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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSWritten entirely in free verse poetry, Odder tells the story of a wild southern sea otter living in Monterey Bay, California. Known to her otter friends as Odder and tagged as #156 by the researchers who monitor her, she is the most playful otter in the bay, famous for her acrobatic moves and her irresistible curiosity about humans. When a morning of play with her best friend Kairi leads them too far into open water, a young great white shark attacks, leaving Odder badly injured on a beach. As rescuers arrive to carry her back to the aquarium where she was once raised as an orphaned pup, Odder wonders whether she will ever return to the wild, and whether this time it might already be too late.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Odder
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Odder. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a brave friend turn back to attack the shark to save her wounded companion?
✓ Answer
Odder by Katherine Applegate
After the shark nips Kairi's tail, Odder twists, turns back, and swims directly toward the rows of teeth to draw the predator away from her slower friend. It's the central act of bravery in the novel.
- First half
In what book do car wash fabric strands replace real kelp in an aquarium display tank?
✓ Answer
Odder by Katherine Applegate
The aquarium's otter guests partied too hard on the live kelp, so management switched to the rough fabric strands you see at a car wash, sliding over windshields. The adaptable animals played with it just fine.
- First half
In what book does a marine pup recognize human caretakers and run to them as if they were long-lost family?
✓ Answer
Odder by Katherine Applegate
After her first overwhelming meeting with Holly and Gracie, the rescued pup is desperate to return to the humans who fed and groomed her. The bond worries her caretakers, since attachment to people could ruin her release.
- Second half
In what book does a recovering creature scent a familiar friend through the air before splashing into a tank?
✓ Answer
Odder by Katherine Applegate
On the morning Odder is moved to the otter tank, she catches a vague scent that makes her heart quicken. As soon as she lands in the water, she asks Gracie and Holly about Kairi.
- Second half
In what book does a defeated character think "Hope can be exhausting"?
✓ Answer
Odder by Katherine Applegate
When Odder learns she has been given a permanent name, she compares the feeling to lying down to die after the shark attack. She finds a strange relief in giving up and accepting the inevitable.
- Near the end
In what book do echoing dream words ask over and over "where is she where is she where is she"?
✓ Answer
Odder by Katherine Applegate
Watching the loved baby in Kairi's paws makes Odder wonder if she was ever held with such tenderness. The only thing she can recall from her own earliest days is a question that still haunts her dreams.
