This was an incredibly heartwarming story, peppered with wonderful characters, layered storylines, and just the right amount of humor. From cover to cover, it was a genuinely enjoyable read — one I didn’t want to put down.
📖 October Book Club Pick
Remarkably Bright Creatures currently holds a 4.4-star average rating on Goodreads, with over 300,000 reviews as of October 2023 — and I wholeheartedly agree with that rating.
🎙 Listen Now
🐙 Meet the Characters (Including an Octopus!)
We follow three main characters, each on their own unique journey — journeys that eventually overlap and beautifully interweave:
- Marcellus, an octopus (yes, really) — hilarious, insightful, and incredibly intelligent
- Tova, a 70-year-old widow who works as a cleaner at the aquarium where Marcellus lives
- Cameron, a 30-something newcomer searching for his birth father, who also finds himself working at the aquarium
The chapters alternate between points of view, which keeps the pacing engaging and allows us to deeply understand each character.
And Marcellus? He refers to the aquarium as the place where he is being held captive, which is both funny and surprisingly poignant.
✨ Why This Book Works So Well
One of the greatest strengths of this novel is how tightly the characters’ actions align with their inner lives. Shelby Van Pelt does an exceptional job showing us not just what the characters do, but why they do it.
So often, characters’ choices feel underdeveloped or unearned — but that’s not the case here. Every action, motivation, and emotional response feels thoughtful and true.
I found myself rooting for every single character, including the side characters. Even those with flaws felt deeply human and worthy of compassion.
💛 A Comforting, Satisfying Read
This was such a sweet and comforting story. I was pulled in immediately and stayed invested until the very end. While you may start to see how certain storylines will connect, there are still plenty of surprises along the way.
And most importantly — the ending is neat, satisfying, and emotionally complete. I was sad when it ended, but also deeply content with how everything wrapped up.
⭐ My Rating
I’m giving Remarkably Bright Creatures 4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Goodreads doesn’t allow half stars, so I rounded down there — but you know the truth.)
It was emotional at times, but never overwhelming, and endlessly enjoyable throughout.
🧪 A Quick Comparison
After a rough streak of disappointing, overrated reads (yes, Lessons in Chemistry, I’m looking at you 👀), this book was such a refreshing win. While I appreciated that Lessons in Chemistry gave a dog a narrative voice, Remarkably Bright Creatures executed the multi-perspective approach far more successfully — and with much more heart.
🐠 Final Thoughts
This book even made me want to take my kids to the local aquarium here in St. Louis — to spend time learning more about octopuses and appreciating just how fascinating and intelligent they are.
If you’re looking for a warm, character-driven, deeply satisfying read, I can’t recommend this one enough.
Happy reading, friends 💙 Add Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt to your list — you won’t regret it.