangerous and could, he later learns, bring on the end of the world. As Linus forms relationships with the children, and their mysterious and handsome caretaker Arthur Parnassus, he begins to wonder if DICOMY and their Rules and Regulations are really in the best interest of magical youth.

This book is a great introduction to the fantasy genre. It is light and funny with a bit of romance thrown in near the end. Klune describes each child’s magical powers without going into so much detail that you feel bogged down in fantastical lingo and the world feels very much like the one we live in. He focuses more on their personalities as they are, after all, children just trying to find their place in the world. My favorite character was Talia; a gnome with a penchant for threatening to bury Linus in her impressive flower garden several times a day with a close runner up being a shy older boy who turns into a tiny Pomeranian when he feels scared. I absolutely adored escaping into this novel and watching Linus fall in love with each child as he learns they aren’t as dangerous as the world has made them out to be and in turn discover that maybe something has been missing from his perfectly curated life after all.

Reserve House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune at the Library: https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx….