49 pages • 1 hour read
Kevin HenkesOlive's Ocean
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-13Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “A Beginning”
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains depictions of the death of a young person and the nonconsensual recording of a kiss.
Twelve-year-old Martha Boyle gasps when the older woman at her door says she’s Olive’s Barstow mother. She gives Olive a page from her daughter’s journal and then bicycles away.
Chapter 2 Summary: “An End”
Weeks ago, Olive Barstow died. While riding her bicycle on Monroe Street, a car hit her. Martha doesn’t think Olive was exceptional, and she pictures Olive soaring through the air before crashing into the pavement.
Chapter 3 Summary: “Hopes”
Martha reads the piece of paper from Olive’s journal. Olive dates the entry June 7, and she expresses her hopes of writing a novel. The first sentence of Olive’s novel is about an orphan who wants to fly like a bird. Writing aside, Olive wants to visit a “real ocean,” and become friends with Martha. Olive believes Martha is a kind person.
Before reading Olive’s entry, Martha was cheerful. Now, Martha feels “eerie.” With her family, she’s about to visit her grandmother, who lives in Cape Cod—a Massachusetts peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Martha wants to be a writer, and Martha wonders why Olive thinks she’s such a nice person.
Chapter 4 Summary: “Martha’s Father”
Dennis Boyle is Martha's father, and he quit his job as a lawyer to focus on writing a novel. Dennis also takes care of Martha’s two-year-old sister, Lucy, and Martha notices that being the stay-at-home parent has made Dennis harried. Dennis admits that he wants the summer to end. Martha and her 13-year-old brother, Vince, will return to school, and Lucy will be at nursery school three mornings a week, so Dennis will have more time to himself.
Dennis notices Martha’s pale complexion and asks her who was at the door. Martha gives a rambling, evasive answer, so Dennis moves on, asking Martha to help him with Lucy.
Chapter 5 Summary: “Lucy”
Lucy is a light sleeper, and she sleeps on a queen-size mattress under a pile of pillows, dolls, stuffed animals, a quilt, and a sheet. Martha wakes her up, and they practice saying numbers before Martha changes her diaper.
Chapter 6 Summary: “The Corner of Knickerbocker and Monroe”
With Lucy in a stroller, Martha visits the corner of Monroe and Knickerbocker, where Olive died. Martha is unsure why she came, and she imagines the feeling of getting hit by a car. She takes chalk from the pouch attached to Lucy’s stroller and writes “OLIVE” on the curb.
Chapter 7 Summary: “A Phone Conversation in Mid-July”
Holly is Martha’s best friend, and they have a phone call while Holly eats M&M’s. The main topic is Olive. Josh Sweeney, who bullied Olive along with Dana Lewis, told Holly that Olive wasn’t wearing a helmet. Martha claims Josh is lying, and she calls him a series of unflattering names.
Martha wishes she and Holly had been kinder to Olive, and Holly says they were nice—or at least they weren’t “not nice” to her. Holly calls Olive “weird,” and Martha scolds Holly, who wants to go shopping and eat sticky rice with mangoes.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Ms. Hubbard”
While Martha tries to remember facts about Olive, Martha’s mother, Alice Hubbard, tells her about interviewing an 88-year-old scuba diver. Alice has a morning talk show on Wisconsin Public Radio. Martha used to think her mom had a cool job, but now the words she says on the show embarrass her.
Recently, Martha and Alice have been getting on each other’s nerves, with Martha swinging between loving and hateful feelings for her mother. Now, Martha wishes she could cuddle with Alice.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Vince”
Vince and Martha were born on the same day, and Martha jokes that she’s the best present her older brother will ever receive. Vince and Martha shared a room until Vince was in the fourth grade and Martha was in the third grade. Vince declared his dislike for girls and moved out, but he visits Martha’s room every night before bed for talks. Vince and Martha are “brutally honest” with each other.
In the present, Vince tells Martha that he shaved for the first time—though he only shaved his peach fuzz. Martha considers talking to Vince about a more serious topic, but she wishes him a good night instead. Martha feels empty and isolated, but her mind is busy with thoughts about Olive.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Airplane”
Martha and her family will take an airplane to Providence, Rhode Island, and then drive to Cape Cod. On the airplane, Martha wants to write, but the only words that she puts in her notebook are “Olive Barstow.”
Chapter 11 Summary: “The Glittery Feeling”
Martha is outside the airport, waiting for a shuttle bus to take her and her family to the car rental lot. She can smell the Atlantic Ocean, and she gets a “glittery feeling,” so she feels “shiny and jumpy and bubbly” (41). She squeaks and lifts her arm. Vince calls her a “bird,” her father announces the bus’s arrival, and her mother accidentally hits her with the suitcase. The glittery sensation vanishes.
Chapter 12 Summary: “Godbee”
Martha’s grandmother is Dorothy Boyle. Previously, she went by Grandma Boyle and then Grandma B. As a toddler, Martha pronounced Grandma B as Godbee, and the name caught on with Martha’s family and Godbee’s friends.
Martha and Godbee are looking at Buzzards Bay (a bay in the Atlantic Ocean), and Martha declares her love for Godbee’s cottage. Godbee wants Martha to share something about herself each day she’s here. Godbee will then tell Martha something about herself. Godbee speculates that this summer could be their last one together. Godbee thinks Dennis is probably inspecting her medicine cabinet as they speak.
Vince hangs out with the five Manning brothers, who live near the beach. The brothers have an age range of 9-14. Martha’s attitude toward the brothers varies, but now she’s interested in Tate, who’s 13.
Chapter 13 Summary: “Just Fine”
Godbee doesn’t want to worry Martha, but Godbee is older, so anything can happen. Martha asks Dennis if Godbee is dying, and Dennis scolds Godbee. Dennis says Godbee is “just fine,” and Godbee claims Dennis doesn’t know how to enjoy vacations.
Lucy is upset because there’s no more banana baby food—the only food she’ll eat. Dennis forgot to pack more, so Lucy starts screaming, and Dennis yells back. To calm Lucy, Alice cradles her. Vince quips about their “relaxing” vacation.
Chapters 1-13 Analysis
The title and the first sentence of Olive’s Ocean establish the theme of Identity and Self-Discovery. The book’s name suggests that Olive is the central character, but by Chapter 2, it is established that Olive is dead. The first sentence—“Are you Martha Boyle?” (11)—introduces the main character and creates a link between Martha and the titular character. In this opening section, Martha begins using the idea of Olive to navigate her own identity. Martha writes Olive’s name on the curb, and on the airplane, the only two words she writes in her notebook are Olive Barstow. Throughout the book, Olive’s memory drives many of Martha’s decisions and thoughts. At this point in the novel, Martha’s journey toward self-discovery is just beginning, and she both mourns and imitates Olive as she navigates her new surroundings and the new feelings she experiences.
Martha’s self-abasement appears in a conversation with Godbee. When Godbee asks about her, Martha redirects the conversation, stating, “Lucy’s more interesting. And Vince—.” Godbee interrupts her, “You have to tell me something about yourself each day you’re here” (47). While Martha is more comfortable sharing with Godbee than with others, Martha remains elusive because her identity is still in the making and her personality is still very malleable. Martha matures over the summer in Cape Cod and works toward developing a more concrete identity. Martha is an intuitive observer, and she has yet to decide the kind of person she wants to become.
Further, Olive’s death prompts the introduction of the theme of Coping With Loss and Death. By constantly thinking of Olive, Martha maintains her presence. Martha can’t let go of Olive, subconsciously honoring her by keeping her alive and present as a pseudo-friend over the summer in Cape Cod. Just as Martha is learning how to cope with her peer’s death, she also faces the reality of Godbee’s imminent death. While Dennis shies away from talking about the truth, Godbee is open with Martha about her old age and her experiences. Observing her father’s reaction and Godbee’s matter-of-fact tone, Martha is left to decide how she wants to confront the reality of her grandmother’s eventual passing.
Dealing with loss and death additionally links to the theme of Experiencing Change in Adolescence. Olive and Godbee’s deaths are just two examples of major changes Martha finds herself confronting as she comes of age. Martha’s unpredictable emotional swings are another example of changes befalling her in this transitional, formative age. The narrator explains, “Martha’s feelings for her mother bounced between love and hate quickly and without warning as if her feelings were illogical, willful, and completely out of Martha’s control” (33). Martha’s inconsistent emotions about her mother mirror her fluid relationship with the Manning brothers and her fluctuating emotions in general. The “glittery feeling” that makes Martha feel “shiny and jumpy and bubbly” vanishes due to her mother and father (41). Throughout the book, Martha must learn to manage her revolving interiority.
Chapters 1 through 13 contain humor and foreshadowing—clues about what will occur later. Martha’s embarrassment over her mother’s radio show links to the kiss and video. Media provides a record of life, so it can document incidents that people would rather forget. Godbee provides humor when she depicts her son, Dennis, as compulsively inspecting her medicine cabinet for signs of her decline. Vince is a reliable source of humor, and he tries to lighten the mood during Chapter 13’s chaotic dinner by joking about how calm and tranquil the Boyles’ vacations are. The book is often introspective and solemn, and these humorous moments provide a time out from Martha’s knotty and searching character.
