Odder

49 pages • 1 hour read

Odder

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2022

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “the queen of play”

Part 1, Poems 1-7 Summary

This section summarizes Poem 1: “not (exactly) guilty,” Poem 2: “too late,” Poem 3: “hunger,” Poem 4: “Otter #156,” Poem 5: “numbers and names,” Poem 6: “Squiggles and Splash,” and Poem 7: “questions.”

A third-person omniscient narrator explains that sharks don’t usually eat sea otters; sharks may occasionally “taste” (bite) them but rarely prey on them. However, when a shark mistakenly samples an otter, it “almost always” means death for the otter.

An adolescent shark prowls the waters looking for a meal, and the narrator warns that hunger has a way of “focusing the mind” and that the shark will assuredly find food.

Near where the young shark roams, Otter #156 floats on her back in the Elkhorn Slough of Monterey Bay. Although she has seen sharks before and knows they can kill, the only thing on her mind is what to have for breakfast. The narrator explains that only humans call Odder “Otter #156” and that they do so because they become too attached to the otters if they name them. Otter #156 is known to her friends as “Odder,” the name her mother gave her when she was born because of her curious nature.

Part 1, Poems 8-15 Summary

This section summarizes Poem 8: “to eat or not to eat,” Poem 9: “communication,” Poem 10: “underwater,” Poem 11: “ballet,” Poem 12: “the slough,” Poem 13: “the bay,” Poem 14: “daily schedule,” and Poem 15: “the queen of play.”

Odder debates with her closest companion, Kairi, over whether they should play or eat first; in contrast to Kairi’s practicality and caution, the ever-adventurous Odder opts for play first. Because otters can’t talk, they communicate through noises and senses like touch and scent. Underwater, however, there’s no need for sound. For Odder, the world underneath the waves has a language all its own: the language of play. The narrator likens the otters’ moves in the water to a ballet, as they gracefully dive and weave through the marshes of Elkhorn Slough.

The slough is the perfect place for otters, with plenty of food and a diverse array of species. However, they must be wary of the human kayakers that also frequent the marshes. Beyond the slough is Monterey Bay, which is much larger and more intimidating but also breathtaking and the source of the best food. Odder accepts the risks of the bay for the rewards of a good crab. Her daily schedule includes eating, sleeping, and grooming, with plenty of time for frolicking and playing. Odder is the queen of play: Nobody has moves quite like hers.

Part 1, Poems 16-18 Summary

This section summarizes Poem 16: “diet,” Poem 17: “Jaws,” and Poem 18: “cute.”

While sharks can go for days without eating, otters need to eat almost constantly to keep themselves afloat because they have no protective layer of fat or blubber. The narrator explains why many people find sharks so frightening: because of their appearance, their sharp teeth, and their portrayal in popular culture in movies like Jaws. The narrator comments that a movie like that could never be made about otters because they’re just too cute.

Part 1, Poems 19-25 Summary

This section summarizes Poem 19: “kayaker,” Poem 20: “wary,” Poem 21: “scolding,” Poem 22: “Highwater,” Poem 23: “troublemaker,” Poem 24: “motherly advice,” and Poem 25: “fast enough, slow enough.”

Odder is curious about a human kayaker, but Kairi urges her to keep her distance. Odder can’t help it; she’s just so curious about them. Kairi fears that if Odder keeps this up, the humans will trap her and take her to Highwater, the otters’ name for the aquarium above the bay. Odder reminds Kairi that the humans helped her (Odder) once before. Since then, Odder has been considered something of a “troublemaker” among the otters because she can’t keep her distance from humans in the slough, meaning that she’s frequently relocated. She recalls the warnings her mother gave her as a pup, advising that she stay away from humans, sharks, and all that she doesn’t understand. Meanwhile, the shark hungrily watches the otters from the entrance to the slough.

Part 1, Poems 26-30 Summary

This section summarizes Poem 26: “tell me a story,” Poem 27: “scary stories,” Poem 28: “The Fifty,” Poem 29: “deep dive,” and Poem 30: “the end.”

Kairi requests to hear a story about the 50, which is “every otter’s story.” Odder briefly worries about her friend when Kairi’s eyes go glassy and she trembles for a moment; Odder wonders whether her friend might have the “shaking sickness,” but Kairi reassures Odder that she’s fine. Odder begins her story: Once, many otters lived in the bay, but because of humans, their numbers dwindled to 50. However, now the sea otter population numbers 3,000, all descendants of those 50.

Part 1, Poems 31-42 Summary

This section summarizes Poem 31: “the sighting,” Poem 32: “the fin,” Poem 33: “speed,” Poem 34: “the chase,” Poem 35: “turning back,” Poem 36: “confusion,” Poem 37: “trapped,” Poem 38: “beyond,” Poem 39: “oops,” Poem 40: “the beach,” Poem 41: “hauled out,” and Poem 42: “retreat.”

The shark spots two prey and plans to attack the slower of the two; unfortunately, the two figures are Odder and Kairi. Despite Kairi’s protests about the risks, Odder urges her friend on toward the bay. Then, Odder spots the shark fin coming straight for them. The shark’s speed means that they have little chance of escaping him; Odder can feel his power and hunger as he gives chase. The shark wounds Kairi, and Odder turns back to save her friend. She attacks the shark, much to his confusion; when he traps her in his jaws, the pain is beyond anything she has ever known. Realizing he’s made a mistake, the shark spits Odder out and retreats. Odder heads for the beach, dizzy with pain and close to death. Odder is “hauled out”—beached—but doesn’t blame the shark; she knows this is just life in the ocean.

Part 1, Poems 43-47 Summary

This section summarizes Poem 43: “how to rescue a stranded otter,” Poem 44: “sounds,” Poem 45: “help arrives,” Poem 46: “phantoms,” and Poem 47: “the trip.”

The narrator instructs the reader that if they ever see a stranded otter, they should keep other people and animals away and call for help from a professional. Odder listens to the clamor of voices and animals around her, struggling to breathe, while the waves seem to urge her to let go. Humans arrive, whom Odder recognizes from her earlier days; although she can’t understand their words, she can feel their grief and disappointment. They take Odder to Highwater, where she first learned to be an otter. As the humans load her into a cage for transport, she feels haunted by phantom memories and wonders if this is the beginning or the end.

Part 1, Poems 48-52 Summary

This section summarizes Poem 48: “clinic intake,” Poem 49: “this time,” Poem 50: “surgery,” Poem 51: “afterward,” and Poem 52: “delirium.”

The aquarists admit Odder to the clinic at Highwater. The prognosis is grim, but even knowing this, the aquarists at Highwater hope to save her. They worry; they don’t want to lose her because so few otters remain and the aquarists still want to learn so much more from the otters. After the surgery, Odder is delirious and travels in her memories back to her time as an otter pup.

Part 1 Analysis

This section delivers exposition by interspersing poems that depict action scenes with poems that provide ecological context. Applegate thus builds an emotional and factual framework through which she emphasizes connections to real-life situations. The third-person omniscient point of view allows the author to relay the perspectives of Odder, the shark, and the humans, reinforcing an understanding of both allegorical and factual information. The author establishes initial characterization for the protagonist, Odder, and introduces the major motifs as well as overarching themes, including The Rewards and Risks of Life in the Wild.

While some elements of animal fantasy are present in the novel, the author diverges from its conventions to create a realistic narrative that allows young readers to understand the story as less of an allegory (as might be standard in animal fantasy) and more of a relatable story that has parallels to their own lives. The author blends elements of animal fantasy, such as anthropomorphization (giving animals human qualities), with realism by depicting the realities of animal violence and ocean threats and by delivering factual information about both sharks and otters, as in poems like “the slough,” “the bay,” “communication,” “daily schedule,” and “diet.” Interspersing these poems with those written from Odder’s anthropomorphized perspective helps readers connect the individual experiences of one otter to broader truths about the species. The interplay between realistic and fantastical elements promotes emotional connection to the novel’s characters and cognitive connection to real-life issues and consequences.

When delivering factual information, the author uses similes that provide a human frame of reference. For example, when the novel introduces Odder in “Otter #156,” the poem describes her paws as “soaking up sun / like tiny solar panels” (9). The use of human-oriented figurative language prompts connections between the otters’ lives and readers’ own lives, preparing them to engage with the novel’s theme on The Role of Human-Animal Relationships in Conservation. By providing this framework to help convey certain elements of otters’ lives, the author suggests similarities between humans and wildlife that reinforce a closer identification with animals.

Although the protagonist, Odder, is introduced in “Otter #156,” the novel doesn’t reveal her name until the following poem, “numbers and names.” Introducing Odder by her human-given number subtly reminds readers of their relationship to her; although readers are privy to Odder’s internal thoughts via anthropomorphization, her human-assigned number is a reminder that Odder is an animal. The perspective from which the novel introduces Odder thus reinforces the fact that the novel isn’t meant as allegory but as a fictionalized account with true applications to the lives of real otters.

Odder’s “questions” characterize her as curious and adventurous, core traits that influence events throughout the novel: “Something about the way / the little pup never settled, / something about the way / her eyes were always / full of questions” has differentiated Odder since birth (13). Her curiosity starkly contrasts with the careful nature of her friend, Kairi, whom the novel introduces in the poem “to eat or not to eat.” Kairi is “always practical, / a cautious sort” (15). Odder’s curiosity sets her apart from other otters, and it indirectly leads to the shark attack because Odder forces Kairi into the bay despite the risks, which Odder later feels guilty about. The emphasis on her curiosity demonstrates its role in influencing events and establishes important parts of Odder’s identity that later events challenge, driving her character development.

In addition to introducing Odder and Kairi, the novel introduces major motifs: water, play, and names. One of the most important aspects of Odder’s character is that she’s “the queen of play”: “Nobody plays like / Odder plays. / Nobody has / her moves” (23). Establishing this as a motif central to her identity in Part 1 sets the stage for the author to return to it in Part 3 to demonstrate Odder’s disassociation from her identity when she disavows her curiosity and playfulness in the aftermath of the attack. Water and names are similarly important motifs that recur throughout the novel in tandem with Odder’s character development. Just as play represents a core aspect of her character, water similarly reinforces her identity as an otter. The poem “underwater” reinforces the importance of the sea otters’ home as a space in which an otter can completely express herself: “not when you’ve turned / frolic into art” (17). This motif recurs at other junctures in the novel to remind Odder of her identity in uncertain times. In Part 1, the different names associated with her represent humans’ and animals’ different perspectives and fears of attachment (as in the poem “Squiggles and Splash”), reinforcing the novel’s commentary about the relationships between humans and animals.

The story Odder tells Kairi in “The Fifty” is a tale of the otters’ endangerment as a species and reflects how human conservation efforts have allowed the population to reach healthier levels, highlighting the theme on human-animal relationships and conservation. As the author establishes the ocean setting, its beauty is clear; however, so are its challenges, emphasizing the theme on its rewards and risks. After the attack, Odder “doesn’t even / blame the shark. / She’s seen enough to know / that this is how life is” (64). While the ocean can be a place of wonder and play, it undeniably contains the dual realities of great rewards and significant risks.

Part 1 ends at a low moment for Odder: After the shark attack, humans return her to Highwater, and her re-release is improbable. She drifts in her memories back to her childhood, creating a transition into the flashback sequence of Part 2 that provides further context on Odder’s background and further develops the novel’s overarching themes.