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Book Coach Corner: The House in the Cerulean Sea
Background: What Is Book Coach Corner?
Book Coach Corner is a blog series that allows me (your neighborhood-friendly book coach) to analyze books, TV shows, and movies. I then dissect them in terms of story structure. As a heads up: there will be spoilers, and some posts may not make sense if you haven’t seen/read the work.
Those are the details. This post will evaluate TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea and discuss the joy of finding a book that defies standard genre norms.
Synopsis
The House in the Cerulean Sea follows Linus Baker, a case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY), who is sent on a special assignment to investigate an orphanage that is home to the antichrist.
Quick Thoughts
I enjoyed this story a lot. The characters are well-written, and the book tells a complex story that ties together at the end. Klune is a fabulous writer.
A Challenging Sell
What I loved most about this book (and what I think can give hope to writers everywhere), is the fact that while I was reading it, I had no idea who the book was for.
- The tone feels middle-grade (ages 8–12), but the primary…