this book had some great moments but honestly a horrible ending that i think most kids the age this book is targeted towards will not enjoy. 

what i enjoyed:
- i liked how this book talked about how kids can feel of their parents are separated and how it affects the kid. 
- it shares of the older kid often has to step up and be more adult than they should have to be at their age, because both parents start to focus less on the kids -most of the time not always!- while working through the separation and their own feeling. 
it was nice to see the older kid do it the way it way this was shown here. 
whit love but annoyed at the same time, because while the younger siblings  might hin on their nerves  most of the time siblings to love each other and like helping each other so that was nice to see.

- i liked that Shelly loved the aquarium her parents owned and really cared about the ocean and the environment. 

- the friendship between Shelly and the boy from the aquarium was nice.

- showing the bullying -new or general some- kids that just try to fit in have to go through and makes them feel horrible and can actually end up with them doing dangerous things to try and fit in. and it’s nice that this book showed that this is not the best idea and that sometimes not trying to fit in no matter what might not be the right way to go about finding friends. 


what i disliked:
- non of the kids acted like they were 11. 
they drank coffee like nobodies business and bought it with no issues -which huh? is that actually happening in the USA right now? that actual kids can just buy coffee everywhere no matter their age? but strange for me. 
but also how they talked and what they did and how they reacted to situations? more high school than middle school to me. 
kids at 11 are a bit strange to write, i get it, it’s this age where they feel oder than they are but at the same time are still very much kids in how they deal with their emotions and overwhelm. 

but the kids in this book read to me more like  at least 14+ 
not 11.
if you specifically give someone one age, maybe do try to at least actually make them similar to that age group ?

- the overly preachy constant reminder that plastic is bad and that the ocean is drowning it in thanks to humans. 
which yes. of course. that’s true and i am actually someone that does believe strongly that kids have to learn early how their actions impacts their environment both natural and human alike. 
and that especially the younger generations have to learn early that earlier generations destroyed and how they have to do better because of that.
BUT there is teaching about a subject through a book, pointing out important things and reminding the reader that they are part of a bigger world and little things do matter. and then there is being too forceful and completely preachy and over the top about an issue. 
this book was the later about plastic in oceans. 

- how little teachers -or adults in general- notice or appeared. sure it’s a kids book and that happens a lot for some reason that adults are often shown more as a villain than someone to trust with his issues. 
but at the beginning of this book Shelly almost drowns and another kid saves her -and until she’s up again and able to speak again no adult appears at all. apparently nobody works at the aquarium nor has the field trip and teachers beside one  around?
the same goes during the bullying situations.
no adult notices at all?
i would have loved an adult step in and do something -anything! but nope no mention of any adult at all. 
so that bothered me a lot that adults where less and present in this book.

- the ending. 
look i am all for teaching kids about consequences and that every action and decision does something. 
and sometimes thing ga aren’t reversible and you have to live with your choices. 
that’s all fine. 

but Shelly actually learned her lesson. she understood what she did wrong and that she did it for the wrong reasons. 

this ending did nothing but showcased that the “evil” wins. that bullies get away with it with no consequences and that the ones that want to do better get punished. 
what kind of message is that?!

and look i loved creepy books at the age between 9-11. but this book did this work to what happens with Shelly throughout this book. 
the ending wasn’t creepy. 
it was just lazy and a bad decision.

i am not sure how the heck the ending made it through the amount of people a traditionally published book has to go through before ending on shelves. 


all in all this book is okay.

there will be kids that love it as it is. 
but i think most kids will hate the ending and be disappointed with how this end and only take that way from this.