What do you think?
Rate this book
Octavia
Once upon a time there was a girl named Octavia and a boy named William. They were looking for roman ruins in the woods but they never found any because they were nowhere near Rome. What they did find was a sunken well. For over a year it was their secret place and they played there every day. They never showed it to anyone else. William told all of his secrets to Octavia near that well, and when they were told he would take a stone and they would each put it in their mouths. William said that now the secret was held in the stone. William would throw the stone down the well. One day, when the well was full of secrets, William fell in.
304 pages, Paperback
Published September 3, 2017
12 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 19, 2018
This book is as a brilliant and complex and unique and interesting as I would expect from Melinda Selmys. While it is not the typical genre I read, there were many wonderful aspects to this book that were different from anything else I’ve encountered. The writing flows and intrigues.
I thought Selmys did an amazing job incorporating the worldly impacts of the family’s supernatural experiences, such as the growing concern about the mental health of the children. However, my mind balked at how the narrator occasionally became omniscient. And I wanted more context to the family’s unique spirituality, so that I could more readily understand the time, place, and cultural milieu in which they are living this out.
Selmys writes some very gritty and painfully exquisite descriptions of trauma that are nuanced and satisfactory, in the dark and twisty way that someone like me appreciates.
I will need to read this again to grasp the entirety of the plot and ending, but the longer I sit with it, the more intriguing and excellent it becomes.
I thought Selmys did an amazing job incorporating the worldly impacts of the family’s supernatural experiences, such as the growing concern about the mental health of the children. However, my mind balked at how the narrator occasionally became omniscient. And I wanted more context to the family’s unique spirituality, so that I could more readily understand the time, place, and cultural milieu in which they are living this out.
Selmys writes some very gritty and painfully exquisite descriptions of trauma that are nuanced and satisfactory, in the dark and twisty way that someone like me appreciates.
I will need to read this again to grasp the entirety of the plot and ending, but the longer I sit with it, the more intriguing and excellent it becomes.
July 19, 2021
Octavia is a fast read that is as haunting as it is philosophical. Selmys deeply considers sin in this novel, and tells a fantastic tale of a world where sin can be absolved from the very fabric of reality.
If you are searching for a novel that can be read quickly at the beach or any restful outdoor location, then this is an ideal pick. This book needs to become a M. Night Shyamalan movie.
If you are searching for a novel that can be read quickly at the beach or any restful outdoor location, then this is an ideal pick. This book needs to become a M. Night Shyamalan movie.
Want to read
October 4, 2017I read the prologue while cataloging this and it grabbed my interest.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews