After her husband’s death, Tova Sullivan takes the night shift at Sowell Bay Aquarium, cleaning glass and mopping floors, to keep herself busy. The routine tasks help keep her distracted from her recent widowing and the disappearance of her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanishing at sea over thirty years ago. While working there, she manages to form an unlikely friendship with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus. Marcellus is far more intelligent than any of his keepers would know but doesn’t let on to anything for anyone - except for Tova. Through old memories and newfound evidence, Marcellus discovers what happened to Tova’s son all those years ago and now must put every effort into telling her what happened before it’s too late for his old invertebrate body.
Shelby Van Pelt’s fiction debut novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, explores unlikely friendships, hope, and going back into the past to create a new future. Her charming sentences create a setting that feels real and immersive, and her witty dialogue makes you want to read it again and again. I recommend this book at five stars and will definitely come back to read it again.