Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt

 “Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.” 

 I have heard so much hype surrounding this book and I am very happy to say that the hype is worth it. If you are a fan of Fredrik Backman, you should read this book. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Started: February 17th, 2024

Finished: February 28th, 2024

Synopsis:  Tova is an older woman who works at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Her husband has passed and her son went missing when he was eighteen. Tova feels alone, even though she is surrounded by friends. But she makes a rather interesting friendship with a Pacific octopus named Marcellus. Like Tova, Marcellus is older and doesn't have that many years left and is looking for a way out of the aquarium, to return to the sea for his final years. 

When a visitor comes to Sowell Bay looking for his father, Tova is led into a series of events that may help her solve what happened to her son, and Marcellus may just have some time in the sea after all. 

My Review (Spoilers): This book was just...wow. From the beginning all the way to the end, this book had me feeling so many emotions, that I wanted to cry. I cared about every single character in this book and I wanted to make sure that everyone got a happy ending, especially Marcellus and Tova. 

When I first listened to the chapter from Marcellus's point of view, I was taken aback. Are we literally hearing this part of the story through an octopus? An octopus that is a glass cage? I was wary at first, but I  was delighted when Marcellus would go on expeditions throughout the aquarium and find himself in trouble. That is where Tova came in. She would often find him suffering from dehydration and place him back into his tank, all the while talking to him about her day. These two formed a strong camaraderie that worked on such a high degree. And in the end, when all is revealed about her son, it made the friendship even more special and unique. 

One of the other significant POV's in this story was that of Cameron. Cameron is a smart kid, but has no luck when it comes to keeping a job or having any type of responsibility. When a search for his father leads him to Sowell Bay, he becomes a prominent character within Tova's story. Unbeknownst to her, Cameron is her grandchild. Before her son died, he slept with Cameron's mother. While Cameron grew up in California, his father, Eric, was just eighteen. He went on a boating trip and never came back, never knowing that he had a son. 

At first, Cameron's character was kind of insufferable. He is a privileged kid who always had his aunt to bail him out of trouble. He isn't responsibly in the least and he constantly puts the blame on others. But this story is as much Cameron's as it is Tova's. It is a story about finding your family, whether it is through blood or not. All of the side characters like Ethan and Avery were all well sculpted to bring our main characters to their fullest potential. They didn't detract, they only added the virtues (and sometimes vices) of Tova and Cameron. 

And finally, we have Marcellus. His chapters are fewer and shorter than Tova and Cameron's, but they are no less important. Marcellus teaches us the importance of being human with all of our flaws. I found myself introspective while listening to his chapters. And in the end, I had to hold myself back from crying when he was released into the ocean. It was a perfect ending for him and I wish him all the happiness in the world. 

Final Thoughts: I went into this book afraid that it would let me down. But it didn't. It has slowly become one of my favorite books this year. Again, if you are a fan of Fredrik Backman and love stories about small towns and interesting people, you would love this book!