Issue #19: The House in the Cerulean Sea
An unexpected heroine's journey in a YA novel, complete with beautiful, queer, nurturing father figures.
Book Review
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
But, THIS story (this story!) is an example of the Heroine’s Journey for our teenagers. A script, a tale, an example of how a man changes everything about his very stable life for something better, more vibrant, more loving, and more fulfilling. There is some “crisis” about this, but more than that is the wisdom to accept an opportunity and the courage to reach for more–a glorious growth opportunity in mid-life.
This is the story of a person returning to themselves.
*This is a FREE article! You can forward this to anyone you think might be interested!
Audio version:
Book information and ratings:
The House in the Cerulean Sea | by TJ Klune, 2020 | |
Genre: | Fiction-fantasy, YA lit |
|
Subject: | Prejudice & belonging | |
Rating: | Worth the read | |
Read as: | Audiobook | |
Readability: | Accessible | |
Subject Weight: | Moderate | |
How I found this book:
I recently joined an online book club (and you can join, too, if you want!), because my friend Leoh started an independent online community! They work as a mentor and mental health advocate.
From Leoh’s website:
I make self- & community-care into bite-sized, possible pieces by weaving various levels of support. My passions are helping you gather all the pieces of yourself you’ve left behind (or had to ignore for safety), and teaching you the skills you missed along the way.
Need help making your life make sense? I’ve got you. We can work together one-on-one, or in community. Join Blooms In The Garden for weekly support including Body Doubling, bite-sized self care discussion and skill sharing, creative art practice, book club, social hour and more. Most importantly, it’s community, and we all need that more than ever.
Yes. It’s just as wonderful and safe and fun as it sounds! I’m so glad to be a part of that growing community…and you know I’m all over that book club event!
The House in the Cerulean Sea was Leoh’s first book club discussion over Zoom. I had heard of this book from other writers at a writer’s retreat (where I first met Leoh, actually) and, although it’s been on my list for 2 years, I hadn’t picked it up yet. I’m always glad when a book club selection kicks a title right to the top of my list!
About this book:
The last class I took in college was on children’s and young adult literature. I loved learning about these underestimated and incredibly powerful genres!
So, what qualifies a book as young adult literature? The basic rule is: the age of the main character is the age of the ideal audience/reader, and 12-20 year olds are considered young adults.
Except, that is not the case with this novel.
****
The cover of this book is colorful and exciting! The bright illustration screams YA literature. (This might be a great book to read to my boys! I thought.)
But, the book starts from the perspective of a 40-year-old man, Linus Baker. This guy is overweight, self-conscious, alone, and living in zombie-mode. He operates at a high level of scrupulosity at his soul-sucking job and leads an almost completely self-contained life: just him, his house, his temperamental cat, a nosey neighbor, and an umbrella that he’s always forgetting…
Huh.
I don’t think my kids are going to relate to any of THAT. Maybe the perspective will shift to someone younger…?
*12 hours and 12 minutes later*
Nope. We stayed with Linus through the whole book.
****
Through Linus’ unexpected work assignment, we travel with him on an extended trip to an orphan house, perched on an island in the cerulean blue sea. But, this isn’t just any orphanage on any island. This island is protected by a fierce sprite. And, the orphans consist of: a gnome, a wyvern, a personable green blob, a pomeranian version of a werewolf, another sprite, and…The Antichrist. All is managed in complete compassion and warmth by the unflappable Arthur Parnassus. (My boys would love all of these characters–the variety, the magic! I kept thinking.)
Additionally, the main character is openly gay, which in this story’s world, is so normal it seems odd to live in the real world where it is not normalized. (I love experiencing healthy dynamics in a fantasy world, because maybe we can bring it back to reality with us…?) Nonetheless, there is plenty for the people in this story to be prejudiced about, which the author explores in-depth.
****
This book is completely enchanting! Linus’ character development is empowering. The odd assortment of children is funny and endearing. The love story is fresh and wholesome! But, the emphasis on father figures, men who are fully invested in protecting, nurturing, and loving these children, was an absolute delight to my heart–and by far my favorite part!
But, my boys aren’t going to identify with a chubby, lonely, work-burdened, 40-year-old man, I kept thinking. They’ll be bored a few chapters in and ask to read something else. They don't want to read about a mid-life crisis…no YA books discuss midlife challenges….
OMG! THAT’S RIGHT!
No YA literature discusses midlife challenges…
…except this one!!
****
The most recognized story structure in literature is the Hero’s Journey. This narrative pattern was first published in Joseph Campbell’s book Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). This is very familiar to us, and all of our ancient and modern epic stories follow this journey, from Beowulf to Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.
But, did you know there’s a Heroine’s Journey? The Heroine’s Journey is more of a spiritual journey–a second-half of life journey. It usually starts when you’ve done it–you’ve checked all the boxes! But, then…you look around, and realize that what you built isn’t really what you want…or this world and your place in it isn’t what you thought it was…or that you have landed so very far away from yourself and something huge is missing from your life…and…you’re actually not happy. At all.
Well, shit. Now what?
That’s when the Heroine’s Journey begins.
****
With society at large neglecting to tell the Heroine’s Journey, our expectations are front-loaded in adolescence and young adulthood. It leaves the impression that our development somehow stops after we have achieved the education, the career, the marriage, the children, the house, the income, or the whatever-whatever-whatever. We did it!
But (aside from the few stories about retirees), it leaves DECADES stretching before us with no storyline–and having no expectations for growth and change makes ANYTHING that happens seem unstable. Switching careers? Terrifying! Going back to school? What a waste! Moving from a broken relationship/marriage to something healthier? Well, THAT’s just the most obvious failure. Children don’t complete you as a person? What the hell is wrong with the giant hole in YOUR soul? I mean, really!
Or, well, I guess we do talk about it. Some. It’s called: The Mid-life Crisis.
Not a normal stage of development, but a big, fat, f*ing joke.
Lovely.
****
We KNOW this isn’t the case, of course. Personally, I could easily count the people I know who are still married after 20 years, or the people who are still working in the field they studied in college, or the people who are living their lives in anything resembling the idealized homeostasis from their 20s. Everyone else, the other 300+ people I know by name, are still growing and changing and figuring life out.
And, who am I kidding? We are ALL growing and changing and figuring life out, whether we have reached and maintained prescribed these life goals/standards or not!
So, how is it that my brain is haunted by the constant story-structure of our society instead of anchored in the lived experiences of myself and the people around me?
****
But, THIS story (this story!) is an example of the Heroine’s Journey for our teenagers. A script, a tale, an example of how a man changes everything about his very stable life for something better, more vibrant, more loving, and more fulfilling. There is some “crisis” about this, but more than that is the wisdom to accept an opportunity and the courage to reach for more–a glorious growth opportunity in mid-life.
This is the story of a person returning to themselves.
TJ Klune, I could kiss you! What a gem of a book: the story of a middle aged man that is more accessible and interesting to our youth. I am desperately grateful for this type of story. And, we need more of them!
I’ll definitely be reading this to my children. (And, there is a sequel! Eeek!)
****
P.S. Are there any other books you can think of that share the Heroine’s Journey with young readers? Will you please comment and let me know? I would love to compile a list! Perhaps our children’s perspective on life stories can be more complete than ours were, and midlife challenges won’t sneak up on them quite so quietly.
About the author:
TJ KLUNE is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The House in the Cerulean Sea, The Extraordinaries, and more. Being queer himself, Klune believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive queer representation in stories. TJKlunebooks.com
Sources:
Klune, T.J. The House in the Cerulean Sea. Narrated by Daniel Henning, Macmillan Audio, 2020. Audiobook.
Additional resources:
The Heroine with 1,001 Faces by Maria Tatar
The Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock
*This is issue #19 of The Book Moth
Visit katewebbwrites.com for more information and free resources. Thank you for your readership!