A VIRTUAL Exploration of Friendship, Reckoning, and Hope with novelist Shelby Van Pelt

We invite you to join us as we chat with author Shelby Van Pelt about her beloved novel Remarkably Bright Creatures. You don’t want to miss this deep-dive exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope.

Remarkably Bright Creatures is a luminous debut novel about a widow’s unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium—and the truths she finally uncovers about her son’s disappearance 30 years ago.

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her 18-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in the Puget Sound. As she works, Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine, but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight tentacles for his human captors—until he forms an unlikely friendship with Tova.

About the Author: Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel was published by Ecco/HarperCollins (US) and Bloomsbury (UK) in 2022 and was an Instant New York Times bestseller.  It's sold a million and a half copies. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she’s now missing the mountains in the Chicago area with her husband and two children.

Register here: https://libraryc.org/midlib/53266