Olive's Ocean

Henkes, Kevin. Olive's Ocean. Scholastic, 2003. ISBN: 0-439-70194-5

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 bicycle.

Martha barely knew Olive. Martha barely knows herself. She is simply trying to survive in junior high, with the discovery of her attraction to boys and the propensity for embarrassing situations that make the world feel as if it is about to end. Martha really only thinks about herself...that is, until Olive's mother hands Martha a note that Olive wrote about her, before she died.

This coming-of-age story follows a summer family vacation to the ocean where Martha learns about death, living, boys, and how one can have the best moment of their lives and worst moment all in the same day. It is not overly dramatic, nor does it shy away from difficult themes or topics.

I found myself laughing with, pitying, and growing alongside Martha. Told through the lens of a tween, Henkes reminds all of us what it was like to be 12.

NOTE: For a similar and just-as-marvelous story of growing and grieving, read Perch, Mrs. Sackets, and Crow's Nest by Karen Pavilicin (Alma Little, 2007. ISBN: 9781934617007).