debthebee13's reviews
450 reviews

I've first heard many praises for this book and then found out there are mixed reviews of it online, but in my opinion, it was written with a good flow and enough emotional bits and revaluation to keep me engaged through the audiobook narration.

Tova works at the local aquarium and when she loses all close family members, she's thinking of her next step. A young man coming from a family where his mom was battling addition and he never knew his father, Cameron, covers for Tova while she recovers from an injury and while he's looking for his father.

They both have a tough past and they somehow connect through Marcellus, a bright octopus who's capable of more than anyone is aware of.

The storytelling in this book is beautiful and the narration is perfectly paced with a calming voice that's pleasant to listen to.

I'd also like to address how I see Cameron, as he's been having quite a bad rap in many reviews, while it's clear that he both struggles with the trauma of growing up in poverty and that his character grows a lot through the story. It is clear that many reviewers were privileged enough to never experience true poverty and therefore cannot fully empathise with his character. Kids who grow up without proper financial resources and family support often struggle to build healthy life and work habits, which makes them seem as bad people to other, rather than just unfortunate children who did not have role models during their upbringing. I deeply feel the struggles he experiences and I'm happy his growth is portrayed as a motivation and possibility for children coming from similar backgrounds. 

This story was completely character driven, and one of the reasons why it's just a 3-star read for me is that the female voices in the audiobook narration were quite similar and confused me in dialogues, which made it hard to follow the story at times. Otherwise, it's an interesting plot, where Death's godson goes on an adventure to find his gambling godfather with his creature-friends, a ghost, an angel, a devil, and a vampire, among other. There's a good amount of dialogue and banter, with a few fun jokes here and there. It wasn't a bad book, but the storytelling wasn't linear, and with the similar character voices it was a challenge to follow.