Remarkably Bright Creatures

By Lydia Key

I am trying to post at least once every Wednesday now (maybe every other, maybe weekends... We'll see!) As I said in my previous posts, I love to put work into these posts but to some extent, it gets to be a lot. Therefore, there WILL be grammar and spelling mistakes in this, but you'll just have to bear with me! Right now, I want to focus in on one of my favorite books that I have read in a while. This is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. This was the first novel that she had created, and it is astonishing. This book seems to be slightly hit or miss. Goodreads user Cat said, "My goodness, this was a tedious, predictable chore to get through," but (unsurprisingly) 1,093,011 users disagree with her (myself included). This book is a heart-warming comfort read with an incredibly interesting plot!

The premise of the book circles around a small-town aquarium that an older lady, Tova, works at. She develops a beautiful friendship with their octopus and makes unforgettable family connections. After her son, Eric, died from assumed suicide as a teen, she has not had the fulfillment in her life to try anything exciting. Cameron, a young man who recently went through a tough breakup, comes to the aquarium for a job, but finds a life in their city! The character development throughout the novel is incredible, but most of all the story arc of the octopus is amazing! Marcellus, the octopus, used to live out at sea, but was captured. Marcellus is incredibly smart and keeps track of how much longer he has to live. Knowing very well that the end of life is nearing him, he makes a desperate attempt to live life to its fullest.

Ultimately, this is not going to be a very long post. This book was absolutely incredible. I would read this book over and over and over again if I could live forever, but alas, I cannot. Therefore, I try so, so hard to read as many books as I can. This book reminded me just how beautiful nature is! Thank you so much for reading!