If you haven't read "The House in the Cerulean Sea"…well, I am both sad you missed it but also delighted that you still have a chance to read it. In this world, some children are born into magical families; and some lose their family.  They end up in an orphanage run by the government; which, of course, professes to have their welfare in mind.

In the first book, we met Arthur who runs such an orphanage while having been one of those children himself and suffering much abuse.  He is determined to have a safe home for those children.  We also meet Linus who starts out as one of those soulless government investigators.  Linus is sent to the orphanage to determine if the children there are safe and well-taken care of.  But, that isn't the real reason he was sent.  He was sent to ferret out the potential for danger from one small child in particular:  Lucifer, son of the devil and just six-years-old. That book ended with Arthur and Linus discovering their mutual love, and all the children safe and loved.  This book picks up immediately after that…

Arthur and Linus have an idyllic existence with their group of fascinating and challenging children; right up until Arthur gets an "invitation" to speak to the government body that has taken over with the demise of Extremely Upper Management that happened in the first book.  Linus, having worked within the government, is very distrustful of the government's intent.  Arthur is sure that he'll be able to alleviate their concerns with his recitation of how loving and unique each of his children are.  Linus, of course, was more right.  They find themselves pitted against a soulless woman whose agenda is unknown…at first.

This woman sends an operative to the island to observe and report on conditions there, including a report on each child.  Arthur is instructed to give her all access to the children.  But there are many obstacles in the way of that; starting with the new boy who just arrived on the island and of whom the government knows nothing.  And there is, of course, the children themselves and their unique methods of dealing with outsiders.  And, last but not least, there's the island's protector, the sprite Zoe who is much more than anyone knew, including Arthur.

Arthur's own magical nature, as the only known Phoenix, is attacked with accusations that he is unstable and should not be raising those children; including an accusation that he is grooming the children to be a magical army.  These allegations are only meant to keep him off-balance and raise public opinion against him.

Much of the book addresses the children, as did the first book.  The author wants us to be fully familiar with their stories and their natures.  He wants us to credit a found family as no different from a birth family; sometimes it's even stronger and more loving. He reinforces this by neglecting to tell us the childrens back-stories. I so admire Arthur's patience and intelligence in addressing each child's concerns and attributes; although I cannot quite imagine how 'normal' parents could live up to his example.  But I love watching his interactions.  And Linus, while probably the least described character in this story, shows his willingness to sacrifice himself for love.  And then there's the children: each one is adorable and fascinating; including the Anti-Christ himself.

The story also pushes the idea that people can be changed if they can see the goodness in people they fear; the town that feared the children in the first book now embraces and protects them.  The plot is pretty simple but that's not a bad thing. They need to figure out the government's endgame and find a way to defeat it while keeping everyone in the family safe and together.  Realistically, most people don't really stand a chance against a government's intention to do something that they don't want.  So, realistically, the best of intentions by Arthur and Linus don't really mean much against the might of bureaucracy. The author does not attempt to make his characters so powerful that they can change these events; that's a bit of cheat.  Instead, he provides an outside force that tips the scales.  This is also a bit of cheat in that neither the characters nor the reader could have seen it coming.  But, you know what?  I didn't care.  It was a lovely resolution and occasionally, we can all do with a happily-ever-after.

The prose is sweet, clever and articulate.  The characters carry the entire story and I so enjoyed knowing each of them.                                                                     

And as I observed with the first story (and other titles by this author) it's a lovely story with a significant message and it ought to be required reading in middle school.  ~~ Catherine Book

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