Told in three parts and based on real lives of otters cared for at Monterey Bay Aquarium's SORAC (Sea Otter Research and Conservation) program, Odder is an endearing, unflinching novel in verse that will have a broad appeal for animal-loving elementary and middle schoolers. It perfectly straddles the lines between fact and fiction, reality and sentiment, offering much to love for both the serious-minded and the whimsical reader. My one complaint is that part one is a little more disjointed than I would like. There's a selected bibliography that includes resources for young readers, however, and a trail of further reading breadcrumbs is basically a love language to me, so I'm rounding up to 5 stars.