Olives Ocean by Kevin Henkes

“Why did one girl die and not the other? Can you put the sea in a bottle, keep it?” (Henkes 175). These are some of the questions that Martha struggles with in the book Olive’s Ocean. Olive’s Ocean written by Kevin Henkes is a sweet tale that has plenty of useful life lessons. The book is about a girl Named Martha she receives a journal entry from Olives mother. Olive was killed by a car and the journal entry says how she would love for one say to become friends with Martha. Martha feels terrible because she always though Olive was a weird girl and would never talk to her. When Martha goes away for the summer she finds her self thinking about Olive and what it would be like is she was still alive.
Martha doesn’t just face the issues with Olive but she also finds herself in many different situations during her vacation which were family problems, almost drowning, boy issues which included being humiliated, falling in love, and first kisses. “I did something good for Olive. Tate is kind of nice. I love Godbee. Lucy’s cheeks are perfect. I almost drowned, but I didn’t. I’m alive” (Henkes 168).
Martha takes the reader through her summer experiences and how she learns to deal with her feelings. One way that helped her express what she was feeling was a deal she made with Godbee(her grandmother). The deal was that they both have to tell each other a secret each day; they both become very close and learn a lot about each other and themselves.
At the end of the summer Martha realizes how much she has grown up. The story ends with Martha bringing a special present back from her vacation to give to Olive. She is disappointed to find that she cannot give her gift to Olive’s mother but finds another special way to share her present with the Olive. This is a very sweet story that any teenage would enjoy and be used to help them through equally trying times.