Book Title:Olive’s Ocean

Author:Kevin Henkes

Genre:YA Fiction

Age Appropriateness

  • Interest level – The protagonist is a twelve year old girl. Olive’s Oceanwould be of high interest to girls from the ages of 11 and up who are just going through the beginning discoveries of adolescence.
  • Subject/content maturity – A mature reader is required as there is mild profanity and a reference to sex.

Elements of the Review

  • Plot summary – Olive’s Ocean is a beautiful coming of age story about an adolescent girl who resents her parents, brother, and sister. Twelve year old Martha Boyle wants to be a writer. But her father quit his job at the law firm to write so Martha doesn’t want him to think that she is copying him. Just before she leaves with her family for the annual vacation trip to visit her grandmother at the beach, a woman comes by her house. She is the mother of Olive Barstow, a classmate just recently killed in a car accident. She gives Martha a page torn from Olive’s journal that tells how lonely Olive was, how she wished she could see the ocean, and how she wished she could be friends with Martha. This stays with Martha throughout her vacation. Most of the story takes place at the beach where Martha and her grandmother play a game where they share a secret with each other daily. She learns that her grandmother is ill and becomes aware that she could soon lose her. She falls in love with a cool fourteen year old boy who betrays her, then realizes that it’s his 12 year old brother who is really kind. But it’s a near drowning experience that makes Martha take stock of her true feelings. She decides she really loves her family, and wants to do something for Olive’s mother. She puts ocean water in a jar and takes it home with her. When she finally tracks down Olive’s address, she discovers that her mother has moved away. So she writes Olive’s name in the ocean water on the steps and tells her father that she wants to be a writer.
  • Literary devices – The story is told in third person narrative. Flashbacks are often used for comprehension.
  • The conflict is unique in this book in that snippets of man vs. nature and man vs. man blend into the overarching concept of man vs. himself.
  • The charactersare very realistic. The reader is given detailed insight into the main character. All perspectives of other characters come from her, keeping the adolescent viewpoint true throughout the book.
  • There are multiple themes: first love, betrayal, and family bonds
  • The writing style is very appealing. Dialogue and self-talk are often used to drive the action forward and to reveal the main character’s innermost thoughts. The combination of short staccato sentences, long eloquent sentences, and abundant simile and metaphor, make the writing very emotional and compelling.
  • Cultural references and audience appeal revolve aroundthe problems and insecurities of adolescent girls who are experiencing many ‘firsts’ in their lives.
  • The readability of this book is approximately ages11-14.
  • Awards –
  • Newberry Honor Book
  • ALA Notable Book
  • ALA Best Book for Young Adults
  • Horn Book Fanfare

Reading Skills/Benchmarks

  • Identification of any FCAT reading benchmarks that are particularly addressed or matched to the book
  • Identifies author’s purpose
  • Identifies author’s point of view
  • Character development
  • Setting
  • Conflict/ plot development
  • Use of comparison and contrast
  • Cause and effect relationships in text
  • Draws conclusions
  • Context clues
  • Word structure clues
  • Organizational patterns

Connections:

  • Cross-curricular
  • Non-serial
  • Recommendations of similar books
  • Lizzie bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
  • Grandpa and Bo by Kevin Henkes
  • Pictures of Hollis Woodsby Patricia Reilly Giff

Audience Recommendation

  • The reading level of this book would bemiddle school and early high school (9th grade).
  • The most effective reading approach for Olive’s Ocean is independent. There is a section where a reference is made to sex that might make

students (and teachers) feel uncomfortable reading aloud. The text is thought provoking; great for reading alone.