This is the 2020 international bestseller from TJ Klune. Klune is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of over 30 novels. Being queer himself, Klune believes it’s now more important than ever to have accurate, positive queer representation in stories.
Linus Baker is a lonely caseworker for the government department that manages orphaned magical beings. He visits orphanages to check up on them and writes reports. When he’s summoned by the department’s Extremely Upper Management (“EUM”), he is given a month-long classified assignment to assess a special orphanage on the island of Marsyas. The master of the orphanage, Arthur Parnassus, looks after six magical children. The children include “Lucy (short for Lucifer), who is the supposed Antichrist; Theodore, one of the few wveryns in existence; Talia, a rare female gnome; Phee, a powerful forest sprite; Chauncey, an amorphous blog with tentacles; and Sal, a shapeshifter who can become a small Pomeranian. Also on the island is Zoe Chapelwhite, an adult island sprite who discreetly helps to take care of the children.
Linus is scared of the children at first, but soon sees that they act much like other kids. The children fear that Linus will take away their home, since he will be making a recommendation on whether to shut down their orphanage. After a few weeks on the island, Linus becomes attached to the children and also develops romantic feelings toward Arthur. As Linus sends back reports to Extremely Upper Management, they are dismayed when they see how sympathetic Linus has become towards Arthur and the orphanage. Mr. Werner, from EUM, reveals to Linus that Arthur is carrying a dangerous secret about his past and true identity. When Linus goes to investigate, he learns that Arthur himself grew up in a magical children’s orphanage and was abused. As an adult, Arthur requested to be put in charge of the orphanage because he wanted to turn it into a place where kids could truly get help. As Linus’s time on the island is coming to an end, he must make the difficult decision to abide by the advice of EUM or to make the rightful recommendation to keep the orphanage open. The entire experience has changed Linus, and going back to his mundane, lonely life in the city becomes a daunting scenario.
This is a beautifully written novel with several powerful messages. The most powerful message is how prejudice is rooted in fear and misunderstanding. Other important messages include encouraging people to be their authentic selves and allowing everyone the freedom to love who they want to, wholly and freely.
The story has several loveable characters. Linus, at first, is a miserable rule-abiding individual, content with a mundane lifestyle. Over the course of the story, his character growth is spectacular. His entire outlook on the world shifts, as does his rigid demeanour, into a much more balanced, likeable man. The magical children are all very unique in their personalities, and each has unique, loveable qualities, including Lucy, despite him demonstrating an inherent evil. All of the characters assist in making for a truly magical and colourful story that will stay with you. To be critical, the narrative of the book is somewhat predictable at times and definitely crammed with common literary tropes. But because everything is presented in a very unique and special way, the story stands out and becomes very memorable!
Narrator Daniel Henning should be commended for his incredible job at bringing this story and its wonderful characters to life. Henning’s portrayal of Linus is extremely convincing and delivered with a constant undertone of humour that will make listeners laugh quite often. The narration of the children, Arthur and Zoe, is presented with very entertaining, distinct voices that give the feel of a “full-cast audiobook.” As Linus evolves over the story, Henning also shifts his performance to incorporate more emotion and empathy in the character’s speech and overall attitude. Overall, Henning makes this one a top-notch audiobook experience that will have you hooked from the very beginning. If you haven’t gotten around to reading or listening to this immensely popular book yet, this summer is perfect timing as the sequel “Somewhere Beyond The Sea” comes out in September — and it will definitely be a book that everyone will be talking about!
