Olive's Ocean: A Newbery Honor Award Winner

by Kevin Henkes

Book Overview

A brilliant, touching coming-of-age story, and a Newbery Honor Book.

Martha Boyle and Olive Barstow could have been friends, but they weren't. Weeks after a tragic accident, all that is left are eerie connections between the two girls, former classmates who both kept the same secret without knowing it.

Now, even while on vacation at the ocean, Martha can't stop thinking about Olive. Things only get more complicated...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060535431
• ISBN13: 9780060535438
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A Story of Death, Love and One Girls' Gradmother

Like many here, I too have been a fan of Kevin Henkes's picture books, such as "Lilly's Big Day." Until I spotted his last name in the juvenile fiction section while working at the library, though, I had no idea he had written any books aimed at older readers. I immediately checked this book out and wasn't disappointed. "Olive's Ocean" is the story of a girl named Martha who spends a summer at her grandmother's with her family. She learns of a disturbing secret --- it would seem that her grandmother may not have much time to live. This is a sensitive issue for Martha --- she's recently been affected by the death of Olive --- a girl who she didn't know well, but wrote a journal entry that ends up Martha's possession starting that she wanted to get know her --- "the nicest girl in the class." Martha is also undergoing some other struggles. She wants to be a writer, but is worried because her Dad wants to be one too. And she's sorting out her developing feelings about boys and other such topics. "Olive's Ocean" was a pleasantly deep and moving story. It has an interesting and surprising ocean. This book has a lot of deep thoughts and is laid out in a special and unique style. Each "Chapter" is generally only from one-to-four pages long. I quickly settled into this style and raced through the engrossing narrative. "Olive's Ocean" deserves its Newbery Honor. This is a thoughtful story with a strong heroine and richly developed characters that are very true to life.

Olive's Ocean reviewed by Helen

Olive's Ocean By Kevin Henkes "Olive Barstow was dead. She had been hit by a car on Monroe Street while riding her bike weeks ago. That was about all Martha knew." Martha Boyle ends her school year in a disturbing way. After discovering her daughter Olive's diary, Olive's mother finds an entry that mentions Martha. Martha receives this diary entry and is quite surprised. Martha wasn't even Olive's friend. When arriving home Martha rushes to her room to read it. The diary entry tells about Olive's hopes including wanting to become Martha's friend, that "[Martha] is the nicest person in my whole entire class" Martha is going to the beach that summer to visit her grandmother Godbee. Her grandmother lives on the beachfront. Martha learns, from the entry that Olive wished to but never lived by the ocean. This makes things much worse for Martha. As the story unfolds, Martha's word is turned upside-down. Always haunted by Olive, she starts to like a person she used to hate and is faced with the troubling fact that Godbee my soon die. Henkes writes this story beautifully, making serious concepts seem friendly to children. The second you end it you will you will turn back to the first chapter for more.

portrait of the artist as a young girl

Olive Barstow was the kind of quiet kid who blended into the woodwork. When she died unexpectedly, her mother brought over a diary page to Martha, the protagonist. Stunned by Olive's writing that she wished they could have been friends, and guilty over not knowing of this during her life, Martha decides to try writing a novel as her family spends a summer at the beach. Her relationships with the boys next door, her grandmother whose house they are staying at, and her family are unexpectedly described in more thoughtful detail than the average young adult book. Not since the Anastasia Krupnik books, have I read such a three-dimensional portrait of a senior citizen.Martha, on the cusp of puberty, finds her relationship to the two boys next door has changed. Every exchange between them feels genuine and what ultimately happens is what would happen in real life, not a glossy teen movie. In the end, she makes little progress on her novel, but discovers much about herself, helped by both adults and peers.

A perfect book!

Lovely, lovely story. The weight of the world rests on Martha's shoulders, and being twelve, why wouldn't it? There are distancing family members, beloved grandmothers, intriguing boys, annoying parents, squealing siblings and always the ocean.Read it in one night (not hard to do, chapters are very short and great for reading to classes......) and page count is about 220, small volume (pages). OH, I cannot recommend this more. It's just wonderful! The only thing that would have made it better, would be to have access to the ocean while reading!

New Territory for Henkes

Twelve-year-old Olive Barstow has died in a car accident. No one in the neighborhood knew her, and none of the kids at school remember much about her except that she was a little weird. But thoughts of Olive haunt Martha, and she has a hard time thinking of anything but the death of this unknown classmate, a girl her own age with hauntingly similar aspirations. For young adult readers, this book is a powerful look at the affirmation of life and the mysteries of death. Olive is completely unknown to us, yet thoughts about what her life could have been permeate the thoughts, movements, and actions of our protagonist. This is a clever look at how the life of another can add dimension to our own existence. Family relationships are written candidly and realistically. It's impossible not to love Martha from the beginning of the story when she wishes a good morning to her two-year-old sister until the end of the book when she resolves to be the person she wants to be. This book is a far cry from Kevin Henkes picture books about little mice, yet it carries the same beautiful messages about life and family and friends.