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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
I don’t care how old I get- I will always love this book so much.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Had I been less distracted, I would have finished this beautiful little coming-of-age story in a weekend. Kevin Henkes (who has also written some marvelous children's books) captures the uncertainty of leaving childhood and all of the huge and trivial concerns that some with it.
I listened to this for Banned Books week. This book does have a lot of death as a theme in it and there are some disturbing parts to the story, but I don't see why it could've been challenged. A good book for younger audiences who are going through a rough time.
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Just as she is preparing to leave for visit to her grandmother, Martha Boyle is given a page from the journal of Olive Barstow, a classmate who was tragically killed in a car accident. As Martha learns more about Olive, she believes they could have been friends and it affects her throughout the summer as she connects with her grandmother, experiences her first crush, and considers being a writer.
I chose this for a girls 4 through 6th grade book club I am doing for work and I'm very glad I did. I very much enjoyed this book. Henkes portrays being a tween girl so well, it is hard to believe it is a man writing it. The book covers so much about being a tween and it does it with heart and realism. I can't say enough about it.
I chose this for a girls 4 through 6th grade book club I am doing for work and I'm very glad I did. I very much enjoyed this book. Henkes portrays being a tween girl so well, it is hard to believe it is a man writing it. The book covers so much about being a tween and it does it with heart and realism. I can't say enough about it.
The plot was a little light. It felt more like a series of vignettes loosely tied together. It was very sweet. I think Henkes nailed the protagonist. I would have liked to have seen Godbee a little more developed. Sadly I think it's too young for my teen. I'd say give it to your fifth or sixth grader.
I read this book a long time ago. Maybe 15 years ago or so… possibly closer to twenty. I was an adult then, too. 15ish years later I didn’t really remember all the details of the book, I only remembered I used it as my answer to “what’s your favorite book?” ever since. And no I don’t care that it’s a children’s book.
Olive’s Ocean is a book that will remind you of that exact spot in your life where you’re on the cusp of not being a little kid anymore. At least for me, that time was tough. I wanted to be a little baby that my parents took care of, yet I craved privacy and independence. I felt very grown by the changes my body was going through, but also ashamed like I was growing up too fast or was abnormally weird. Mix in some thoughts about death- the inevitable deaths of your older relatives and the possibility of surprise deaths of your peers and this book just captures that unique time period in a child’s life. Things don’t work out as they seem, but life goes on and there’s lots of good to come w the bad… just like life. It’s a tiny little book w generously margined pages, and not that high of a page count. I would love if you’d read it and let me know what you thought of it as well.
Olive’s Ocean is a book that will remind you of that exact spot in your life where you’re on the cusp of not being a little kid anymore. At least for me, that time was tough. I wanted to be a little baby that my parents took care of, yet I craved privacy and independence. I felt very grown by the changes my body was going through, but also ashamed like I was growing up too fast or was abnormally weird. Mix in some thoughts about death- the inevitable deaths of your older relatives and the possibility of surprise deaths of your peers and this book just captures that unique time period in a child’s life. Things don’t work out as they seem, but life goes on and there’s lots of good to come w the bad… just like life. It’s a tiny little book w generously margined pages, and not that high of a page count. I would love if you’d read it and let me know what you thought of it as well.
This was an interesting book to me, because parts seemed so simple, so naive, but then the author would throw in "shit" or "prick." I guess the juxtaposition is a pretty authentic representation of what it means to be twelve. I was overwhelmed with sadness a few times--I think this would be a good book for a few of my "mean girls."