Published: 20 September 2022
Publisher: Feiwel Friends
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Genre: Fiction
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars
Nobody has her moves.
She doesn’t just swim to the bottom,
she dive-bombs.
She doesn’t just somersault,
she triple-doughnuts.
She doesn’t just ride the waves,
she makes them.
Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she’s known. She’s a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself—and about the humans who hope to save her.
Inspired by the true story of a Monterey Bay Aquarium program that pairs orphaned otter pups with surrogate mothers.
I only knew Applegate from her incredible Animorphs series so I was surprised when I came across this book. It is a beautifully told story. It looks like a big book but since it’s told in verse it’s a fairly quick read, but at the same time it is one you can easily take your time with.
It is amazing how Applegate can tell such a beautiful story of an otter’s life with so few words, but each one is important and captures the right mood and tone. The world under the waves, the actions, instincts, and dangers of an otter’s life are told beautifully. You don’t need paragraphs of descriptions about the ocean or what it feels like tow swim through the water, Applegate captures it with a few lines and you’re immediately there alongside Odder and her friends, experiencing the underwater world for the first time.
Verse reads completely different than poetry, and of course separate again from prose. The lyrical nature makes the words flow, and it feels melodic as you read. The short sentences and the limited words don’t hinder understanding at all and Applegate chooses the right words to capture mood, tone, and action perfectly.
There is heartbreak, love, and joy and I continued to be amazed how such a beautiful and complex story could be told in such an apparently simple style. You really don’t need it to be a novel though, free verse is lyrical, flowing and perfect to feel like you are riding the ocean waves, and swimming sleekly through water like an otter.
Applegate brings Odder to life so well as we experience her thoughts and her desires. Her curiosity at the world around her and her love for the ocean captivates you and you get to experience what life as an otter would be like. We understand other otters through her perspective and even understand the humans through Odder’s observations and experience.
Odder is a sea otter, I have only seen river otters in the zoo so I was picturing that the entire time, despite the adorable cover picture which gives you an indication of what Odder looks like. There is also a scattering of pencil illustrations throughout. Santoso’s illustrations are gorgeous and bring another level of beauty to this book and complement Applegate’s poetic words.
I was surprised to find myself becoming emotional towards the end. Seeing Odder grow up, see her life change as she lives in the sea, experiences danger and loss, as well as her time being cared for by humans. It’s a journey for her but also for the reader and those around her. After you’ve gone on this journey with her you feel proud of her resilience and achievements. And the fact she can still find hope after giving up was surprisingly impactful. Applegate pulls some incredible emotional punches through so few words. It truly is an art.
You can purchase Odder via the following
QBD | Booktopia | Blackwell’s
Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson
Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible
Now, Andy and Terry have built their biggest and most astonishing treehouse yet! It has everything they – and you – could wish for, including an electric pony stable, a Santa Land, a NOISY level, a kangaroo-riding range, a weather dome (where you can have whatever weather you want whenever you want it), a 100% edible gingerbread house and a potato-powered translation transmitter that allows you to talk to everything everywhere all at the same time.
Andy and Terry are celebrating Christmas in their 156-storey treehouse which now has 13 new storeys, including an aquarium wonderland, a wishing well, a world record breaking level, a TV quiz show hosted by Quizzy the quizzical quizbot, a lost property office, a lost sausage office, a super-stinky stuff level and the amazing mind-reading sandwich-making machine, which makes the perfect amazing sandwich for you – every single time!Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!
Andy and Terry’s treehouse now has 13 new storeys, including a word-o-matic (it knows every word in the whole world!); a recycling depot; a wrecking ball; a deep, dark cave with a real live, fire-breathing dragon; a too-hard basket; a SUPER BIG STUFF storey; a baked-bean geyser (it erupts on the hour, every hour); a Ye Olde Worlde Historical Village; a fish milkshake level (the penguins love them!); a complaining room; a spooky graveyard (where it’s always midnight, even in the middle of the day); a toffee apple orchard guarded by a kind scarecrow; and a camping ground where you can have a nice, relaxing camping holiday – unless you get caught by hobyahs, put in a bag and poked with a stick, that is … Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!
After her parents’ divorce, Bea’s life became different in many ways. But she can always look back at the list she keeps in her green notebook to remember the things that will stay the same. The first and most important: Mom and Dad will always love Bea, and each other.
