Olive's Ocean

Kevin Henkes is the author of Olive’s Ocean, a 2001 coming-of-age chapter book for young readers. Kevin has written and illustrated several books for children and young readers, including Waiting (1991) and The Year of Billy Miller (2013). Henkes was born in Wisconsin, and this Midwest state is the home of his character Billy Miller, as well as Martha Boyle, the 12-year-old protagonist in Olive’s Ocean. In the novel, Martha grapples with the sudden death of the titular character, Olive Barstow, as she spends the final days of summer at her grandmother’s cottage in Cape Cod. Olive’s Ocean received a Newbery Medal for its contribution to American literature for young people, and the story addresses themes such as Identity and Self-Discovery, Coping With Loss and Death, and Experiencing Change in Adolescence.

This guide refers to a 2003 HarperCollins e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain depictions of the death of a young person and the nonconsensual recording of a kiss.

Plot Summary

Martha Boyle is 12 years old, and she attends Susan B.