Book Review
From Chelsea Weibley at the Library

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Animal fiction is not my jam. Of course, I like animals. I just don’t typically want to read fiction that has an animal as a main character. That is, until I read from the perspective of Marcellus, the Giant Pacific Octopus. Marcellus is 1,299 days into his captivity. He is extremely bright, charmingly sarcastic, an observer of humans and an absolute delight. He spends his days in his tank at the aquarium and in the evenings, he finds ways to escape and snack in the other tanks. Marcellus develops a friendship with Tova who cleans the aquarium in the evenings.

Tova is a 70-year-old woman who lost her son when he was eighteen about 30 years ago. Her husband recently passed and she enjoys spending her evenings keeping the aquarium clean. She is a very orderly, tidy and practical person. She is startled one evening when she comes upon Marcellus out of his tank. She saves him and their friendship officially begins.

There are other wonderful characters in this story, but I just adored Marcellus and Tova and their relationship. This debut novel was so heartwarming with elements of love, friendship, loss and family. The setting near Puget Sound with the aquarium and the small town drew me into the story even more. When I finished the last page, I felt I had truly read something special. I highly recommend this book!

Check out Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt at the Library (https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx…) or through the eLibrary at https://lclibs.overdrive.com/media/6456370.