Olive's Ocean

Olive’s Ocean is the 2001 children’s novel written by American author and illustrator Kevin Henkes. The story follows Martha Boyle, a 12-year-old girl who leaves her home in Wisconsin every summer to visit her grandmother, Godbee, at her house in Florida. One year before she leaves, Martha receives a diary entry from the mother of Olive Barstow; a classmate of Martha’s who recently died in a hit-and-run car accident. Olive looked up to Martha even though they were not very close friends. As Martha begins to learn more about Olive, she begins to feel remorse for mistreating her in school. Along the way, Martha discovers that she and Olive have many things in common such as their love of the ocean and their desire to become writers. As Olive realizes she and Olive could have been best friends, her life begins to change in unexpected ways. Olive’s Ocean has been called a “profoundly touching coming-of-age novel” by Family Fun Magazine, “Lyrically written” by the Seattle Times, and that “Henkes explores key issues of adolescence” by Publishers Weekly. Olive’s Ocean was named winner of the 2004 Newbery Honor.

Narrated in the third-person perspective, the story begins in Wisconsin. Martha Boyle is a 12-year-old girl who loves the ocean and wants to be a writer. Every summer, Martha travels from Wisconsin to visit her grandmother, Godbee, at her seaside cottage in Florida off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As summer approaches and Martha prepares to visit Godbee, Martha receives a journal entry in the mail. The letter has been sent from a woman named Mrs. Barstow, whose daughter Olive was recently killed in a hit-and-run auto accident. Olive was also one of Martha’s classmates, although the two never spoke or spent time together. From the letter, Martha learns that Olive always admired Martha and wanted to become friends with her while she was alive. Olive always thought that Martha was “the nicest girl in the class.” Also in the letter is a list of Olive’s hopes and dreams, which include becoming a writer and seeing the ocean for the first time.

When Martha’s family arrives at Godbee’s beach house in Florida, her parents get into a big argument. As a result, tensions rise among the family and Martha begins spending less time with her parents and more time with Godbee. Martha and Godbee make a pact to share one secret about themselves to each other every day. Meanwhile, Martha cannot get Olive out of her head and decides to write a story about Olive to commemorate her life. During her stay at Godbee’s, Martha meets a 14-year-old boy named Jimmy Manning, who is an aspiring filmmaker and friends with Martha’s older brother, Vince. Over time, Martha develops a crush on Jimmy, whom she is surprised to see pay her so much attention. Martha tells Godbee about her secret crush, and Godbee warns Martha to be cautious not to fall in love too fast. Martha becomes so enamored with Jimmy that she decides to include him in Olive’s memorial, but changes his name to James.



James soon unveils his plans to make a film about “life” that covers various aspects such as love, death, and family. Martha helps James record various scenes, including an interview in which she gives a testimony of Olive’s tragedy as part of the “death” sequence. Later, as part of the “love” section of the film, Jimmy asks Martha whether she has ever been kissed. On the way home, Jimmy suddenly stops to set up his camera before kissing Martha, which is captured on video. Later, Martha learns their kiss was videotaped as a result of a wager made between Jimmy, Vince and the rest of the Manning boys. Devastated, Martha runs off weeping and decides to nix the portion of Olive’s memorial that includes James. Tate Manning, Jimmy’s little brother, approaches Martha and apologies for the cruel prank.

Upset, Martha pours herself into Olive’s memorial and decides she wants to be a writer when she grows up. However, she is afraid to tell her parents because her father is already the writer in the family and fears he will not accept her dream. As she separates with Jimmy and fights with Vince, Martha begins to feel her life slipping out of control. She grows further apart from her family, with only Godbee to confide in. Upon going to the ocean one day, Martha nearly drowns. While she struggles underwater, all Martha can think about is how badly Olive must have suffered before she died. Martha cannot control her thoughts and has many conflicting ideas in her head.

As the summer comes to an end, Martha decides to help Olive realize her dream of seeing the ocean for the first time. Martha fills a jar with seawater and gives it to Olive’s mother. Martha writes “Olive’s Ocean” on the jar label. Martha also decides to ditch her written memorial of Olive’s life. As she says farewell to Godbee and heads to the airport, Martha is tracked down by Tate, who gives Martha a bag with a note on it. In the note, Tate apologizes for his brother’s actions and confesses that he’s the one who has a crush on Martha. When Martha arrives at the airport, she opens the bag and finds the videotape Jimmy made of their “fake” kiss. Once in Wisconsin, Martha goes to Olive’s house to give Olive’s mother the jar of seawater. However, Martha learns Olive’s mother has moved to the Pacific Northwest. Martha uses the seawater to spell the name “Olive” on the stoop of Olive’s house until the water is gone. Martha remains on the stoop until the sunlight dries up the name “Olive.” When the name vanishes, Martha is finally able to move on with her life as a changed person. Martha’s father quits writing and goes back to school so that Martha can be the only writer in the family. In the end, Martha decides to visit Godbee during Christmastime.