The House in the Cerulean Sea Book Club

In this class, we will be discussing The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune! Linus Baker has always followed the rules and studies his handbook from the Department in Charge of Magical Youth to make sure he never forgets a thing. However, when he meets a group of magical children and their caretaker, he realizes that this isn't one of his usual investigations. Can Linus stay loyal to the orders of Extremely Upper Management or will this job assignment change his life forever? Join along for the adventure as we discuss this book! 

This class is broken down so that we will be reading (independently at home) and discussing the story as we go along. We will be talking about the different aspects of the book as well as the structure of the story, including the growth of the characters and the arc that the story takes. We will discuss character archetypes, as well as the elements of stories, including inciting incidents and turning points. 

Would we suggest this story to a friend? Does the author attain a goal by telling these stories? Were we scared? Would be share these tales around a campfire? Just a few of the things we will be talking about as the story unfolds! 

All students are asked to have their cameras on as it helps keep students engaged and encourages conversation. Please raise your hand if you are ready to comment and respect the commentary of all other students by not interrupting. 

Some of the topics we will be discussing are as follows: 
Character development
Plot and subplot arcs
Book formatting
Story structure
The Hero’s Journey
Save the Cat beats
Metaphors
Similes
Magic systems
Points of view
Themes
Tones
Genres
Pacing
Cover art
Author's purpose 
Driving forces
The list goes on and on!

Here are the sections we will be discussing each class: 

Class 1: Chapters 1-3 (pages 1-48)

Class 2: Chapters 4-6 (pages 49-110)

Class 3: Chapters 7-9 (pages 111-162)

Class 4: Chapter 10 (pages 163-198)

Class 5: Chapters 11-13 (pages 199-249)

Class 6: Chapters 14-15 (pages 250-305)

Class 7: Chapters 16-17 (pages 251-340)

Class 8: Chapters 18-Epilogue (pages 341-396)