Review of The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus

This was a coming-of-age story revolving around two Canadian students going to school at the University of Edinburgh. Pen believes her family has a connection to a famous writer living in Scotland, and she sets out to befriend him and his family and find out the secret - if there is one. I found some of the characters a bit off-putting, but I think it was more our differences in culture. Alice, the other central character, was a total opposite to Pen in personality, so she brought her own dynamic to the story. I enjoyed watching the girls seek their independence and find their way in the world. At times, all the secrecy and odd intrigue were frustrating but necessary for the plot, and it did resolve satisfactorily in the end. Side note- you find out near the end of the book what the title means! This is ,a debut fiction novel by the author and I think it was a very ambitious book. If you like character-driven coming-of-age stories, give this one a read.