I am fangirling for this book. The magical world on the cerulean sea dances and sparkles and then hugs and forces self-examination. The bland, soggy world of rules and regulations and safety and extremely upper management is juxtaposed with the world of a vibrant family adventuring and learning and growing on the little, isolated island where childhood wounds are healing.

The words and sentences that create the world in The House in the Cerulean Sea inspire me to make this real world a more tolerant and more magical place where fire can burn and phoenixes rise from the ashes. The witty, dark, innocent humor of children had me laughing out loud.

And those sweet children. Children in foster care, each one coping and responding differently to this adult world where they have no control, have stomped and screamed and cuddled and kissed my shoulders as they have shared our home. I love them. They have changed my life and my love. Something about this book, the way each child is given space and voice, the way people are afraid of what they do not understand – even if the “what” is children, the way the children are resilient when they shouldn’t have to be, the way the children grow into adults, and the way the children suffer and cling and say the sweetest and most terrible things – something about the children in this book made me weep.

Thank you T. J. I love that children are given space in this adult novel. I love how the adults who take the time to listen and witness and understand the children fall in love with them – even the devil. Thank you.