The Benefits of Being an Octopus

The Benefits of Being an Octopus (2018) is a middle-grade coming-of-age novel by Ann Braden. The novel has won many awards, including the National Public Radio (NPR) Best Book of 2018. The protagonist, Zoey Albro, is an observant, somewhat snarky seventh grader who lives with her family in a trailer park in a small Vermont town. Told from Zoey’s first-person, present-tense point of view and set in the present day, the narrative begins in January and ends in the spring.

This guide uses the Kindle edition of the novel for page references and quotations.

Plot Summary

Zoey and her family live in the trailer of her mother’s boyfriend, Lenny. A nursing home orderly, Lenny keeps the trailer organized and spotless. His father, Frank, also lives with them. Frank spends most of his time watching football and angry news shows. Zoey’s mother, Kara, works full-time at the Pizza Pit, cooks and does chores, and cares for Zoey as well as Lenny’s baby son, Hector. In turn, Zoey cares for her two rowdy half-siblings: Bryce, four, and Aurora, three. She puts her siblings’ needs before her own, so she has little time for schoolwork, extracurricular activities, or a social life.