Summary

Odder is a middle grade novel narrated by a third-person omniscient narrator who moves from past to present in the three main sections, and the narrator uses the second-person imperative tense for the coda and key parts of the three main sections. “Part One: The Queen of Play (Monterey Bay, California and Environs)” begins the story with information about sharks. Sharks, the narrator says, do not often eat otters, except by mistake. The narrator invites the reader to think of it in the same way they sometimes try new bites of food at the buffet line, but then spit it out because the taste is just not right.

The narrator then explains that one such shark is in the ocean that morning, looking for food. He is an adolescent and very hungry since he has not eaten...