Big Brother Is Employing You: Although Linus genuinely cares about all the children in the care of DICOMY, the department itself is very obviously about controlling magical people, not helping them, even before it becomes obvious to Linus how bad they are.Bad Powers, Good People: Several of the characters, but most notably Arthur, who could burn the world if he wanted to but is more concerned with being a good dad.After he asks what are the names of the other children, his superiors go silent. They say that one of them is the Antichrist, with Linus having to demand that they use his real name. Armor-Piercing Question: When confronting the Extremely Upper Management, Linus asks them what are the children's names.One of the protestors in the village holds a sign saying he's anti-antichrist.Although Lucy regularly (and hammily) proclaims he's evil, underneath it all he's a sweet kid who doesn't actually want to drown the world in blood and become a god-king.Though Mrs Klapper mentions her grandson having a gay church wedding implying modern day or even 20 Minutes into the Future. Ambiguous Time Period: It seems to be 20 Minutes into the Past with Linus' office having computers but no mention of cellphones or internet.

As the month goes by Linus finds himself becoming increasingly attached to the children and their mysterious caretaker. The orphanage is home to six magical children, one of which is a six-year-old named Lucy, who is the Antichrist. The assignment is a month-long visit to a small island to evaluate the Marsyas orphanage run by Arthur Parnassus. Linus is charged with a special assignment by Extremely Upper Management. He has been working the job for seventeen years, and now he is forty, rotund, and alone. Linus Baker is a social worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. The House in the Cerulean Sea is a fantasy novel by TJ Klune, published in March 2020.

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