Post by Charlynn on Jul 12, 2011 12:36:45 GMT -5
Olive's Ocean
~ by: Kevin Henkes
Being twelve is complicated. Parents are support and tenderness; parents are frustration. First love is giddy, inarticulate, and innocent until, a few days later, it is love no more. Being twelve is self-absorbing. Martha is twelve when she receives a page from a former, recently deceased classmate's journal. On that page, Olive dreamed about becoming a novelist, of seeing the ocean, and about being Martha's friend. The next day, Martha leaves for vacation at the beach, and, with Olive in mind, she starts to grow, emotionally. Henkes uses short, concise chapters and words such as idiot-scuzzbag-jerk-of-the-world to fully immerse readers into an adolescent mindset. Despite the book's brevity, though, it's long in meaning. Most importantly, as Martha realizes how fragile life is, readers, too, appreciate that, in the face of death, those concerns that once seemed so important are really rather insignificant. Troubles start to fade away. Life is everything.
5 out of 5 Stars
~ by: Kevin Henkes
Being twelve is complicated. Parents are support and tenderness; parents are frustration. First love is giddy, inarticulate, and innocent until, a few days later, it is love no more. Being twelve is self-absorbing. Martha is twelve when she receives a page from a former, recently deceased classmate's journal. On that page, Olive dreamed about becoming a novelist, of seeing the ocean, and about being Martha's friend. The next day, Martha leaves for vacation at the beach, and, with Olive in mind, she starts to grow, emotionally. Henkes uses short, concise chapters and words such as idiot-scuzzbag-jerk-of-the-world to fully immerse readers into an adolescent mindset. Despite the book's brevity, though, it's long in meaning. Most importantly, as Martha realizes how fragile life is, readers, too, appreciate that, in the face of death, those concerns that once seemed so important are really rather insignificant. Troubles start to fade away. Life is everything.
5 out of 5 Stars