2020 book 196

 TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea

This book is a good example of why sometimes you need to be in the right mood or headspace to enjoy something: I got it from the library months ago and read the first few pages and felt very MEH about it for whatever reason. But I kept seeing people talk about how sweet it was, so decided to give it another shot, and this time I connected with it. It’s the story of a caseworker for the government department who deals with orphanages of magical children, and what happens when he’s sent to inspect some very special children indeed. It’s all predictable and a little bit cheesy at times, but it is also very sweet. I was partial to Talia for sure. There are some great funny moments, which help balance the sometimes heavy-handed moral lessons. B+.