An Octopus Named Houdini

by Zana Fraillon, Corinna Luyken (Illustrator)

Odder meets Growing Home in this beautiful, illustrated middle grade novel in verse about an octopus named Houdini, her unexpected friendship with the aquarium owner’s daughter, and her deep yearning to return to the sea.

All day long we can hear
that Sea howl prowling wild
inside our brains and every part of us is straining
to feel it taste it twirl it whirl it swirl it
inside our body
again.

Houdini the octopus lives in an aquarium, but she misses her home in the wild Sea. She doesn’t like the visitors who bang on her tank. Or the way she can’t feel the sun on her skin or the wind rippling the water. It’s a dull existence for a creature with nine brains.

Then one day she meets someone who is different than the others. Juno’s busy brain buzzes with so many questions and thoughts that Houdini’s skin tingles with wonder.

But the singing of the Sea is growing stronger and harder to resist. Can Houdini make Juno understand what she needs before it’s too late?

160 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 20, 2026

About the author

Zana Fraillon is an internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning author of books for children and young adults. Her work has been published in over 15 countries and is in development for both stage and screen. She has also had pieces published in The Big Issue, The Guardian, Island Magazine, Dark Mountain, Abridged and Sans.Press.

Zana has degrees in history and teaching and having completed her PhD exploring future ancestorship and everyday engagement with voices from our deep past, she is now officially a doctor of ghosts.

When Zana isn't reading or writing, she likes to explore the museums and hidden passageways scattered across her home city. They provide the same excitement as that moment before opening a new book - preparing to step into the unknown where a whole world of possibilities awaits.

Reviews

[DianaRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

full review tk closer to pub day but this was such a wholesome and beautiful novel in verse 🐙🩵

——

i love a novel in verse for young readers, and i can’t wait to dive into this one🐙

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my! Wow. I am gob-smacked. Completely entranced. (And, sadly, not nearly as poetic as every line of this mesmerizing novel.) I've never read a novel-in-verse quite like this one. Each page has a title and eight lines of verse. The lines of verse vary in length and style, some long and flowing, others terse and tight. I've found that many novels-in-verse are more about the story development and less about the individual poems on the page--this remarkable book weaves both together absolutely perfectly. At the risk of being dramatic, I can feel the ebb and flow of the water and the movement of Houdini, the octopus, through both the verse and the story. One of my favorite verses is "People Aquariums" (p. 16.) Houdini is thinking about what it would be like for all the animals that would eat people, instead must watch and learn to love them. Such lovely poetic lines with so much soft, silky sibilance, when called for. Like from "Another Way" (p. 93): "We watch from our den as Joe drifts in/moving along to his own silent song . . ." And the illustrations! Perfectly placed. It was a lovely surprise to turn the page and see Juno leaning over the tank in a full spread on the left side (p. 57.) This is a book I will not forget. I'll be watching for awards next year. Completely and totally breathtaking. Ten stars. Thank you #schoollibraryjournal #slj for this ARC. I am amazed.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

EARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
This is a fascinating story that will leave readers pondering the intelligence of animals and the effects of artificial enclosures when they are housed in museums and zoos.