Book review - The Benefits of Being an Octopus

Title: The Benefits of Being an Octopus
Author: Ann Braden
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Just Under the Clouds by Melissa Sarno
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Rating:

important, though imperfect

Summary (provided by publisher): Seventh-grader Zoey has her hands full as she takes care of her much younger siblings after school every day while her mom works her shift at the pizza parlor. Not that her mom seems to appreciate it. At least there's Lenny, her mom's boyfriend—they all get to live in his nice, clean trailer.
At school, Zoey tries to stay under the radar. Her only friend Fuchsia has her own issues, and since they're in an entirely different world than the rich kids, it's best if no one notices them.
Zoey thinks how much easier everything would be if she were an octopus: eight arms to do eight things at once. Incredible camouflage ability and steady, unblinking vision. Powerful protective defenses.
Unfortunately, she's not totally invisible, and one of her teachers forces her to join the debate club. Even though Zoey resists participating, debate ultimately leads her to see things in a new way: her mom’s relationship with Lenny, Fuchsia's situation, and her own place in this town of people who think they're better than her. Can Zoey find the courage to speak up, even if it means risking the most stable home she's ever had?
This moving debut novel explores the cultural divides around class and the gun debate through the eyes of one girl, living on the edges of society, trying to find her way forward.

My Opinion: We need stories of poverty. More importantly, we need to see stories not of sudden poverty, but of long term struggles, of poverty as a general way of life. We need to see it as an ongoing reality rather than a quick loss and desperation to escape. We need to see it in degrees. And that's what Braden gives us here. This is a family that has been functionally homeless, jumping between housing situations. They stay in an emotionally unhealthy place because it is physically stable and finding anything else requires too much financial commitment. Braden explores the demands on caregiving children, the complexities of an abusive home, the gun debate, and, to a small degree, our cultural relationship with foster care. Some of these plot elements didn't entirely land. The opinions in the student gun debate are overly simplified and dismissive. Fuchsia's sub plot, too, is overly simplistic. With it's high concept ideas I would hesitate to spring it on unsuspecting young readers, but in the right environment it could inspire some wonderful and thought-provoking follow-up conversations.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.