If you loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, you’re probably anxious to know whether the sequel will meet your expectations. I can happily tell you that I enjoyed every minute of this book, just as much as the first one. And I was very happy to learn more about Arthur Parnassus.
Is it full of cute, precocious youngsters? Yes. Is it excessively sentimental? Yes, very. And normally those two things would have me running for the hills. But this book, as with the first one, just works. These are stories about tolerance and accepting others’ differences, and we can all use more of that.
The book begins with Arthur and Linus heading into the city for a hearing on the Care of Magical Youth. Arthur is determined to share his story with the world, to prevent further abuses of children. But he also knows he’ll be speaking to a hostile audience, which could jeopardize their petition to adopt their six foster youth. Plus they’re hoping to open their home to one more child: David, a Yeti.
Audio narrator Daniel Henning is brilliant at voicing each character distinctively, even Theo who only speaks Wyvern. Though at times he gets a bit over-excited, in my opinion, this is not a toned-down kind of book (if you’re looking for subtlety, this is not the book for you). Also, there’s quite a bit more action in this book compared to the first one. The descriptions of Arthur as Phoenix are fantastic.
In truth, this book isn’t quite as good as the first, because it’s quite repetitive and the characters are all either very good or very bad. I preferred the moral ambiguity that Linus struggled with in the first book. But I still really enjoyed the mix of action, humor and heart, and I really liked the new character of David. One of the interesting issues Klune raises is how one can define themselves and “own” what makes them different. What if being a “monster” isn’t a bad thing?
Trust, Arthur knew, was a treasure effortlessly stolen, often without rhyme or reason. And this particular treasure was a fragile thing, a piece of thin glass easily broken. But here was David, surrounded by strangers in an unfamiliar place, attempting to pick up his pieces and put them back into a recognizable shape. Whatever else he was, David’s bravery in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds proved yet again what Arthur had always believed: magic existed in many forms, some extraordinary, some simple acts of goodwill and trust, small though they might be.
I won’t tell you more than that, since if you’re a fan of the first book you’re probably already planning to read (or have read) the second one.
Two additional notes: there’s an interesting afterword to this book by author T.J. Klune, primarily about the transphobia of J.K. Rowling. I also read about a controversy relating to Klune’s inspiration for this series, which was the abusive residential school system for indigenous youth in Canada. The concern seems to be that 1) he’s written very cutesy books about horrific abuses and 2) he’s appropriating and profiting from another group’s story.
While I can see those concerns, these are books about hate and fear and abuse towards people who are different. I don’t see Klune exploiting specific cultural references, and sadly there’s more than enough abuses of children to go around. Klune’s interview with John Scalzi is here and I’d be interested to hear what you think.
I will also note that I received a preview (not the full book) from NetGalley.