Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
More than amazing, really had a huge impact on my adolescence.
The author captured a 12-year-old's emotions perfectly. I thought this would be morbid and depressing when I read the premise (a girl in the main character's class dies), but it was actually very uplifting.
An excellent read for 10-12 year olds as well as a remembrance of the innocence of youth for older readers like me. It is a book that looks partially at mortality seem from the eyes of youth. Also the innocence of first love, and first heartbreak.
emotional
reflective
fast-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
I read this book back in college for one of my children's lit classes, but I found I remembered basically nothing from it. However, it is on the top banned list so it made it onto our book club list, and you too will be surprised as to why it's banned: sexually explicit and and offensive language. It is probably the furthest from those things, but you know. Sometimes book banners be crazy.
Overall, this is a sweet book about coming to terms with growing up, first crushes, and just having the courage to be yourself. Definitely written at the right level for any middle grade reader, so I'd definitely recommend it!
Overall, this is a sweet book about coming to terms with growing up, first crushes, and just having the courage to be yourself. Definitely written at the right level for any middle grade reader, so I'd definitely recommend it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
“Her life was a measly mess that could be contained in a closed fist. But her sadness could not be contained, and so she cried and cried.”
STORY:
Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes (217 pages),/b> is about a twelve-year-old, redhead girl named Martha. A girl who went to her school, Olive, gets killed by a car. To Martha’s surprise, she finds out from Olive’s journal that the girl wanted to be her friend. This news confuses Martha, and she finds her thoughts consumed with Olive. Martha spends the rest of her summer vacation at her paternal grandmother’s house, thinking about death and her family.
What I like about this book is the writing. Everything Henkes seems to write in Martha’s narrative is poetic.
I also like romance a lot, even if it’s just sprinkled throughout a book. Innocent preteen romances are always fun to read because they are pure and awkward. Awkward and pure. It’s before the broken marriage, the cheating scandal, or the nasty dm (direct message). Preteen romances remind people of much simpler times, and I’m no exception to that. It’s adorable that Martha’s clueless about boys.
I can’t say that there was anything I disliked about this book. If I had to be nitpicky, the book could be considered anticlimactic throughout because the story reads like a kid’s normal day.
CHARACTERS:
There’s nothing startlingly interesting about Martha. She’s just a normal kid, but I like that. Martha’s like thousands of kids anyone might know in real life, curious and thoughtful.
Godbee, the grandmother, is wise and just a little bit feisty. She reminds me of the God-like characters played by Morgan Freeman. I like the conversations Martha and Godbee have the most.
I wish I could have seen a bit more of the Manning boys, Tate in particular. Still, their presence was just enough so I did not forget about them.
OVERALL:
This was a good read, nothing too obscene (there is a minor reference to Morning Sex), and the perfect length. If you want a book for a lazy afternoon then this book is for you!
K (9 yrs old) says "It's a good book. It's a bit sad, but it's still a good book. I like it because it is sort of surprising. My favourite character is Godbee, Martha's grandmother; she's very caring. I would recommend this book for people that like to read mysteries - it is really very mysterious. There's this girl named Martha, and this girl, who is in her class, named Olive Barstow has died in a car accident. Martha is always thinking about it, can't stop thinking about it, because Olive's mother gave her a note that Olive wrote about what she wanted to do, her goals. Martha wanted to be a writer and wanted to go to the ocean. Olive goes to visit Godbee's home near the ocean and thinks a lot about Olive there. The ending is happy/sad. It is really good."
I was startled by the summary of Olive's Ocean. It's been so long since I wanted to read it that I completely forgot what the book was about or maybe I never knew. The cover is what attracted me and bonus it's by Kevin Henkes who wrote one of my favorite picture books: Chrysanthemum.
It was strange realizing that the protagonist was not going to be named Olive but the book would be about a girl named Olive who died. The first chapter had me crying so much because Olive's mother came around and gave Martha (our protagonist) a note from her daughter. She receded from Martha's house saying: "And thank you. Thank you, Martha Boyle." which of course is when I started crying because her shy little daughter was now gone from the world. Olive had no friends so it must have been wonderful to see she made a connection with somebody or at least her daughter wasn't teased by Martha for her quietness.
The note mentions all of Olive's hopes for the future and that Martha Boyle is the nicest person in her whole entire class. Martha doesn't know what to make of this because she never did anything or say anything to Olive that was nice. She wasn't mean to her of course but she couldn't understand why Olive felt that way. Right away Martha proves herself. Even in her flashback about learning about Olive's death she was kind. Throughout the whole book you understand why Olive wrote what she wrote.
"She had been trying to piece together the facts about Olive Barstow, the outline of Olive's life for the short time it had intersected with her own. Martha realized how little she knew. For the most part Olive was a mystery. Martha knew nothing about Olive's home life, nothing about her family, except that her mother rode a bike and wore her hair in a braid. Olive's school life, from Martha's perspective, didn't offer many answers either. Olive had seemed nearly invisible, passing through the halls and days unnoticed, except when she was being teased by Josh Sweeney or Dana Lewis."
Martha and Olive's connection is writing. They both want to become writers. Martha hasn't told anyone of her desire because her father is a writer and she doesn't want to make it seem like she's copying. Martha goes on a trip right after her interaction with Olive's mother and she has this feeling of dread around her. She doesn't know what to make of the note and can't help feeling sad and scared of death especially since her grandmother is getting very old.
"The ocean made her feel insignificant and slightly afraid, but in an exhilarating way. Her inclination was not to walk or dance across the water's surface. Nor to swim through it. She wanted to be the ocean."
Godbee is Martha's grandmother. Martha loves her grandmother. They share secrets with one another during her stay. You can tell she's worried about her grandmother but also about this new feeling in her heart - the fluttering of having a crush. This is where the book turns into an obvious route. I knew what was going to happen and that's always frustrating. It actually annoyed me quite a bit; her situation with Jimmy. One other thing is the slight cursing in this book from the Manning boys which surprised me. I wanted to mention that because I think this is a book more for preteens than younger children even though it feels like it could be for both. It's a very light read and the chapters soar by very quickly and the story is beautifully written so it didn't matter much to me.
“As she wove in and out of all the people - rushing, talking, eating, laughing; some in clumps, some alone - she realized that no one, no one at all in the airport, or on the entire planet for that matter, knew her thoughts, knew what she was carrying inside her head and heart. And at that very minute, what was inside her head and heart made her feel as though there was no one else in the whole world she would rather be.”
It was interesting to read about Martha's take on love and death. Martha could be very sweet and then unkind to her mother. I liked seeing the relationship between her parents and her as well as her siblings Lucy and Vince. She's a very introspective girl who really proved herself to have a kind heart in the end. I enjoyed reading her writing as well as her grandmother's story idea. This was very nice read that was written beautifully, it was a little predictable, but with a very caring protagonist.
It was strange realizing that the protagonist was not going to be named Olive but the book would be about a girl named Olive who died. The first chapter had me crying so much because Olive's mother came around and gave Martha (our protagonist) a note from her daughter. She receded from Martha's house saying: "And thank you. Thank you, Martha Boyle." which of course is when I started crying because her shy little daughter was now gone from the world. Olive had no friends so it must have been wonderful to see she made a connection with somebody or at least her daughter wasn't teased by Martha for her quietness.
The note mentions all of Olive's hopes for the future and that Martha Boyle is the nicest person in her whole entire class. Martha doesn't know what to make of this because she never did anything or say anything to Olive that was nice. She wasn't mean to her of course but she couldn't understand why Olive felt that way. Right away Martha proves herself. Even in her flashback about learning about Olive's death she was kind. Throughout the whole book you understand why Olive wrote what she wrote.
"She had been trying to piece together the facts about Olive Barstow, the outline of Olive's life for the short time it had intersected with her own. Martha realized how little she knew. For the most part Olive was a mystery. Martha knew nothing about Olive's home life, nothing about her family, except that her mother rode a bike and wore her hair in a braid. Olive's school life, from Martha's perspective, didn't offer many answers either. Olive had seemed nearly invisible, passing through the halls and days unnoticed, except when she was being teased by Josh Sweeney or Dana Lewis."
Martha and Olive's connection is writing. They both want to become writers. Martha hasn't told anyone of her desire because her father is a writer and she doesn't want to make it seem like she's copying. Martha goes on a trip right after her interaction with Olive's mother and she has this feeling of dread around her. She doesn't know what to make of the note and can't help feeling sad and scared of death especially since her grandmother is getting very old.
"The ocean made her feel insignificant and slightly afraid, but in an exhilarating way. Her inclination was not to walk or dance across the water's surface. Nor to swim through it. She wanted to be the ocean."
Godbee is Martha's grandmother. Martha loves her grandmother. They share secrets with one another during her stay. You can tell she's worried about her grandmother but also about this new feeling in her heart - the fluttering of having a crush. This is where the book turns into an obvious route. I knew what was going to happen and that's always frustrating. It actually annoyed me quite a bit; her situation with Jimmy. One other thing is the slight cursing in this book from the Manning boys which surprised me. I wanted to mention that because I think this is a book more for preteens than younger children even though it feels like it could be for both. It's a very light read and the chapters soar by very quickly and the story is beautifully written so it didn't matter much to me.
“As she wove in and out of all the people - rushing, talking, eating, laughing; some in clumps, some alone - she realized that no one, no one at all in the airport, or on the entire planet for that matter, knew her thoughts, knew what she was carrying inside her head and heart. And at that very minute, what was inside her head and heart made her feel as though there was no one else in the whole world she would rather be.”
It was interesting to read about Martha's take on love and death. Martha could be very sweet and then unkind to her mother. I liked seeing the relationship between her parents and her as well as her siblings Lucy and Vince. She's a very introspective girl who really proved herself to have a kind heart in the end. I enjoyed reading her writing as well as her grandmother's story idea. This was very nice read that was written beautifully, it was a little predictable, but with a very caring protagonist.
Twelve-year-old Martha Boyle’s life changes the moment she is given a page from Olive Barstow’s diary before summer vacation. Martha didn’t get to know Olive before she died, but it turns out they shared a secret: they both wanted to be writers. Martha’s family head to the Cape to visit her grandmother, Godbee, but Martha just can’t stop thinking about Olive, a girl she hardly knew. Martha and Godbee also have an agreement that they share something new about one another every day. (Godbee is such a cool grandma, too—I could have listened to her stories forever!) It’s a summer filled with pondering life, death, friendship and love. This sweet, subtle book was recommended to me by a girl who likes “sad books” (I wanted to squeeze her when she said that—so sweet). While it’s a little bit sad, it’s also a find--like a ocean-washed glass in your pocket.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated