Kelly, Lynne. Three Blue Hearts. Penguin Random House, 2025. 978-0-593-89839-0. $17.99. 288 p. Grades 6-8.
Living in the shadow of Councilman“Big” Max Conway can be difficult–especially if he is your father and you and he have nothing in common. When twelve-year-old Max Conway has a chance to spend the summer on Lafitte Island (Texas) with his mother as she finishes up her graduate studies, he is anxious to make a new start. He asks the neighbors and kids in the close beach community to call him, Milo. His vacation gets off to an interesting start when he rescues a wounded octopus. Nursing the octopus connects Max/Milo with the local veterinarian’s family, the Jupiters. Their daughter, spunky, ten-year-old Ollie May christens the octopus Ursula. She is passionate about all animals, but especially Ramona, a baby chimp she restored to health and relinquished to a chimpanzee sanctuary. Emmett, who lives with his grandparents and compiles YouTube videos entitled, “Stuff I Found at the Beach,”completes the trio of friends. Along with Max/Milo, the reader learns information about different animals, particularly the octopus. Ollie May, Emmett, and Milo/Max each have their own heartache that their loyal friendship aids in softening. When Ursula gives birth to thousands of eggs, the story takes on a Charlotte’s Web vibe as caretaker Max/Milo fights for her babies to survive. In addition to the detailed facts about sea animals and chimps, the reader is treated to a story of a former screw up who finds his tribe among people who value him. The vet tech is African-American, and Ollie May refers to a Guatemalan friend, but the characters appear to be white.
THOUGHTS: Readers who love animals will take easily to this book, and the novel is ripe for STEAM lessons, not only because of the animals, but also because of geography and climate change (the island’s first town is covered over in sand, and it is susceptible to coastal erosion). Author Lynne Kelly (Song for a Whale, 2019) creates fully developed major and minor characters that give the small town a quirky, warm feel. Ollie May is grieving the loss of her pet chimp; Emmett faces a deeper sadness of abandonment: his underwater photographer mother is not traveling the world, but living in the next town. The friends comfort him, but Emmett’s distress is not really explored or resolved. Discussion around different values can be enriching; Councilman Conway’s perspectives are the opposite of Max, his mother, the inhabitants of Lafitte Island, or even the Houston Zoo Program. Conversation dynamics and dealing with emotions also may be discussion points. Often, young people do not know how to make their voice heard when speaking to someone in authority. Max eventually is able to express his wants in a respectful but assertive way. Lafitte Island does not exist. The three blue hearts refers to the octopus’s three hearts.
Realistic Fiction