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The Ocean Within
When Elizabeth, an eleven-year-old foster child, is adopted by the boisterous, openly affectionate Sheridan family, it is Grandma who decides to use a fresh approach in trying to help her connect with her new family
275 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 27, 2019
This was one of my favorite books as a child. I read it from the library so many times that my parents went ahead and just bought me a copy so I'd stop asking them to drive me there specifically for this book.
Elizabeth is a foster kid who's been placed with a new family. She agreed because they go to the ocean every summer and seeing the ocean has been a lifelong dream. But she's the opposite of them in every way- they're loud and boisterous and outgoing while she's quiet, reserved, and self contained. I love the dynamic between her and the family. It does a great job of showing negatives and positives on both sides. Sure Elizabeth is understandably struggling, but it's also hard for a ten year old who doesn't understand why her new cousin never talks or plays with her in the whole month they're rooming together. I think this book did a good job of illustrating both points of view, although focusing on Elizabeth for obvious reasons.
I think Elizabeth's character is really well developed. She's someone I found myself relating to as both a child and adult. Her specific situation is very unique, but in general, the feeling of otherness is something most people feel at some point. I think it was handled really well and I love her character. I can't help but feel for her and wish for things to improve throughout this book.
The regular narration is interrupted at points with italic lines that are Elizabeth's direct thoughts and I loved those. I thought the way they were interspersed through the book was so well done. It made me feel that much more connected to Elizabeth.
The biggest issue for me in this book is the spanking. The grandmother punishes them (children aged 4-15) by spanking them with a paddle. It's mentioned that a few of the parents think it's barbaric, but no one does anything to try and stop it. Everyone just kind of goes along and within the context of the book, it's a positive thing. I definitely have a problem with that and anyone who owns a paddle specifically for hitting children. I'm willing to look past it in part because it's a childhood favorite. There's so much nostalgia that I already loved the rest of the book, and the spanking was just one bad thing to be accepted. I think if I was reading it for the first time it would have affected my overall enjoyment a lot more.
I was also not the biggest fan of the ending. It felt like we had a whole summer of Elizabeth not fitting in and not trying to fit in, because she knew she was leaving, but then everything changed drastically and quickly in a couple days at the end. I know a climax has to be dramatic, but I think it needed a lot more time to develop. I feel like it cheapened the story a little by trying to completely fix everything at the end when it could've just started the process
I think a lot of the adults in the story needed to be more open with Elizabeth and understanding of her situation. I'm not sure if this is a critique of the story or just something I didn't like in these characters. It makes sense that kids are going to get frustrated by someone who always pushes them away. But I think the adults needed to do a much better job. Elizabeth is told she's part of the family, but her history in foster care has taught her that these placements are temporary. None of the adults really try hard to dispel this notion or work with her through it. Also leaving a foster kid who clearly has abandonment issues in the care of a new adult in a new place for a whole month when she's only been with you for two months seems like a really bad idea. I dunno, like I said, I'm not sure if this is a critique of the book or just the characters as people, but I wish it had been handled better.
Overall, this is a favorite of mine and will probably always be a favorite. I love reading about Elizabeth and would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys middle grade contemporaries.
Elizabeth is a foster kid who's been placed with a new family. She agreed because they go to the ocean every summer and seeing the ocean has been a lifelong dream. But she's the opposite of them in every way- they're loud and boisterous and outgoing while she's quiet, reserved, and self contained. I love the dynamic between her and the family. It does a great job of showing negatives and positives on both sides. Sure Elizabeth is understandably struggling, but it's also hard for a ten year old who doesn't understand why her new cousin never talks or plays with her in the whole month they're rooming together. I think this book did a good job of illustrating both points of view, although focusing on Elizabeth for obvious reasons.
I think Elizabeth's character is really well developed. She's someone I found myself relating to as both a child and adult. Her specific situation is very unique, but in general, the feeling of otherness is something most people feel at some point. I think it was handled really well and I love her character. I can't help but feel for her and wish for things to improve throughout this book.
The regular narration is interrupted at points with italic lines that are Elizabeth's direct thoughts and I loved those. I thought the way they were interspersed through the book was so well done. It made me feel that much more connected to Elizabeth.
The biggest issue for me in this book is the spanking. The grandmother punishes them (children aged 4-15) by spanking them with a paddle. It's mentioned that a few of the parents think it's barbaric, but no one does anything to try and stop it. Everyone just kind of goes along and within the context of the book, it's a positive thing. I definitely have a problem with that and anyone who owns a paddle specifically for hitting children. I'm willing to look past it in part because it's a childhood favorite. There's so much nostalgia that I already loved the rest of the book, and the spanking was just one bad thing to be accepted. I think if I was reading it for the first time it would have affected my overall enjoyment a lot more.
I was also not the biggest fan of the ending. It felt like we had a whole summer of Elizabeth not fitting in and not trying to fit in, because she knew she was leaving, but then everything changed drastically and quickly in a couple days at the end. I know a climax has to be dramatic, but I think it needed a lot more time to develop. I feel like it cheapened the story a little by trying to completely fix everything at the end when it could've just started the process
I think a lot of the adults in the story needed to be more open with Elizabeth and understanding of her situation. I'm not sure if this is a critique of the story or just something I didn't like in these characters. It makes sense that kids are going to get frustrated by someone who always pushes them away. But I think the adults needed to do a much better job. Elizabeth is told she's part of the family, but her history in foster care has taught her that these placements are temporary. None of the adults really try hard to dispel this notion or work with her through it. Also leaving a foster kid who clearly has abandonment issues in the care of a new adult in a new place for a whole month when she's only been with you for two months seems like a really bad idea. I dunno, like I said, I'm not sure if this is a critique of the book or just the characters as people, but I wish it had been handled better.
Overall, this is a favorite of mine and will probably always be a favorite. I love reading about Elizabeth and would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys middle grade contemporaries.
May 11, 2014
This book is beautifully written. Elizabeth, who is a foster child, is trying to adjust to her new family. They are loud and boisterous, but most of all, loving. Still, Elizabeth doesn't feel like she fits in. She feels overwhelmed by them, and she wants to remain alone on her favorite rock near the ocean. She remains distant to prevent herself from getting hurt, but her family relentlessly tries to comfort her. Will Elizabeth eventually welcome her new family, or will her attitude ruin their vacation and entire relationship? You'll have to read to find out! I'm excited to read Tide which is the sequel to this book.
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August 24, 2025I just randomly remembered this book and how bad it made me want to go swimming when I was a kid, lol. So I looked through my journal from 2005 and found the entry about it, so thought I'd plug it into GR!
July 21, 2014
This was another childhood favourite. This book came to me when I was ten years old and had just moved to Saudi Arabia; my aunt had sent us over with bags of books, wrapped up, so we could have a new book every month. This was the book for June or July, and I have read it so many times since then that I have lost count. I think I can trace my love of the name Elizabeth back to this book, actually.
It's held up well in adulthood, too. There are a few passages that now come across as slightly overwritten, but the emotions still feel real and understandable as anything. With such a large family as the Sheridans, it becomes difficult to balance out seven other children + Grandma, yet Caldwell does it so well. I would close the book each time and think, I want to be part of this family. I longed for siblings so much as a kid that the Sheridans became my fictitious brothers and sisters and cousins.
It was also a really great depiction of being an orphan in foster care, much more realistic than other books you'll see. There are some that... well, they don't necessarily glamorize being an orphan or being in foster care, but a lot of cool things happen to orphans. Here, we get a girl who has learnt that hardly any family really wants her, so she learns to shut herself off. It makes sense why she has so much trouble integrating into her new family and believing they could actually want her.
I still love this book. I think I always will. (I'm sorry, I get sentimental and soppy over childhood reads. This was so good, though.)
It's held up well in adulthood, too. There are a few passages that now come across as slightly overwritten, but the emotions still feel real and understandable as anything. With such a large family as the Sheridans, it becomes difficult to balance out seven other children + Grandma, yet Caldwell does it so well. I would close the book each time and think, I want to be part of this family. I longed for siblings so much as a kid that the Sheridans became my fictitious brothers and sisters and cousins.
It was also a really great depiction of being an orphan in foster care, much more realistic than other books you'll see. There are some that... well, they don't necessarily glamorize being an orphan or being in foster care, but a lot of cool things happen to orphans. Here, we get a girl who has learnt that hardly any family really wants her, so she learns to shut herself off. It makes sense why she has so much trouble integrating into her new family and believing they could actually want her.
I still love this book. I think I always will. (I'm sorry, I get sentimental and soppy over childhood reads. This was so good, though.)
September 28, 2015
A lot of us take our family for granted but can you imagine not having a family at all. From the time she was five, Elizabeth has known one foster home after another. Some foster parents just ignored her, others were not pleasant, so Elizabeth has put up a defense so she is not hurt by this any more. Then she is adopted by the Sheridans and has a chance to see the ocean. Elizabeth knows she does not fit in but she wants to see the ocean so badly. She knows this is just temporary and can not let herself believe in forever. What a wonderful book. This story won the Milkweed prize for Children's literature. What Elizabeth goes through during her month at the ocean is just heartretching! Give this one a try.
February 1, 2017
A student brought this book to me as one of her favorites of all times. IT is about a young teen who is facing adoption by a forever family...after multiple placements with the wrong families for her. Her hesitancy to trust and her genuine shield she put in place paints a picture from her perspective. I loved the book and want to be just like the Iron Woman. :). Great, easily written mid-teen book about families and adoption.
August 31, 2012
I love this book! It is one of my absolute favorites. These characters are wonderful and this is the first book I fell in love with at the Jefferson County Public Library. When I was sick, it brought me comfort. I slipped into the world of these pages and lived in it for a while ;) I'll never forget it... though i may have trouble remembering the title, lol
May 30, 2008
Great book for teens. it really sends a good message.
June 3, 2008
this book is so interesting whaat the girl in this book is feeling is so true and it is almost like a true story that could happen to anyone.
July 15, 2010
to be considered for book club.....
March 7, 2021
I stumbled across this book when I was in 8th grade (I was about 14 at the time,) and finally got around to reviewing it! The 275 paged book gave an interesting perspective to a young girl's life with her new family. Growing up in foster care Elizabeth finds herself struggling to want to be with them, and only goes with them for a life-changing summer to make her dream come true. To see the ocean. She must get past her fears and the wall she has made to save the summer, and to open her heart to truly become family, however, her reclusiveness and attitude threaten hers and everyone's summer.
I remember grabbing this book from the free book stand, and I don't remember why this reached out to me but something drew me to read it. It was challenging to read, not because of the book itself which for many is a very fast read, and I personally would recommend it to anyone particularly in middle school. However, I found it challenging because it was difficult for me to get inside her head. her situation is understandable, and the relation to the pain she faced in the past would relate to her building up her walls but most of the time her attitude made the story go by very slowly and it felt as if I was looking into someone else's family life without a very exciting storyline that would lead me to look the other way. It's both too normal and even though everyone has had moments like Elizabeth, it simply does not stop until she is able to give these people a chance by the end. Things happen that connect Elizabeth and her family, though it takes a long time to get there. In reading the book you developed more of a relationship with the bond of this family but not until the end and when the story has to rely on the siblings for any main story to actually take place. I did enjoy this book for what it's worth, it has some heart and a perspective of a girl that until the end did not know what love really felt like, or what it would be like to have a family, despite your differences. It was simply so slow and as a reader, I told myself to go on, it's not that long, but it seemed like it until I finally did. I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who is looking for a fast-moving, adventure of sorts, but I will recommend this book to someone looking for a read that is simple, fresh, and can remind you that no matter what you are going through, live, connect, and find yourself to find those you love.
I remember grabbing this book from the free book stand, and I don't remember why this reached out to me but something drew me to read it. It was challenging to read, not because of the book itself which for many is a very fast read, and I personally would recommend it to anyone particularly in middle school. However, I found it challenging because it was difficult for me to get inside her head. her situation is understandable, and the relation to the pain she faced in the past would relate to her building up her walls but most of the time her attitude made the story go by very slowly and it felt as if I was looking into someone else's family life without a very exciting storyline that would lead me to look the other way. It's both too normal and even though everyone has had moments like Elizabeth, it simply does not stop until she is able to give these people a chance by the end. Things happen that connect Elizabeth and her family, though it takes a long time to get there. In reading the book you developed more of a relationship with the bond of this family but not until the end and when the story has to rely on the siblings for any main story to actually take place. I did enjoy this book for what it's worth, it has some heart and a perspective of a girl that until the end did not know what love really felt like, or what it would be like to have a family, despite your differences. It was simply so slow and as a reader, I told myself to go on, it's not that long, but it seemed like it until I finally did. I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who is looking for a fast-moving, adventure of sorts, but I will recommend this book to someone looking for a read that is simple, fresh, and can remind you that no matter what you are going through, live, connect, and find yourself to find those you love.
June 14, 2019
Caldwell's first novel, told from the perspective of 11-year-old Elizabeth Lawson, offers an insightful yet somewhat limited view of a reticent foster child. Recently adopted, Elizabeth is overwhelmed when she, her three new siblings and a mass of Sheridan cousins gather for an annual month-long visit at Grandmother Sheridan's house by the sea. Elizabeth feels like an outsider and, though quietly cooperative during the reunion, she refuses to participate in family rituals and games. Her favorite times are spent by herself at the ocean, perched on a rock while the others swim and play on the beach. Most of the Sheridans are frustrated by Elizabeth's seeming indifference, but perceptive, firm Grandmother (whom Elizabeth secretly calls ""Iron Woman"") and youngest cousin Petey never give up trying to draw her out of her shell. At first, readers may, like Elizabeth, find it difficult to differentiate individual personalities from among the crowd of happy, bubbly Sheridan children; but as the story progresses, the characters' distinguishing traits become visible. Still, the occasionally overwritten narrative (e.g., when Elizabeth offers to help Petey with his homework, ""Hope warred against disbelief in his eyes. Hope won, and he nodded"") leaves many questions unanswered concerning the protagonist herself. Little information is given about her past, nor is much evidence offered as to why her new parents are so eager to adopt her. Yet her discomfort and yearning to belong somewhere will be strongly felt. If Elizabeth's motivations and history are muddy, her emotions are crystal clear.
May 9, 2018
a childhood fave! I've been feeling nostalgic for the books I read as a kid and this is one I borrowed from the library multiple times back in the day. I had totally forgotten the author's pro corporal punishment stance in this (the grandma spanks the kids for like....most disobediences however minor.....no thx???) so heads up for that. that was...uncomfortable and weird and bad. but disciplinary methods aside I did enjoy reading it again.
books abt adoption and belonging are my favorite because Adopted and it's interesting to see it dealt with in an entirely different way than mine was (with yk openness and compassion and not pretending it didn't happen!) and I did cry a bit rereading this.
I want to reread the sequel too bc I vaguely remember the mc learns to swim and her phobia of water was real relatable to small me too
ANYWAY HERE'S MY LIFE STORY IN A BOOK REVIEW okay I'm done
books abt adoption and belonging are my favorite because Adopted and it's interesting to see it dealt with in an entirely different way than mine was (with yk openness and compassion and not pretending it didn't happen!) and I did cry a bit rereading this.
I want to reread the sequel too bc I vaguely remember the mc learns to swim and her phobia of water was real relatable to small me too
ANYWAY HERE'S MY LIFE STORY IN A BOOK REVIEW okay I'm done
July 12, 2023
This is a beautifully written, soulful book. Elizabeth is a quiet foster child who agrees to an adoption so that she can see the ocean. But she doesn't really believe the adoption is forever, so she resists the overtures of her new family, remaining withdrawn and deeply lonely. The book delves into the whole family, the way the adoption affects not just Elizabeth, but her new parents, siblings, cousins and grandmother. They all show their love in different ways, and none of them are familiar to Elizabeth.
Despite having very little in common with the protagonist, the emotions resonated deeply with me as an angsty pre-teen. There was something lovely about being with Elizabeth on her journey to accepting love, and I think it helped me get more in touch with my own emotions too at a time when they were big, and scary, and I didn't know what to do with them.
Despite having very little in common with the protagonist, the emotions resonated deeply with me as an angsty pre-teen. There was something lovely about being with Elizabeth on her journey to accepting love, and I think it helped me get more in touch with my own emotions too at a time when they were big, and scary, and I didn't know what to do with them.
August 19, 2022
I read this book a kid and it was interesting to read it again from an adult perspective. I certainly felt the anxiety Elizabeth was feeling while reading. The author did a nice job of making the readers feel just as overwhelmed as Elizabeth did. I really appreciated that the story highlighted some of the struggles and traumas that may occur with children who are in the foster care system. What I didn’t like was how fast Elizabeth changed her attitude. The story made it appear that after Iron Women had a heart to heart with her Elizabeth immediately changed her perspective, however, I don’t feel that is reality. Overall, an easy, fun, heartwarming and quick read.
May 16, 2019
It was awesome. I could not put it down.
February 22, 2021
One of my favorite books I've read over and over since I was 11.
May 27, 2022
One I've read multiple times, and still enjoy. I relate very strongly to the introverted heroine
November 26, 2024
I loved this.
April 18, 2013
This is a well-written look into the mind of a foster child who is terrified to do anything that would allow others to get close to her and that would open her to more hurt in return. In fact, Elizabeth has only agreed to be considered for adoption by the Sheridan family because she always wanted to see the ocean and the family is going there for the summer. But the large Sheridan clan overwhelms her and eventually breaks down her defenses. I didn’t like the sequel, Tides, as much. It focuses more on Elizabeth’s eldest cousin who is deal with profound grief after the death of his 2 best friends in a car accident. His grief manifests as avoidance and anger that threatens to tear the family apart.
October 5, 2010
A winner of the Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature, this book deals with the inner journey of an 11-year-old orphan who is being assimilated into a large, rowdy, close family… the exact opposite of what she thinks she wants. It’s a good read, touching and real.
September 18, 2014
Well, I finished it. I'm not sure the writing was spectacular, but there was something about the story and the lead character that grabbed at you and I definitely wanted to finish it. I wanted it to end well. You want to see the little heroine fine some peace.
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May 10, 2016The Ocean Within is a great book that touches on the subject on adoption. I think this can be read as a read aloud but I am not sure if I would try to give to someone that I know is adopted. This could be offensive to some.
September 9, 2011
It was one of the best books I have ever read!! :) I will never forget it.
October 14, 2013
I think this book was really I teared up at the end.
April 12, 2017
The Ocean Within by V.M. Caldwell is a delightful and heart-wrenching story of a loving family who try to befriend an orphan. Elizabeth seems to be a tortured young soul, who has lost both parents. In the foster care system, Elizabeth has had several homes and parents, but she shuts herself off, and therefore is not kept. Her newest family, the Sheridans are different. Follow along as Elizabeth tries to put up her wall, as the Sheridans try to bring it down. I recommend this book to all foster care parents and their charges. The love shown in this family, and how they deal with daily issues is amazing. How wonderful it would be if this could take place in all families. First published in 1999, we see a different sent of morals, and attitudes, that are sorely lacking today.
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