Content levels
Trigger warnings
Hero archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Synopsis
Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely-anticipated sequel to TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade. A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything. Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one. He’s the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there. Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there's the island's sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children. But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve. And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home—one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from—Arthur knows they’re at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart. Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story. Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Is Somewhere Beyond the Sea appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
This sequel explores themes of discrimination, resistance, and found family with LGBTQ+ representation. Content includes past child abuse references, a gay couple as protagonists, and themes of fighting systemic injustice through peaceful means.
What to know going in
This book has mild violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include child abuse, grief, and abandonment (see the full list above).
Publisher ages reflect reading level; our rating reflects content maturity — they can differ.
Who'll love this
Teens will love this heartwarming story about magical orphans and the adults who fight to protect them from an unjust system.