Olives Ocean by Kevin Henkes Term Paper

Total Length: 673 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1

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The title of the book refers to the fact that unlike Olive, who never saw the ocean, Martha is able to see the water every year. Over the course of the book, Martha grows up more during her summer than she has almost any summer previously. Martha is made more responsible for looking after her younger sister. A boy kisses for the first time. But it is nothing like the first kiss of her dreams. After Martha makes friends with Manning boys, Jimmy, Tate, Todd, Luke and Leo, she feels as if she has passed her childhood on, as the boys only used to hang out with her brother, Vince. They are interested in films and making movies. But then, Jimmy pretends to like her simply so she will kiss him on camera, and makes her kiss him to win a bet with his brothers.

Olive's Ocean is a book that treats the concerns of young people with a great deal of respect. Children as young as twelve, like Olive and Martha must deal with death and rejection, just like adults.
Almost everyone has lost someone in their life, like a grandmother, and the strange feeling of knowing someone one's age who dies, even a person one doesn't know well is perfectly depicted in the book, through the relationship hat develops between Martha and Olive, only occurs after Olive's death.

The most gripping scene of the book is the scene where Martha almost drowns. Because the book begins with a death, the reader cannot help but wonder if Martha will die, or at least become injured. Although Martha is a strong swimmer, she panics and swallows water. This shows how anyone can be touched by death, however young. It also shows the power of words as Olive's influence lives on, long after her death, as Martha continues to think about Olive, and will remember Olive because of her journal entry for the rest of Martha's life.

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Latest APA Format (6th edition)

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"Olives Ocean By Kevin Henkes" (2006, September 30) Retrieved June 5, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/olives-ocean-kevin-henkes-71867

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

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"Olives Ocean By Kevin Henkes" 30 September 2006. Web.5 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/olives-ocean-kevin-henkes-71867>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Olives Ocean By Kevin Henkes", 30 September 2006, Accessed.5 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/olives-ocean-kevin-henkes-71867