Blogmas 2021: book with the most original trope #blogmas2021

Happy Wednesday!

Today is day 15 of Blogmas and I wanted to talk about the book with the most original trope that I have read in 2021!

And my winner is….

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

TJ Klune also never uses flashy and perfect heroes. Or in this story, even sympathetic one.
At the beginning of the story, Wallace Price is rather despicable. Certainly not one person you’d want as friend or as boss.
And when he realizes that he is dead, he’ll complain, try to use his influence to become undead…
But that’s the beauty of that story: it’s a redemption story. Everyone deserves a second chance. A second chance at realizing his errors, at seeing what really matters and at becoming a better person.
Wallace Price will have an incredible character growth. A lifting worthy of Cher’s!

And to help him change, to guide him we’ll get a whole cast of amazing side characters.
Hugo the ferryman, Nelson the grumpy and facetious ghost grandad, Apollo the happy go lucky ghost dog and Mei, the kickass reaper.

When Wallace arrives at Hugo’s house after being dragged from his own funerals by Mei, he is angry. Certain that there was a mistake. That he can’t be dead. That he still has important things to do.
Slowly he’ll go through the different stages of grief. And that was genius. To have the dead grieve for their own death. For the loss of their life as they knew it!
From anger to bargaining, sadness, depression to acceptance, TJ Klune guides us through grief’s stages using tenderness, patience and humor.

A dead man refusing to admit he is dead, a baker and owner of a tea shop helping the dead to transition to the afterlife, a ghost dog, a bizarre house..if that’s not original I don’t know what is!

Thanks for reading!

Sophie