Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was a quick awesome read.The book is great it’s a short read and I personally really liked it I absolutely recommend. It’s a book for tween and teens and is one of my favorites.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Child death
reflective
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
A beautiful and poetic story of a 12 year old grappling with the death of a schoolmate during a summer at her grandmothers seaside home. Short paragraphs and lovely bursts of introspective musings will captivate readers, especially those who appreciate characters driven stories.
This author has a few really good picture books. This was the first novel of his that I tried. As a Newbery Honor, I had kind of high hopes for it. But it basically did nothing for me. It's kind of a before-coming-of-age book. And really not very much happens to our 12 year old protagonist. And the supporting cast and the setting are really not all that interesting. Not bad. Just not really much of anything.
emotional
hopeful
Olive’s Ocean is a fantastic Newbery winner about a twelve year old girl Martha, dealing with the trials of growing up, and with grown up topics. Before Martha and her family leave on their annual trip to see her grandmother, Martha receives an unexpected visitor, Olive’s mother. Olive was a girl in Martha’s class that recently was involved in a horrible car accident and was killed. Mrs. Barstow (Olive’s mother) comes to see Martha and bring her a page in Olive’s diary in which she’s mentioned. Olive, who has never even worked up the nerve to talk to anyone in class, thinks Martha is the nicest girl in their whole grade, wishes to be friends with Martha, see the ocean, and above all else become a novel writer. Martha is surprised by the praise and even more surprised that Olive and she share the same dream. Unable to tell her family or friends about Olive, because she would have to reveal her ambitions, Martha becomes more introverted and internalizes her feelings. Over the course of the visit with her grandmother, she learns a lot about the dynamics of her family. Martha’s father who took time off of a full time job to be a writer makes the realization he’s miserable and wants to go back to work full time. Her brother who she used to be very close with is now growing up too and off playing with his own friends. Martha spends more time with her grandmother, Godbee, who seems to know just what to say to put her at ease. When Martha almost drowns she realizes that if Olive can die at such a young age she can too, which gives her more courage to go after her dreams. That summer, she also deals with her first kiss and a betrayal that hurts her deeply. When Martha arrives home, she brings the ocean, in bottled form, to give to Olive’s mother. Yet when she goes to see Mrs. Barstow, she finds out she’s gone, and that everyone eventually moves on. This was a great read from start to finish. I even read it in one sitting, because I was compelled to find out what happened to Martha.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No