Review: The Benefits of Being an Octopus

/ ofmariaantonia

benefits-of-being-octopusBook: The Benefits of Being an Octopus (2018)
Author: Ann Braden
Genre: MG, Contemporary

Basic Plot: Zoey has a lot of responsibility. She has to take care of her younger siblings while her mom’s at work. They are living with her mom’s boyfriend who’s so neat and tidy, and it’s up to Zoey to keep the little kids out of his hair. Zoey’s goal in life is to be invisible. But Zoey begins to see things that might just force her to speak up. Not just for herself, but for those she deeply cares about.

WHAT’S COOL…

1) I liked that Zoey was so responsible for her younger siblings. And they had such a nice relationship!

2) I enjoyed all the little details about octopuses. (Although, it doesn’t really figure into the resolution of the story. Wish it did.)

3) Matt and Silas were some of my favourite minor characters. Matt actually has a bit of an arc, and I wish we could have seen a tiny bit more of that. The silence of Silas intrigued me, but as a minor character, it wasn’t fully examined.

4) Fuchsia was a complex character. A little over-dramatic for me, but she played nicely into the story. I liked how her story and Zoey’s story are on parallel lines that then converge near the end. Nicely done!

5) Debates are NOT my favourite topic… I did not like them when I was a kid and I don’t really care for them now. That said, I did think this part of the book was fairly well done. When it came to the gun debate, I appreciated that both sides of the issue were shown.

6) I liked the teacher. But I like books that have teachers like her in them. 🙂

7) I love the cover of this book. I think I could look at it all day!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I really liked that this book dealt with some hard topics.

YOUR TURN…

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

14 thoughts on “Review: The Benefits of Being an Octopus”

    • It might have just been me. I’d give it a try. Especially if it’s a library book. You can always put it down if it doesn’t grab you. (And here’s the thing, I DID finish the book. It had enough to keep me reading.)

      Like

      Reply

  3. I saw the cover when this came out last year but knew little about the plot. Thanks for filling me in. It does sound worthy of a read. I especially like the characters you described. Thanks for the heads-up on this one.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment