THREE BLUE HEARTS

What begins as an octopus rescue mission becomes a summer of life-changing friendship and self-discovery.

Max is tired of being Little Max, always in the shadow of Big Max, his glad-handing, big-shot city council member father. He’s ready for a fresh start, spending the summer with his mom on her graduate school research trip. They’re headed to a place on the Gulf Coast of Texas called Lafitte Island, which for Max feels full of possibility. During his first exploration of the island, Max comes across a beached octopus on the shore, barely alive. His quick thinking and empathetic determination set the course for his entire summer. Max enlists Emmett, a YouTuber with a channel called “Stuff I Found on the Beach,” for help with octopus transport. Emmett leads him to Ollie Mae and her family, who run a vet clinic on the island. But Max’s bond with his octopus—whom Ollie Mae names Ursula after the sea witch from The Little Mermaid—becomes the most transformative part of his summer. As he cares for Ursula at the clinic, he also figures out how to care for himself—learning to speak up, be himself, and let go. Full of heart, a dash of science, and plenty of octopus antics, this story is a tender, bittersweet reminder that growth can come from the most unexpected of places. Primary characters present white.

This quiet, heartfelt story will stay with readers long after the tide goes out.