I could feel what she felt. I could feel her own tears drip and plunge to the scratchy carpet beneath her feet. I could taste the ocean glued to her flaring nostrils. I could sense that she felt alone and cold. Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes put my mind on a canvas and drew with such great words, a picture in my mind. I could definitely map out the emotions the author was trying to get across, even though the story was set in third person. I absolutely loved how there were three siblings in the book who all had unique personalities. Each character was different, yet very realistic in their own way.
The main character, Martha, a twelve year old, went through quite a deal of emotion in throughout this story. It all starts out with a note torn out of a diary entrée, belonging to a girl named Olive. Martha can’t quite get Olive’s note out of her mind, nor can she get Jimmy, a family friend out of her mind either.
This is a quick read full of a screaming, yet an adorable little sister, a simply just there kind of brother, an aging grandmother, a crush, and a summer at the beach. No wonder this is an award winning- Newberry prized book, it is much read and loved.