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Olive's Ocean

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 6,481 ratings · 743 reviews

"Olive Barstow was dead. She'd been hit by a car on Monroe Street while riding her bicycle weeks ago. That was about all Martha knew."
Martha Boyle and Olive Barstow could have been friends. But they weren't-and now all that is left are eerie connections between two girls who were in the same grade at school and who both kept the same secret without knowing it.
Now Martha...more

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Published January 1st 2006 by Listening Library (first published January 1st 2001)

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Oct 17, 2008 Ingrid rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone

Martha Doyle was a just an average girl until a classmate of hers named Olive died in an accident. Olive's mom brings Martha a journal page of Olive saying"She is the nicest girl in my class." From that day on, Martha just couldn't stop thinking about Olive. She and her family visits their granny Godbee, meets Jimmy Mannings and more. It's really easy to reveal what's going to happen next, but the story flowed really well and I think Martha's feelings were very well-expressed and described. It's...more

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Sep 03, 2008 Mindy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although Olive's Ocean is a Newbery Award winner, it is also a challenged book. It is about a girl named Martha who takes a trip with her family to visit her grandma at the end of summer vacation. Before they leave, Martha has a strange visitor, Olive's mother. Olive, an extremely shy girl in Martha's class, had recently passed away after being hit by a car while riding her bike. Martha knew who Olive was but had never really talked to the girl. Neither did anyone else at school except to tease...more Although Olive's Ocean is a Newbery Award winner, it is also a challenged book. It is about a girl named Martha who takes a trip with her family to visit her grandma at the end of summer vacation. Before they leave, Martha has a strange visitor, Olive's mother. Olive, an extremely shy girl in Martha's class, had recently passed away after being hit by a car while riding her bike. Martha knew who Olive was but had never really talked to the girl. Neither did anyone else at school except to tease her. Olive's mother gave Martha a piece of paper from Olive's journal. When Martha read it, she was shocked to discover that Olive wrote that Martha was the nicest kid in the entire class. Olive hoped they could become good friends the next year or during the summer. Also, Olive dreamed of seeing the ocean and being a writer. Martha had recently decided she was going to be a writer, and she hadn't even told her best friend yet. Martha's grandma lived by the ocean, so she would be seeing the ocean soon. There were so many strange coincidences between Martha and this girl she hardly knew. She couldn't get Olive out of her mind. She kept thinking about her on the airplane and all of the way to her grandmother's house. Martha's brother, who is one year older than Martha, spends most of his time with the Manning brothers, who live near the grandma's house. Martha's parents mostly look after her two-year-old sister, so Martha spends a great deal of her time talking to her grandma. Martha and her grandma have a very close relationship, and Martha tells her grandma she wants to be a writer. She begins writing a story about Olive, but then stops because she cannot come up with a story that she felt was good enough for Olive. Also while she is staying with her grandma, she has some confusing, exciting, embarrassing, and infuriating encounters with two of the Manning brothers. However, throughout the entire trip, Martha cannot stop thinking about Olive and how much she wanted to see the ocean. Finally, she comes up with a plan to take back a baby food jar full of ocean water and give it to Olive's mother. Martha called the jar Olive's Ocean. However, when she arrives back home, Olive's mother has moved. So Martha takes a paint brush and paints Olive's name on the cement steps of her old house with the ocean water until all of the water was gone. Then Martha said good-bye and proclaimed that if she knew Olive now, they would be friends. This book is probably at upper elementary level.

This book is only challenged because of the offensive language throughout the book. There are around eight words that could be considered offensive, such as damn and piss. It was also challenged because it was sexually explicit. However, I did not notice anything in the book that was sexually explicit except for maybe the time when Martha's brother called his parents' good morning kisses as "Morning Sex Behavior." I could see why some parents wouldn't want their children reading a book with offensive language, but children hear it all of the time from the media and the people around them. The book's plot was fine. There would be no problem with the book if the author had simply left out the offensive language. I didn't even feel it wasn't even necessary for the plot or character development, so I'm not sure why it was included. Personally, I would not have my students read this book. I thought the book was good but not good enough to take the chance of making some parents upset and angry. (less)

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Mar 15, 2008 elissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: 10-12 year olds

Shelves: childrensnovels, my_00s_reads

This has been on my list of books to read for a long time, and it was an excellent and very quick read. I didn't WANT to put it down and go to sleep last night, but had to finish it this morning. It's a very cozy family story, with tragedy threatening, as it often does in real life. I think the reason this took me so long to read is that it came out the year that my grandma died. From reading Henkes' SUN & SPOON, I knew that he writes superbly about relationships between grandparents and gra...more

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May 14, 2008 Stefani rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-teen, audiobooks

Martha travels with her family to her grandmother's house. She has a lot on her mind, from finding out that the nobody girl in her class thought that Martha was the nicest person to wanting to be a writer to the boys down the beach. All the while, she is learning about her grandmother and the importance of living while you can.

This is a sweet book. I strongly related to the granddaughter-grandmother connection. Otherwise, this was just a nice read. Martha is a character that many girls can relat...more

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Oct 20, 2008 Brooke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed Olive's Ocean. the story was very good and it was different then most books. one thing that was a little wierd was i read this book right after a 7th grader at our school passed away... it was a big coincedence for me. i would recommend this book to most everyone.

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 29, 2008 Lisa Kucinski rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought this was a good book for a middle school boy or girl. It was a realistic fiction story that tugged at my heart strings. Read the first couple of pages and you will know what I mean!

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Jan 07, 2008 ~me~ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I LOVE this book. A tragic accident can sometimes bring you to see who you are and how you can be. That's what Oliva's Ocean teaches you along with the beauty of the word that float off every page.

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Apr 07, 2008 West Region, added it · review of another edition

Shelves: juvenile, realisticfiction, middle_school_08, middleschool

Olive’s Ocean – Kevin Henkes

Martha Boyle remembers when Olive died… randomly… hit by a car. But they had never been close friends, so soon Martha forgot.

Until one day there was a knock on her door.

“Are you Martha Boyle?”
Martha nodded.
‘You don’t know me,” said the woman at the door. “Olive Barstow was my daughter. I was her mother…. I found this in her journal…’
Slowly, Martha unfolded the piece of paper. Olive’s handwriting was perfectly formed… Martha read, hearing the words in Olive’s thin...more

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Oct 19, 2008 Christine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kevin Henkes created a tale that so closely resembles that awkward time that many girls experience during adolescence. There is so much drama in everything that happens, and no one ever seems to understand your suffering, especially not your parents. In the character of Martha, many young girls will be able to find a piece of themselves, and realize that you can go on and you are not alone in the journey. I cannot believe that this is a frequently challenged book. There is so much to relate to i...more

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Oct 03, 2008 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: ages 10-14

Shelves: mostly-ya-some-juvenile

This one was much better than "Bird Lake Moon." It seemed like more of a complete story instead of just a snapshot in time. The thing you know from the very beginning is that Olive is dead (hit by a car while riding her bike), that she loved the ocean, and that she and Martha weren't really friends. Martha becomes almost obsessed with Olive - she is somewhat distracted by their annual visit to her grandmother's home on the seaside, and a budding relationship with one of the neighbor boys. The re...more

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Nov 05, 2008 Kelli rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who know teens

Olive Barstow leaves a cryptic diary entry that references Martha Boyle, who receives the diary page upon Olive's sudden death. This is the story of a young girl trying to understand the relationships in her life - a dead classmate, her first crush, her aging Grandma Godbee. A good read that touches on the alienation of teens, but without needing an evil persona to get the point across. I picked this up because it was on the banned books list. (?!!) What are people thinking?!

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Feb 17, 2008 Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ooh-pretty-cover, childrens, young-adult, realistic-fiction, middle-grade

Ironically, the same author that wrote "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse" has also written one of the most depressing books I have ever read--"Olive's Ocean". It tells the story of a girl who wanted to be friends with another girl named Olive. Unfortunately, Olive is now dead. It is only until after Olive's death that the protagonist receives a page of Olive's diary, and finds out that Olive also wanted to be her friend. The book is a fast read, written in a simplistic style. At times I thought it wa...more

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Aug 15, 2008 Shannon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Adolescent Girls (or their parents)

I borrowed this book from Anna's teacher after a day of sorting books for her (my idea of a volunteer's dream job - spending a few hours sorting through books!).

I'm not sure Anna is old enough to read this yet, but it's a great book about what it's like to be a 12 year old girl. Martha, the main character, is honestly and realistically portrayed and I remembered what it was like to be her age as I read the book. It's a very quick read and an innocent book for this age group. I loved the relatio...more

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May 01, 2008 Kim Riehle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just before Martha Boyle's summer vacation she finds out about the death of a girl in her class named Olive. Olive was quiet and kind of kept to herself. The two girls weren't really friends but after Olive's death Martha began to wonder why not. The theme of this book was good but I really didn't like the language. Some of the characters were a little crude and I felt that there should have been more of a connection to Olive throughout the book. I did like the end though. It was a nice conclusi...more

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Jun 04, 2007 Amy Heeter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If I was twelve, this would be one of the best books ever. Since I'm not, it was definately very young for me. It was a quick read that really reminded me of how serious and emotional trivial things can seem to a twelve year old. However, any adult can easily relate to the grandmother Godbe. It definately pulled a few heart strings, and I would say it is well deserving of all its praise. There were a few times that I put down the book and wiped my eyes, and thought wow that was one of the best t...more

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Dec 07, 2008 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bereavement, fiction-children

Martha remembered Olive as a very shy, quiet loner. She had heard about Olive's bicycle accident. She'd been hit by a car. But Martha had never gotten to know Olive. Olive's mother had just delivered one of Olive's journal entries to Martha. Martha discovered in the entry that Olive thought she was the nicest person in their class and wanted to get to know her. But best of all, Martha finds they share a secret ambition -- to be a writer. She also learns that Olive had always wanted to see the oc...more Martha remembered Olive as a very shy, quiet loner. She had heard about Olive's bicycle accident. She'd been hit by a car. But Martha had never gotten to know Olive. Olive's mother had just delivered one of Olive's journal entries to Martha. Martha discovered in the entry that Olive thought she was the nicest person in their class and wanted to get to know her. But best of all, Martha finds they share a secret ambition -- to be a writer. She also learns that Olive had always wanted to see the ocean. Martha thinks it's more than a coincidence that her family is leaving to visit her grandmother the next day, and her grandmother lives on the Atlantic Coast, right by the ocean.

Martha tries to piece together a picture of Olive in her mind, even as she grieves for a friendship that might have been. She decides she will write a novel about Olive. She shares the secret with her Grandmother.

Over the course of her vacation with Godbee (her name for her grandmother), the two continued to build their relationship. Martha also deals with the pains of growing up and learning more about herself. She continues to think about Olive and decides that since Olive never got to see the ocean, she would bring some ocean back to give to Olive's mother. After burying her little sister in the sand except for her head, she goes into the ocean with the jar Godbee gave her, to fill it with the ocean water. She falls into the ocean when the sand bar she had been on disappeared. Though she was a good swimmer, she panicked and swallowed water and was sure she would drown. The thought made her kick and stroke until she broke through the water's surface and was able to make her way back to shore. Her world changed in that minute. She suddenly understood that the world did not revolve around her, and would continue to exist with her or without her. She began to appreciate life and even her family more.

The vacation ends too quickly. After a private last conversation with Godbee, Martha senses Godbee's fear that they might not see each other again. She arrives home more mature. She still hasn't written anything much, but she finally tells her dad she wants to become a writer and he encourages her.

Now all that is left for Martha to do is take the bottle of water, which she thinks of now as Olive's Ocean, to Olive's mother. She looks up the address, but arrives just after the family has moved away. She learns this by talking to the landlord, who tells her that Olive had never had any playmates over -- that she would just sit on the step, writing in her notebooks, all alone. Finally the landlord goes in, but gives Martha permission to hang around a while. The way she had dreamed of making her connection to Olive was now impossible. But she needed closure. She finally found a paintbrush in the garbage that Olive's family had thrown out, and she dips it into "Olive's Ocean" to write Olive's name on the step over and over, until the water was gone. She then throws the empty jar away and goes home, after saying goodbye to Olive twice. When she realizes suddenly that where she really wants to be in her grief is home, so she turned to take the short route there, saying loudly when she arrived, "I'm home."

The book was well-written. Martha had definitely grown into a more mature person by the end of the book, able to more fully appreciate her family, the brevity of life, the vulnerability of Godbee, and her own place in the larger world. The plot is mostly about Martha's internal life, though are is a subplot involving the beginning of what might be a potential romance later on. Someone who needs lots of external action might not like this book as much as I did, but thoughtful, introspective middle school girls, especially any dealing with grief issues, should appreciate it. (less)

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Jun 23, 2008 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chapter-books, newbery

Twelve year-old Martha goes with her family to visit her grandmother, Godbee, in New England just days after she meets the mother of a deceased classmate who had thought highly of her. Olive, killed in a car accident, had kept a journal and on one page surprisingly mentioned Martha as being one of the nicest girls in her class. The summer unfolds on the beaches of New England, where Martha does a lot of growing up, learning life lessons about death and self-discovery. 2003 Newbery Honor book.

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Jan 29, 2013 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tween

3.5 stars

Ah, the turmoil of being a 12-year-old girl. Of course I was never like this, sure of myself and with boys wanting to talk to me. But Martha, thank goodness, is not me. She is on vacation with her family, visiting her grandmother somewhere on the New England coast. She is private about herself, not telling her family her ambitions to be a writer or her connection to Olive, a classmate who was killed in an accident a few weeks earlier. The only person she confides in is her grandmother....more

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Nov 29, 2012 Arda Başaran rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Sometimes life can change in an instant.”

Kevin Henkes’ “Olive Ocean” is a novel that could be one of the best examples of teenager girl’s life. The main character, Martha, is twelve year old teenager who has a big family. She has a sister named Lucy, a brother named Vince, her mother and father. Also she has a grandmother which lives far away from Martha’s; she called as Godbee because of Martha.

To tell about a little bit about the book, without spoiling it, by just telling the starting would b...more “Sometimes life can change in an instant.”

Kevin Henkes’ “Olive Ocean” is a novel that could be one of the best examples of teenager girl’s life. The main character, Martha, is twelve year old teenager who has a big family. She has a sister named Lucy, a brother named Vince, her mother and father. Also she has a grandmother which lives far away from Martha’s; she called as Godbee because of Martha.

To tell about a little bit about the book, without spoiling it, by just telling the starting would be a good idea. The book starts with the visiting of Olive’s mother to Martha. Olive is one of Martha’s friends from school. They are classmates in fact. However, Olive is kind of asocial; she doesn’t speak so many etc. Her mother visits Martha, because Olive is dead. She is dead from a traffic accident, while crossing a road. Martha talks with her best friend, Holly. Unlike Martha, Holly isn’t affected much by her friend’s death. Martha and her family goes to Godbee’s for vacation. It’s at sea coast and book tells about what she lived, what she felt, what she thought according to events that happens.

Martha is a sensitive and emotional girl, at last that how we see her on the book. She gets affective by lots of things; even some of them make nonsense, but by those things we understand her feelings. Also the book is written in third-person subjective (limited- just Martha). So we knew her thoughts as well. Thereby to understand her gets very easy, but I have to admit it, it wasn’t, that would make to understand her very hard.

If we look at it objectively the novel is kind of weak. Apart from Martha’s story not much is going on. We just see things that Martha is living. There aren’t any sub-stories. Even Martha’s story could make you bored after a while, because things rarely happen, and even they are not so important.

The novel is not so much descriptive, it concentrates on Martha’s feelings, emotions and thoughts. The side characters are not described enough, except Godbee maybe the biggest side character in the novel. It can be caused by Martha’s thoughts about others or maybe Kevin Henkes didn’t want to bore readers by giving lots of unnecessary details, which is one of the things that makes book good because it goes to the point. The novel tells what it want to, you don’t lost in details, but it depends on you to get bored in those things that book tell.

Lastly I can say that the book is good in average. It doesn’t take too long to finish it for me, because I was curious about what is going to happen which is good, but I was expecting something that so much important or big that would change the novel. It didn’t happen. Therefore I couldn’t find what I expected. The book isn’t so much exciting, funny or dramatic. It is mainly about a teenager girl’s feelings, emotions and thoughts and the novel tells them successfully. So I can say Olive’s Ocean is a good book, people who likes reading about teenager life probably would like it.
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Nov 26, 2012 Ashley Adams rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1. Junior Book: Contemporary Realism
2. This is a story about 12 year old Martha Boyle, and her fellow classmate, Olive who had just died from being hit by a car. Olive’s mother gives Martha a bit of Olive’s journal, where Martha finds out that Olive serves as an inspiration for writing.
3. Critique:
a. The strongest element in this young adult novel is the theme of morality and the implications of death.
b. This book explores the topic of death, and how Olive affected Martha through her journal e...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Stephanie Batsch rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Olive's Ocean is a great book! Martha, the main character, lives in a nice neighborhood with her mom, dad, and little sister Lucy. Martha is enemies with Olive Barstow. They never really hung out or did anything together. One day Olive's mom came to the door and said "Olive's dead." Martha didn't know what to do. A while had passed and Martha couldn't get the thought of Olive out of her head. Nobody else in her family knew about this and she didn't want to tell them. Summer came along and Martha...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Chris Murray rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: realistic-fiction

Summary: (CCBC)
Twelve-year-old Martha Boyle and her family are preparing to leave for their annual Cape Cod vacation to visit her grandmother, Godbee, when Olive Barstow's mother appears at the door. Olive was a classmate of Martha's who was recently killed by a car. In the journal entry that Olive's mother has come to share, Olive outlines her plan of becoming a writer and her dreams of seeing the ocean. She also writes that Martha Boyle is the nicest girl in her class. It's all a jolt to Marth...more Summary: (CCBC)
Twelve-year-old Martha Boyle and her family are preparing to leave for their annual Cape Cod vacation to visit her grandmother, Godbee, when Olive Barstow's mother appears at the door. Olive was a classmate of Martha's who was recently killed by a car. In the journal entry that Olive's mother has come to share, Olive outlines her plan of becoming a writer and her dreams of seeing the ocean. She also writes that Martha Boyle is the nicest girl in her class. It's all a jolt to Martha. Like everyone else, she didn't know Olive well, and can't recall ever being particularly kind to the misfit girl, with whom, she discovers too late, she had much in common. The unsettled feeling she's left with is a portent of how the entire summer will unfold. Martha also experiences her first crush, Jimmy, who just ends up using her for a summer project, and she isstruck by the fact that her grandmother is getting old.

My Comments:
A strange set up for a book and Henkes really doesn’t develop it at all. He could have done more with Olive and the way she was bullied at school, why she liked Martha, and the eerie connection they have with loving oceans and both wanting to be writers. He did not. This is basically a snapshot of Martha’s summer on the East Coast and her boy experience there. Olive is quickly forgotten except for a brief tie in at the end that again left me wanting to know more about Olive. Henkes could also have done more with Martha’s relationship with Godbee. To me it was very obvious that Godbee wanted to talk and share experiences with Martha, but Martha didn’t reciprocate – a missed opportunity, like with Olive?? Henkes is a wonderful author and the writing is pretty, but there is no real plot or character development. Somewhat disappointing, but I liked the fact that this family lived in Wisconsin, my home state! There are also a few bad words – like “shitty” that make this a book best for older kids, grades 6 – 8. This book would most appeal to girls.

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Aug 09, 2012 Kerry added it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-lit

This was an interesting and melancholy story by Henkes, and definitely not what I was expecting. Prior to reading the book, I thought (from the way it was presented through the cover information, and previous discussions of it) that this book dealt more with bullying, and while there seemed to be a small subplot that mentioned it, it was nowhere near what the book was really all about. The main character Martha is surprised at the opening of the story by a mother of a classmate, Olive, who passe...more

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May 23, 2012 Nathalie Reinstein rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is about a girl named Martha. She is 12 years old, and a girl in her grade is hit by a car. Her name was Olive, and she was very quiet. In a diary entry that Olive wrote, she says how badly she wanted to see an ocean, and how badly she wanted to be friends with Martha. It just so happened that Martha and her family were going to the ocean that summer to visit Godbee (Martha's grandmother). At Godbees house, Martha becomes "good friends" with Jimmy Manning (a boy her age that lives clos...more This book is about a girl named Martha. She is 12 years old, and a girl in her grade is hit by a car. Her name was Olive, and she was very quiet. In a diary entry that Olive wrote, she says how badly she wanted to see an ocean, and how badly she wanted to be friends with Martha. It just so happened that Martha and her family were going to the ocean that summer to visit Godbee (Martha's grandmother). At Godbees house, Martha becomes "good friends" with Jimmy Manning (a boy her age that lives close to Godbee). He is trying to make a documentary about the mysteries of human nature, and in the love section, he takes a video of Martha kissing him. She finds out, and is furious. The main conflict in the story is that video clip. She becomes distant from her family, including her beloved Godbee, and wishes she didn't exist. Then she comes up with the idea to take a little part of the ocean in a bottle in memory of Olive. While getting the bottle of sea water, she trips and comes close to drowning. This flips her views on life, and now was happy to be alive. She continued her summer as a happy teen, and on her last day of the trip, Jimmy Manning's younger brother, Tate, gives Martha the only copy of the video. He also expresses his loving feelings towards her, then runs off. The story ends with Martha painting on the sidewalk outside of Olive's old house with the sea water. This story takes place in modern-day time, mostly at Godbee's beach house in Rhode Island.

I really liked this book. Although I do have one complaint about it. I think that the author wasn't very clear about some of the events in the book. Sometimes I didn't really understand what was happening until I read it over and over until the idea sunk in. I can connect Martha's feelings toward the beach to my own feelings towards my parent's friends' beach on Lake Michigan in Michigan. It is my favorite place in the whole entire world, and I can't wait to go back this summer. We both miss the beach while we are away, and hate to leave once we are there.(less)

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Feb 01, 2012 Lydia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tween-reads

This book has flow. From beginning to end it feels seamless. The short, two to five page chapters are not abrupt or disjointed, and the heart of the story is carried throughout.

I often enjoy the Newberry Honor Books even more than the Newberry Award winners, and this story is no exception.

Olive was a young girl who was shy and often teased in school. She had no friends and spent many hours writing, and dreaming of becoming an author. Olive was tragically killed in an accident while riding her bi...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Brenda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Olive’s Ocean is a book to sit with for a while. It is gentle and challenging at the same time. It is about bravery. It is about thoughtfulness. It is about relationships, truth, regret and trust.
“Martha Boyle, you think too much. And my dad says when you think too much, that’s when the trouble starts.” Martha does think and wonder – why did Olive, someone she didn’t really know or talk to, think she was nice; the kind of person she would like to be friends with? How come someone only twelve die...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I hadn't read any chapter books by Henkes before. I'm a fan of his picture books of course, but this was my first of his novels. His prose style is lovely, simple without seeming bare, emotional without seeming overly dramatic.

Granted I haven't been 12 for a long time, but there's something about this book that really captures what being 12 feels like. You know, that point in your life where you start to hate your family for no reason, and you don't want to, but you can't help it. That point in...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1. Contemporary Realism
2. Olive is dead but Martha can't get her out of her head. They didn't know each other but Martha feels so connected to this mysterious girl. During her family's annual summer trip to her grandmothers house on the coast Martha find herself changing. Her trip may help her to answer a few questions but it also awakens new questions, questions that need answering. Will Martha be able to navigate all these unanswered questions or will she drown in the heaviness of their weight...more 1. Contemporary Realism
2. Olive is dead but Martha can't get her out of her head. They didn't know each other but Martha feels so connected to this mysterious girl. During her family's annual summer trip to her grandmothers house on the coast Martha find herself changing. Her trip may help her to answer a few questions but it also awakens new questions, questions that need answering. Will Martha be able to navigate all these unanswered questions or will she drown in the heaviness of their weight?
3. Critique
a. The poetic words of Henkes captures the heart and the imagery produced is profound. Also, the characters interaction, particularly between the main character, Martha and her grandmother, Godbee.
b. The imagery is amazing and too few and far between! I only wish it were written in every line. The imagery seems to show up most prevalent when Martha herself is deep in thought or coming to a conclusion or deciding something important. This story is beautifully written.
c. As if the author knew it would grab attention he placed his most wonderful example on the back of the book, it describes one of Martha's most climatic moment and a turning point in her thinking. "...and somehow clawed her hair loose from her head like a multitude of tentacles thin as filaments like a sea creature jerking about wildly and then for a second she felt numb and blue and liquid herself and resigned to the fact that the water would overcome her and in that second she began sliding away from the present..."
4. I would use this book to teach imagery. I would present it in the way that allowed students to create their own endings to certain parts in the story. I would yell red light, and ask them to finish the sentence using their own similes and metaphors. Then compare them to what the author used. It would help them to see an excellent example of these two forms of writing while trying to write themselves. I might tie up the whole thing by having them create a poem similar to Martha's where it was just a bunch of first lines! How fun to pick a topic, such as the ocean, and write a bunch of one liners. (less)

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Nov 03, 2011 Danielle Kern rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-lit-2011

Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean. Harper Collins: New York, New York 2003. 217 pp. ISBN 0-06-053543-1
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: ***** A very sweet and innocent story of a 12 year old girl’s annual summer vacation to her grandmother’s cottage on the ocean. Olive’s Ocean is a very delightful quick read that I would recommend to any young girl.

Summary: Visiting her grandmother Godbee is Martha Boyle’s favorite part of every summer. However this year her heart is heavy after learning of a class...more Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean. Harper Collins: New York, New York 2003. 217 pp. ISBN 0-06-053543-1
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: ***** A very sweet and innocent story of a 12 year old girl’s annual summer vacation to her grandmother’s cottage on the ocean. Olive’s Ocean is a very delightful quick read that I would recommend to any young girl.

Summary: Visiting her grandmother Godbee is Martha Boyle’s favorite part of every summer. However this year her heart is heavy after learning of a classmate’s accidental death. Although Martha didn’t really know Olive very well, her mother surprises her with a visit before the Boyles leave on their vacation. Olive’s mother shows Martha a page of Olive’s diary in which she wrote about her strong desire to get to know Martha better. Martha now struggles to put this girl’s death in perspective. At her grandmother’s house she also finds herself with her first crush. Although Martha has known Jimmy Manning for years, his attention to her this summer opens a whole new set of feelings. Unfortunately Jimmy’s intentions are insincere and Martha is left heartbroken.

Main characters:
Martha: A typical self-centered 12 year old girl who “hates” everyone in her family except her grandmother Godbee. Martha is able to confide in her grandmother Godbee and loves spending time with her. This summer Martha has decided that she wants to become a writer but struggles with what subject matter to write about. After the summer vacation is over Martha has a new perspective on life. She knows who she is and loves who she is.
Godbee: A charismatic grandmother who knows that her end is near. She wants to take all that life has to offer in including getting to know her granddaughter better. She also wants Martha to get to know her better.

Key Issues: Family, Aging, First Crushes, Heartbreak, Death

Other interesting information: Along with her hope to become Martha’s friend, in her diary Olive expresses her desire to see an ocean. Martha decides to bring the ocean to Olive’s mother by filling a jar with ocean water. Ironically she almost dies doing this.
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Sep 28, 2011 Leslie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: juvenile, young-adult, award-winner

[read for banned books week : follow link for that portion of the post]

I appreciate when juvenile fiction is creative in their storytelling. I am really taken with the novels in verse, even though, at times, they are intimidating. Olive’s Ocean is not told in verse, but the chapter tend to be short, as short as two paragraphs when necessary. Some are more prose like than others; and I wouldn’t say they could be independent (that might take a second read). Chapters could be linear, they could be...more [read for banned books week : follow link for that portion of the post]

I appreciate when juvenile fiction is creative in their storytelling. I am really taken with the novels in verse, even though, at times, they are intimidating. Olive’s Ocean is not told in verse, but the chapter tend to be short, as short as two paragraphs when necessary. Some are more prose like than others; and I wouldn’t say they could be independent (that might take a second read). Chapters could be linear, they could be looking back, but none of it confusing, nothing beyond the young reader’s grasp. Kevin Henkes has a wonderful sensibility when it comes to pace and portrait here, brevity and motion; natural segues.

What makes Olive’s Ocean beautiful are the relationships: some old, others changing into something new, and some that never would be, some never could be. Some relationships are cut short before they could really blossom, others hold promise of somewhere lovely. One of the greatest values of this read is the affection between Martha and her grandmother Godbee. They decide to tell each other something new-to-the-other-person every day of the vacation. It is a powerful pairing, a young woman discovering herself and an older woman losing herself; the younger creating memories, and the other resorting to those which are already created. The Martha/Olive pairing is nice–We see Olive through Martha at moments, one ghosting the other. I like the Jimmy/Tate juxtaposition, two paths, and then even a third in Vince.

Writers writing Writers is not unusual. In a way, a writerly protagonist (or even a readerly or artistic one) is a reliable one; they are observers–of other and self–and tend to harbor a better lexicon than most. I think Martha may be among the most brilliantly flawed yet, however, and this excites me. When Martha decides she wants to be a Writer: she begins–and struggles. She wants to write a poem.

"She had abandoned her story about Olive, convinced that it was not very good, nor worthy of Olive. But she knew that she wanted to be a writer more than ever. She held on to this feeling without trying to start a new novel just yet. She decided she would try a poem instead–the best poem ever–reasoning that it would be easier to write and to finish, only to discover that this was difficult as well. She ended up with a page of first lines. [...] After rereading her hours worth of work, she thought she wouldn’t try to write anything else until she was back home in Wisconsin." (174-76)

There are some great first lines, but Martha illustrates that wanting doesn’t mean having, or having it easy. Being/becoming someone doesn’t come without work or struggle, and even some amount of deciding. So some things work out; some do not. Henkes gives us a protagonist who is capable, but also one with potential–and determination.

Olive’s Ocean is an easy recommendation for budding young artists/writers. It is a good one for those grieving a loss while still having to live. It honors memory and expression and daring, as well as growing up and adjusting and clinging to the family you have. The Boyle family’s love for one another is built into everything, even the arguing and snide and stupid sounding remarks. So, if you are looking for a book with positive family dynamics in an already pleasurably unusual coming-of-age novel… This is a good novel to promote getting to know that shy person, the overlooked, the new, and to not waste our opportunities.

There are so many points of great discussion from a book that is just a pleasure to read. If some of the questions are uncomfortable, consider this good practice and hope for more uncomfortable questions in the future, because that at least means they are still sharing.

L @ omphaloskepsis
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...(less)

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About Kevin Henkes

Kevin Henkes became an author/illustrator when he was nineteen years old, working on a card table in his bedroom.
Today he's the author of many award-winning picture books and novels.

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“Now smile a real smile for me so I know you`re not suffering inside.” — 3 people liked it

“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.” — 2 people liked it

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