Readers of Carl Hiassen or other books that focus on youth activism related to animals will likely enjoy Olive Blackwood Takes Action by Sonja Thomas. Behind the camera is Olive Blackwood’s happy place, a space where her anxiety eases and her nervous stomach relaxes some. An aspiring story writer and film director, Olive will turn thirteen in April, making her eligible to attend the Rose City Summer Film Camp. During the prestigious summer program, ten lucky students will get to produce a short film, from developing the screenplay to final editing. Olive’s mission is to choose the perfect story to film for her Rose City application.
When she is paired with David Moore and Jo Willems to collaborate on a seventh grade film class project, she feels like she’s doomed. After all, she has an attention allergy and fears speaking up and speaking out—even on the phone. David is mortifyingly quiet and good at blending in, and Olive and her best friend Kayla Watson have nicknamed Jo, Mean Vegan Jo for the girl’s bold and outspoken trademark behavior. With these two partners, Olive fears that her ideas will get steam-rolled or get no recognition. Instead, Olive has to revise her assumptions.
After an incident occurs where a woman chases a beaver with a skillet and that beaver ends up dead, Olive blames herself for not calling Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to file a report. All she had done is stand on the sidelines, filming the scene.
When David shares interesting facts about beavers and their significant role in climate, ecosystems, and the environment, Olive is determined to capture footage about why saving beavers is important. Jo, Olive, and David join the Busy Beavers, an organization intent on saving Oregon’s state animal.
Targeted towards middle grade readers, Thomas’ novel also deals with typical adolescent conflicts and relationship issues. Along the way, Thomas shares advice applicable to us all: “There are no do-overs. What’s done is done. But we can always own up to our mistakes. We can learn from them and try to do better moving forward” (88).
At another point, in regards to Olive’s mental health, Olive’s mother tells her daughter: “Your feelings are valid, but that doesn’t make them a fact” (258).
- Donna