Review: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

 

I picked this book up one day after work before a doctor's appointment. I was drawn to the octopus on the cover because my mom likes them so I thought I'd give the book a try. It was so beyond good. 

This is the story of an old woman living in the small town she has always lived in. She works as a nighttime cleaner at an aquarium and has befriended the giant octopus that lives there. It is also the story of a young man who has been handed many difficult cards in life but finds himself moving to the same small town. 

There's something so pure and sweet about this book even though it has its share of sad and emotional moments. It is for the most part upbeat and hopeful. The octopus I mentioned prior is named Marcellus and he is determined to share a secret with the older woman before he dies. 

The vibes of the town are lovely and honestly made me want to move to Sowell Bay and sit on the beach watching the ocean. The characters are well-developed and very caring for each other. There's something nice about reading a book full of characters you like. The writing establishes everything, even the most heartbreaking moments as very comforting. I was so deeply drawn into this book from the very first page. 

I would definitely say my favorite part was the entries from Marcellus. I think it is a very cool way to present the perspective of a character who is otherwise nonspeaking. It does shift points of view between Cameron, the young man, and Tova, the old woman in order to tell the story of the two of them. I must admit that at first, I was not interested in Cameron at all, but as the book went on I fell in love with him too. 

Shelby Van Pelt did an excellent job writing this novel and I look forward to reading other works by her in the future. I will say although this book is relatively light-hearted, it does deal with some more serious topics. There is child death, mentions of animal death, mentions of drug abuse, and mentions of possible murder and suicide. Please be aware of possible content that may be harmful before reading. As always I recommend looking at StoryGraph for a full list of content warnings as provided by the community of readers. 

As always, happy reading, and I should be posting some more reviews soon as I recently finished another book and am about to finish Jennette McCurdy's new book.