Consider the Octopus - Hardcover

Baskin, Nora Raleigh; Polisner, Gae

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1250793513 ISBN 13: 9781250793515

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2022

Synopsis

When chance, or fate, throws two twelve-year-olds together on board a scientific research ship at the edge of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it’s not all smooth sailing!

Jeremy “JB” Barnes is looking forward to spending the summer before seventh grade hanging on the beach. But his mother, a scientist, has called for him to join her aboard a research ship where, instead, he’ll spend his summer seasick and bored as he stares out at the endless plastic, microbeads, and other floating debris, both visible and not, that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Miles and miles away, twelve-year-old Sidney Miller is trying to come up with an alternate activity worthy of convincing her overprotective parents that she can skip summer camp.

When Jeremy is asked to find the contact information for a list of important international scientists and invite them to attend a last-minute Emergency Global Summit, he's excited to have a chance to actually do something that matters to the mission. How could he know that the Sidney Miller he messages is not the famous marine biologist he has been tasked with contacting, but rather a girl making podcasts from her bedroom―let alone that she would want to sneak aboard the ship?

Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner's Consider the Octopus is a comedy of errors, mistaken identity, and synchronicity. Above all, it is a heartfelt story about friendship and an empowering call to environmental protection, especially to our young people who are already stepping up to help save our oceans and our Earth.

About this title

About the Authors

Nora Raleigh Baskin is the ALA Schneider Family Book Award–winning author of Anything But Typical. She was chosen as a Publishers Weekly Flying Start for her novel What Every Girl (Except Me) Knows, and has since written a number of novels for middle graders and teens, including The Truth About My Bat Mitzvah, The Summer Before Boys, and Ruby on the Outside. Nora lives with her family in Connecticut.

GAE POLISNER is the award-winning author of In Sight of Stars, The Memory of Things, The Summer of Letting Go, The Pull of Gravity, and Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me. She lives on Long Island with her husband, two sons, and a suspiciously-fictional looking dog. When Gae isn't writing, you can find her in a pool or the open waters off Long Island. She's still hoping that one day her wetsuit will turn her into a superhero.

Reviews

Gr 5-7-JB is 12 years old and facing a long summer at sea as the only kid on the NOAA deep sea research vessel Oceania II, where his mother is the lead research scientist. JB gets tasked with inviting scientists and students to an environmental summit on board to raise awareness of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and hopefully reestablish funding for their mission. The invitations include Dr. Sidney Miller, a renown marine biologist. But Sidney Miller is also the name of a 12-year-old girl who is desperate to escape her dreaded summer camp, and is now, thanks to JB, the recipient of the mistaken invitation. Sidney is not going to let this opportunity go; she accepts the invitation and hatches a plan. JB, flummoxed by his mistake, agrees to sneak her onboard. From hiding out in a nest in the ship's laundry room, to serial impersonation of a renowned scientist, Sidney, JB, and their friends lurch from hilarious crisis to crisis, staying barely one step ahead of the adults-until the fateful day Sidney is discovered. With nonstop action, a surprisingly effective ending, and empathetic characters, this is a fast, fun read. VERDICT A sure winner for readers interested in the environment and adventure, or even just in adventure.-Gretchen Crowleyα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1250793513
• ISBN 13: 9781250793515
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272