⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pros: Marcellus is a disenchanted, sardonic observer of humans and finds them rather tiresome. He’s quite non-plussed for an Octopus.
Cons: Cameron's plan to shakedown Simon Brinks for money is asinine/The truth of the mystery behind Erik’s tragedy was never really explained, just hinted.
Full Review:
Marcellus is a Giant Pacific Octopus. He has been at the Sowell Bay Aquarium for almost 4 years and the life span of a giant Pacific Octopus is only 4 years. He has 160 days left of his "sentence" and his life. He spends most of his time observing the humans, who in turn, stare at him and though Marcellus is rather unimpressed with the teeming masses, he knows that there is one human who is different. The cleaning lady, Tova.
Tova is alone. Her husband passed away about a year ago and her only child, Erik, disappeared after his 18th birthday. He finished his shift one night on the Ferry dock and then was never seen again. But when a boat washes up and no body is found, Erik's death is eventually deemed a suicide. Tova knows it wasn’t though. There has to have been more to it than that but, sadly, it's been almost 30 years and she's long since given up hope of finding answers.
When her estranged brother, Lars, passes away and she's contacted to come and collect his posessions at the posh, retirement community where he was living, the gears in her mind start turning. All of her friends are starting to move on, moving in with children, grand-children, big families that sadly, Tova never had. And she starts to wonder if its wise of her to live on her own.
Meanwhile, Cameron, a young musician who was raised by his aunt has been fired again. His girlfriend, who's sick of his laziness, kicks him out and his best friends, Brad and Elizabeth are about to have a baby, so he knows he can't stay with them. Everything's changing and Cameron's at a loss as to what to do. But when he's going through a box of his mother's things that his Aunt gave to him, he finds a class ring and a photo. The guy in the photo, the ring, it all makes perfect sense. The man in the photo is his father, he must be. So, Cameron spends what little money he has making his way up to Sowell Bay, in search of Simon Brinks, the real-estate mogul that he's convinced is his deadbat dad.
Cameron's plan is to shake Simon down for the 18 years of child support he never paid, since all Cameron wants is money. It's asinine but Cameron's determined. When the camper van he spent most of his money on gets a flat, he's stranded and he takes the offer from Ethan, the friendly neighborhood owner of the Shop-Way up on his offer to crash for a bit, until he finds his feet.
Of course, Sowell Bay is a small community where everyone knows everyone. And so, eventually Tova and Cameron's paths cross, at the Aquarium. Tova and Marcellus have a true friendship, since she's known about his nocturnal escapes from his tank and she's never said a word. When she helps Cameron gets Marcellus back into his tank one night, she and Cameron start seeing more of each other and she finds herself drawn to this charismatic and intelligent young man.
Of course, even the best laid plans have hiccups, there are mishaps, mistakes are made, feelings are hurt but in the end, everything comes together in a satisfying and heart-warming way. This book was fresh, funny and heartfelt and even though all the characters had their flaws, they more than made up for them in their fierce love and loyalty to one another.
Van Pelt has written a book that will stay with many people for a long time to come and I, for one, am so glad I read it.
Ended here.
Right off the bat, you know this won't end well but Cameron seems detrmined. Sadly, Brad tells Cam he’s quitting the band. Cam starts going through a box of his mother’s things that his Aunt gave him and finds a class ring and a photo of his mother and a man he’s never seen. I’m betting it’s his father and I wonder if perhaps his father is Erik, Tovas son who disappeared. I guess we’ll find out. I was right!
Marcellus notices everything and is rather non plussed by humans. But he knows Tova, the cleaning lady who saved him after he escaped his tank to feast on trash, is different. She doesn’t just stare at him. They talk. When Terry the Aquarium head realizes fhat Marcellus has been getting out of his tank and feasting on Sea Cucumbers, he plans to fortify his tank and Tova goes to give Marcellus one more night of freedom.
Marcellus wraps his tentacles around her arms and pulls her close to the tank and then reveals a key. It’s her house key that she thought she lost a year ago.
When Tova falls off a step stool after a visit with M, she sprains her ankle. Cameron, the dead beat who’s gone looking for his father, who he’s convinced is a Real Estate agent, Simon Brinks, and he thinks driving up there to meet him is going to result in loads of money. Yeah, that’s not gonna work.
He ends up in Sowell bay, befriends Ethan and ends up staying with him and taking up work at the aquarium, also filing in for Tovas who’s out with the sprained ankle for at least 6 weeks. And as these weeks pass, Tova decides to start filling out that application for the retirement home her brother was living at. She knows it’s time.
She and Cameron run into one each other when she goes to sneak a peek at how the aquarium looks in her absence.
She likes Cameron finding him charming, like her son Erik. And in the next chapter Marcellus with his keen observation and perception reveals that Cameron is a direct descendent of Tova but they don’t know that.
It would seem that Cameron Cassmore is Tovas grandson. Son of Erik and Daphne, Cameron’s addict mother. The plot indeed thickens. 😳.
Tova eventually figures it out after Marcellus leaves Cams drivers license for her to find and she goes through Erik’s yearbook and finds the one woman named Daphne. The GF of an old friend of Erik’s had told Tova the name of the girl that Erik was involved with was Daphne.
She finds the girls pic in Erik’s yearbook. Cameron heads back to Cali after he finally find a Simon Brinks and it turns out he was just a friend of Daphnes and he’s not Cams father. He’s pissed, since it seems that Avery, his pseudo GF is mad that he stood her up and isn’t answering his calls. Of course, he changes his mind and returns to Sowell Bay.
Tova has decided that she will not be going to the retirement home. She then decides that it’s time to help Marcellus. So she puts him in a mop bucket and wheels him to the water and releases him into the ocean, to freedom ❤️.
Of course, everything ends happily with Tova and Cameron realizing they’re grandmother and grandson. She buys a condo, Cam finds work, Ethan visits often and all’s well that ends well. It was a little cliche, saccharine ending but it worked. This was an endearing and heartfelt read.
Comments
Post a Comment