This book is hard hitting. It speaks to the reality of taking on adult responsibilities as a child when the adults in ones life are irresponsible. It also looks at physical and verbal abuse and its affect on young children.

It's more like 3.8 / 5.


I'll start with the good:
*The book deals with difficult topics; in a realistic way (despite being for a young audience/target). That’s a good thing that shows that all people can suffer in different forms.
*It’s reeeally painful, heartbreaking and intense. It hurt me so mucho reading the circumstances that Zoey and her family go through.
**It’s short and pretty easy to read, I finished in two sitting. The metaphors about being an octopus were warm and kinda melancholic at the same time.

What I didn't find so good:
*Despite the difficult issues, I feel that the way they are "solved" is very simple or easy. But again, I get “it” because it’s a middle school's book.
*I understand that no one is completely good or bad (specifically speaking of the issue of weapons); but I did feel that the author was a little pro-gun and I didn't like that very much.
* The resolution of the conflict and the final part with Matt, ugh.
* The characters don’t really have personality, aside from their problems.

Anyway, as a middle school teacher, it would be a book that I would recommend to my students so that they realize that their classmates (and everyone, actually) suffer in different ways and that doesn’t mean that they should be treated differently.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our library collection on preorder and will recommend it to students.

This is such a special book to me. We so rarely focus on poverty in a children's book and it shows. Given the amount of food insecurity we have in this country, this is a needed for students to know what it is like to be in need or that they are not alone.

One of my favorite books of all time! This book does a fantastic job of including so many of the obstacles that our students have to deal with on a daily basis-poverty, alcoholism, gun violence, relationships and so much more. You'll fall in love with Zoey and hope for only the best when it seems that everything tough is thrown her way. She tries her best to do it all but doesn't want any of her friends or teachers at school to know just how bad things are. I've read this book multiple times and continue to love it more and more.! It would be a great book club book for teachers/parents. It's important for adults to see what some kids are dealing with every single day.

I wasn't sure what to expect before reading. I admit part of me was actually expecting a novel about an octupus because my greatest weakness is not reading/remembering the snyopsis of novels but I was pleasently surprised by how impactful this novel ended up being.

I really enjoyed this middle grade novel. The MC, Zoey, is a badass. Growing up in poverty, the 7th grader is the primary caretaker of her three younger siblings (one an infant), herself, and attend school; she wishes she had 8 arms to be able to take care of everything she needs to. I was pissed at the mom for never listening to her and doing whatever her boyfriend who they were living with wanted and catering to his needs above her kids. I was also wary of Zoey's friendship with Fuschia, thinking she would bring Zoey down, but ultimately they helped each other out. It was definitely sad at times, but also hopeful.

This is an important book for everyone to read. Moving and powerful, it uncovers daily struggles some of our most vulnerable students struggle through.

A worthy purchase for upper elementary and middle school students. Zoey thinks being an octopus would be extremely beneficial. She would have plenty of arms to hug her mother, hold her brother, and carry the baby. As she extolls the virtues of the amazing octopus she sees here home life falling apart. When a teacher sees her potential, Zoey resists but she soon discovers she is stronger than she ever knew.

This is a great book for any middle schooler who feels overwhelmed. Zoey doesn't have time for 7th grade clubs or sports -- she has to take care of her siblings and do homework while Mom works. It's tough living with Mom's boyfriend, but it's better than somewhere else.

Zoey learns so much about herself while taking care of others. This book is thoughtful and gripping.

I genuinely enjoyed meeting Zoey.; the use of the debate team was a great way to help Zoey find her voice. Many of my readers will identify with Zoey and I hope learn from her as well.

An easy read that is character driven, well written and relatable. Something i will come back to again and again.

This book gave me ALL the feels, and I don't know how I missed it in my middle school book roundup but it is going on the next one. It's an important book in that it will let some children feel represented and understood, and hopefully will afford empathy to others who are not in this situation. It is heartbreaking, challenging, empathetic, and full of grace.

The Benefits of Being an Octopus touches on both non-violent abuse - emotional abuse- and living in poverty. The topic is handled gracefully and carefully and sends a clear message that emotional abuse IS abuse. It also represents the struggles of students living in poverty beyond just the obvious.

Zoey is a strong, mature character - perhaps a bit too mature at times, but she has been through plenty to make her grow up fast. Her best friend Fuchsia faces equally challenging situations.

The heaviness is countered by Zoey's imagination. Her favorite animal is the octopus, and she imagines being an octopus with 8 arms would be helpful in accomplishing all that she needs to do. I also loved that a teacher saw something more in Zoey and encouraged (pushed) her into joining the debate club - which led to much of the revelations she experiences. This book celebrates all the difference a perceptive and caring teacher can make in the life of a child.

I know I'm not doing this book justice by this review - it was heartbreaking and lovely at the same time, truly moving, and beautifully written.
This is a book to be read by children and adults alike, and will likely generate interesting conversations.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly I'm not sure how I feel about The Benefits of Being an Octopus. It wasn't a bad book but It's not my favorite. I like that for a middle grade book some heavy topics were covered in a straightforward way. Also I love the cover,it is so nice to look at!!

This book was such an easy read with a focus on siblings that i thoroughly enjoyed as well as sense of self and confidence.

This book tackles some heavy topics for middle grade- poverty and domestic abuse, but does it well. I will be adding this book to the classroom library.

This is one of my favorite middle grade novels of the year! I just loved how real it was. I think many students will see themselves in this story. I have been telling everyone about it.

There are good books and there are bad ones. “The Benefits of Being an Octopus” is somewhere in the middle. I have not felt for characters or a plot, they seemed too simple for me. But I liked the background of a story – poor Americans living in the trailers.

For foreigners America is a dream country. A place, where you can come and begin a happy life without poorness. And even if poverty exists – it’s only for immigrants, who don’t want to work hard, or so we’ve been told by stereotypes. But this Ann Braden’s book show us that Americans can be poor too. It was unusual to read about life in trailers and how many violence still exists in such lives.

This review won’t be long, just because I didn’t get a lot of emotions reading “The Benefits of Being an Octopus”. I got more pleasure looking at this wonderful cover, than reading the book. Even the main character was not the one to like or dislike. She was just okay or maybe even a little boring? The thing with her imagining herself as octopus was interesting, but didn’t fit in the book as good as I hoped for. Sometimes it was annoying.

Maybe this book needs to be like this – a simple story, a little boring, as our everyday lives can be. That’s why I am so apathetic to this book. Or maybe I read it in a wrong time and that’s the reason I didn’t get much pleasure from reading “The Benefits of Being an Octopus”. Anyway, I hope that’s just me, not a book.

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.

This is a hard review to write. Not because it's a bad review, but because I have so many feelings about this book. All the feels. Tous les feels. My biggest feelings are both sadness and hope, both drawn with care and grace through Ann Braden's incredible writing. 

Braden's The Benefits of Being an Octopus is an emotional story of a young girl (7th grade) learning to take control of her life through difficult conditions. While this book is theoretically written for middle schoolers, I'm glad I picked it up. The writing itself is aimed for that age group staying simple and accessible. However, it never feels like she's dumbing down the language and is still approachable for higher level readers. 

Focusing on the experiences of Zoey, Braden's book, delves into what it's like to live through poverty and cycles of non-violent abuse. There's nothing particularly graphic or traumatizing about the content, and instead gives a great example of emotional abuse that isn't ok. At times Zoey does feel far more mature than the usual 7th grader. For instance, she learns and identifies behavioral issues that most adults struggle to identify. These moments provide a great show/learning moment for younger readers and a good reminder for older readers.

In focusing on Zoey's particular point of view, Braden has found a way to discuss a wider range of topics than just the poverty and abuse issues that Zoey herself is dealing with in her life. She uses education and background conversation to introduce without fully discussing wider ranging topics such as being careful about judging others and gun violence. While she does bring in some politics on the gun issue, she manages to give a rounded point of view that isn't hard one way or the other. A good learning moment for any middle schooler in this day and age where gun violence is already something that many students in the US may already be concerned about.

Ultimately, a very sweet book about a strong young girl facing not insurmountable difficulties, but definitely hard challenges, and learning to stand up for herself and others.

Please note: This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.