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Shelby Van Pelt In Conversation

Author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

Join us for an evening in historic Centennial Hall with author Shelby Van Pelt to discuss her bestselling novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, with Jacki Potratz.

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 eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. 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 arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late. 

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

Shelby will be in conversation with Jacki Potratz. Book sales and signing to follow the author conversation. With support from Milwaukee's Boswell Book Company.

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