Summary:
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.
But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.
Thoughts:
Ahh, this book was so lovely and it deserves all the praise I’ve been seeing for it around the net. In a year that was completely exhausting, this book a lot of joy to people’s lives and reminded us that love counts for a lot.
This story is set from our main character, Linus’, POV. And what a lovely character. When we first meet him he seems to be telling himself that he’s content with his life. It’s very routine and somewhat boring and his office environment reminds me a bit of the beginning of Joe VS the Volcano (sorry for the old film reference but I’m old so…). It’s not a pleasant place to work and despite having worked there seventeen years he’s never advanced and has to put up with both his boss and his coworker’s derision. But he does this because, he tells himself, he believes in what he’s doing. At home he has a neighbor who is a busybody and rather annoying and a cat that is, like a lot of cats, mostly indifferent. And yet, he says he’s happy.
I think this speaks to those of us that take routine and stability for happiness. We do a lot to convince ourselves that we’re happy without really knowing what that is because maybe we don’t have much to compare against. Being stuck in a rut is so common that we have a name for it, after all. And that’s where Linus is at when the story begins. It’s not until something happens to disrupt that routine and take him out of his comfort zone that he begins to open up more and discover bits of himself that were long buried. That he actually might want something more out of life other than just settling.
The main message/theme of this book is love. And because of that it is very sweet and sometimes almost too saccharine. But I can’t fault it for that. It never ignores the realities surrounding the children or even the adults that are magical in nature. There are incidents of hate and even some hints at violence. Klune never says that love will solve everything or change everyone’s mind, but that it’s a start and that you can’t make change without at least starting something. This is what Linus brings to the island–change and a new perspective. Because Arthur, the master of the orphanage and more of a father to the children than just a caretaker, is content to live there hidden away and protecting his charges from the greater world. Some part of him knows that’s not realistic, that some day they’ll need to face the world on their own, but he’s not ready to make that step until Linus arrives. I think that those two were a perfect balance for each other. Arthur at times seems like a perfect man but he has his flaws, even if they are hidden in his loving and protective nature.
One other thing that I’ll mention about this book is the humor. I’ve only read two other of Klune’s books before and while they were fairly different in tone and this is yet even more different, there are always threads that run through each of them and the humor is one of them. I feel like it’s hard to write something funny that will make a reader laugh out loud and yet Klune nails that every time. I spent a lot of my time reading this chuckling to myself or having to explain to my husband why I was giggling. This book was feel good in more than one way, and for that, I thank its author.
Honestly, I loved everything about this book. It’s undoubtedly my favorite read of 2020 (and I’ve read quite a few books). I hope that you get the chance to read this and enjoy it too. 5/5 stars.
Way Too Fantasy 
This was such an amazing review!! And I wholeheartedly agree with you. It is sweet sweet sweet but it doesn’t run away from reality and from the problems. It was so good!
Thanks, Susy! Yeah, it was just such a lovely book.
Excellent review! I enjoyed this book, too!
Thanks! It was such a lovely read, glad you also enjoyed it. 🙂
My review is forthcoming.
Nice!
Wonderful review, Lisa. I should buy the paperback, which is out now. I really don’t want to miss this😁
I think you’ll like it, Tammy! It’s such a feel good book. 🙂
Awesome!!! I loved this one too.
Glad you enjoyed it, Paul! It’s such a wonderful book. 🙂
I just got my copy and I’m so excited to pick it up! Great reiew 🙂
(www.evelynreads.com)
Awesome! I hope you enjoy it, Evelyn!
I’m so tempted to get a copy because I love the cover and it’s 50%-off at B&N and I keep hearing such great things about it, like your review here.
And that’s very true that we sometimes take routine and stability for happiness because those things make us feel safe and sometimes content.
I love the cover so much! I bought a bunch of embroidery thread to match it with the intentions of freestyling a copy of the cover, of course I’m still at beginner stages of embroidery and I’m way too ambitious but…the cover is just too pretty LOL.
If you read this one then I hope you enjoy it. It’s a little syrupy sweet at times but it’s really a lovely book. 🙂
Lol! Ambitious maybe but it’s good to try. I think that’s cool.
This book sounds like an absolute delight, I’ve really been meaning to read this one! Awesome review! 😍💕
Thanks! It’s s heartwarming read, definitely recommend. 🙂
Just by looking at the cover, which I’ve seen around for a while, I would never ever imagined that it related to such an interesting journey of self-discovery: your review more than piqued my curiosity and I will have to see for myself how this clearly unique story will work for me.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I hope you enjoy it! It’s such a lovely and heartwarming book. And FUNNY. I love Klune’s humor–I think it’s one of my favorite things about his writing that carries through all the stories I’ve read by him.
Fantastic review – I shall definitely add to my wishlist.
Lynn 😀
It’s such a lovely book–I think you’d really like it!
I’m soooo happy to see that you loved this! I’m not sure why, but it warms my heart whenever someone else likes this book, because I just loved it so much and think everyone should read it haha. I can’t wait for Klune’s next book coming out this year!
I know what you mean! It was just so heartwarming. I still need to read his other book that came out last year, I need to get on that.
that’s a beautiful post 💕💕💕💕💕
Thank you! ❤
Love how you mention that Linus and Arthur bring out the best in each other and that Linus helps Arthur realise he can’t protect the children forever and helps him open them up to the world, the good bits and the bad bits. Gave me another perspective on this book that I hadn’t thought of before. Great review 🙂
They really were great for each other! I loved this book so much. Thank you! ❤
How did I miss your review of this book?! I’m so glad to hear you loved it, Lisa! Reading how much people loved this book makes my heart balloon with warmth and makes me want to reread it again 😂 Lovely review!
It’s such a wonderful book! I don’t think I’ve come across any negative reviews of it so far. (Although I’m sure they exist)
I’m glad that you enjoyed it as much as I did (and everyone else by the sounds of it!). You may be interested to know that the author has a new book out soon: ‘Under the Whispering Door’. My review is here: https://wordywitterings.com/2021/04/14/book-review-of-under-the-whispering-door-by-tj-klune/
I did see he had a new one coming out, thanks!