Reviews

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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crickets's review against another edition

5.0

Second time reading: I'm so glad I made the time to re-read this one! What a wonderful way to brighten up my entire month in one simple act of self-care. This book needs to be made into an animation film. Seriously.

First time reading it: This little book is a refreshing, sunny day by the sea. The writing is smooth and the style is imaginative and quite unique. I kept wanting to read more and more, and as I read I smiled uncontrollably at its sweetness and laughed a few times at its ridiculousness, too.

The children in this story are wonderful and funny and you will want to fight any system to protect them. And that is what the adults try to do, fiercely, unconditionally. A beautiful story about care, love, and chosen family I didn't know I needed.

Yes, it addresses important and difficult questions. For one, prejudice and our societal concept of "neutrality", which continues to create the false equivalents that justify said prejudice against young and old. But these tough questions are addressed the only way these characters know how: with love, love, love.

Sure, it is still a fairy tale. It can be a bit sappy and make use of certain naïve, albeit good spirited platitudes, but it's definitely a change from the dark and dismal, and what an extraordinary treat it was! I'm grateful for this story and I'll surely be re-reading it whenever I need to visit the house in the cerulean sea.

jazz_faith's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

axelds's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Hartverwarmend

Voordat ik aan dit boek begon, had ik er al veel over gehoord en lagen de verwachtingen hoog.

Gedurende het eerste deel van het boek kon ik me niet helemaal vinden in deze hype, maar het tweede deel veegde deze twijfels resoluut van tafel.

De personages die Klune in dit boek neerzet, zijn hartverwarmend. Je leert ze kennen en leeft met hen mee op het eiland. Het verhaal is meeslepend en de ontwikkeling van de personages laat je niet onberoerd.

Aan het einde van dit boek waren mijn pagina's doordrenkt met tranen. Dat zegt wel genoeg over hoezeer ik dit boek zou aanbevelen.