I totally get why this won a Newbery Honor. This is a compulsively readable story with excellent writing. Based on the nature of the story (alcoholism, colorism, poverty, etc.) it would be easy for this to veer into a tone that is too heavy to attract middle grade readers, but Williams perfectly straddles this line. She treats her themes with the seriousness they deserve while embedding them with friendship and humor. Genesis is an incredibly endearing yet complex character who you can’t help but root for.

Jason Reynolds is brilliant and the narrator was excellent. Each character is so lovingly drawn and I will definitely be coming back for the rest of the series at some point.

Thanks to the @kidlitexchange network for a review copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

The Benefits of Being an Octopus is a skillfully written debut novel for middle grade readers. Braden uses the story of 7th grader Zoey to interweave the themes of poverty, domestic abuse, and gun violence with nuance and compassion. I was impressed by Braden’s commitment to neither oversimplify or overdramatize the complicated topics she is addressing. She was frank about the realities of Zoey’s everyday life, while also being sensitive to the emotions of young readers. The Benefits of Being an Octopus is an accessible read that brings some important representation of often overlooked themes and characters to middle grade lit.

I just.