27 Jul Monthly Book Spotlight: The Grey Beret’s Guide to Surviving the Odds
Eleven-year-old Odie Gusberry-Smith believes the world is full of Mishaps, Unfortunate Happenings and possible Ends of the World. She rarely leaves home, avoids other children and prepares for everything that could go wrong.
Her fears have a painful beginning. When Odie was eight, her mother, a renowned biologist, disappeared during an expedition in Argentina. Three years later, Odie is homeschooled and still struggling with the loss. Her mother had been adventurous and curious about the natural world; Odie now sees danger almost everywhere.
She reads constantly, although she avoids fairy tales, adventures and books with suspiciously happy endings. Then a mysterious parcel arrives containing The Grey Beret’s Guide to Surviving the Odds: Volume One and a grey beret.
The Guide’s motto sums up Odie’s view of life: “Prepare for the worst. It is surely preparing for you.”
Its pages contain warnings, strange facts and survival instructions for unlikely disasters. Odie learns that Christmas crackers can cause injuries and that a proper Grey Beret uniform should have 38 pockets. A sewing pattern and list of emergency supplies are helpfully included.
Once Odie has made her uniform and filled its pockets, she feels prepared enough to venture outside. Then her father announces something far more alarming: they are going on a luxury ocean cruise.
Odie immediately turns to Chapter Five, “Worse Things Happen at Sea”, and points out that the Guide puts their chance of shipwreck at 12 per cent. Her father is not persuaded.
He was once an award-winning documentary maker, but much of the family’s money was spent searching for Odie’s mother. He now sells insurance, the bank is demanding payments on their home, and the cruise offers him an important work opportunity. Odie reluctantly decides she must face the risks if the trip might help them keep their house.
Life aboard the ship is uncomfortable for a child who prefers quiet and careful planning. Odie finds the other passengers irritating, particularly the children, who seem unconcerned about everything that could happen at sea.
Then there is a bang, a thump and a screech, followed by an order to evacuate.
Odie gathers five children who had been preparing for a costume parade—including a baby—and gets them into a lifeboat. Dressed in her many-pocketed jumpsuit and carrying the Guide, she becomes their reluctant leader as they drift towards an apparently uninhabited island.
A worrier who has something to offer
Odie is not a fearless adventure-story hero. She is anxious, prickly and often exasperated by the people around her. She would much rather avoid danger than race towards it.
That makes her resourcefulness more satisfying. Her fears do not suddenly disappear when the emergency begins. Instead, she discovers that her attention to detail, careful preparation and ability to imagine what might happen next can help keep people safe.
The Guide does not always provide the correct answer, and Odie does not always interpret its advice wisely. She still has to observe what is happening, listen to others and make decisions of her own. Gradually, she learns that survival is not only about having the right equipment. It can also depend on cooperation, trust and accepting help.
Adventure with an absurd edge
Once the children reach the island, the story moves through a series of strange and funny dangers. There are killer whales, quicksand, enormous birds, unusual plants and flowers that eat people. Odie’s serious approach to risk works well against the increasingly fantastical situations the group encounters.
The unusual facts, lists and survival instructions add humour without making light of Odie’s anxiety. Young readers who enjoy collecting facts may be particularly drawn to the Guide and the contents of Odie’s 38 pockets.
Erin Reeves’ illustrations help the book feel like a survival manual as well as a novel. They break up the text and give readers the sense that they are discovering the Grey Berets’ secrets alongside Odie.
More than a shipwreck story
Underneath the adventure is a story about grief, family pressure and a child trying to regain control after a frightening loss. Odie’s father is dealing with financial strain and his own grief, while Odie has built her life around avoiding another catastrophe.
The book does not suggest anxious children simply need to be braver. Odie’s worries remain part of who she is, but they are not the whole of her. She is intelligent, observant, loyal and capable of acting when other people need her.
The Grey Beret’s Guide to Surviving the Odds should appeal to middle-grade readers who enjoy survival stories, eccentric humour, mysterious books and reluctant heroes. It may also speak to children who worry about unlikely disasters—or who prefer to prepare carefully before trying something new.
This first book in a planned trilogy introduces a memorable young hero and leaves plenty still to discover about the Grey Berets, the mysterious Guide and the disappearance of Odie’s mother.
The Grey Beret’s Guide to Surviving the Odds
published by Simon & Schuster, h/b RRP $22.99. Ages 8-12 years
About the author (main picture above) and illustrator.
Anna Battese lives near Melbourne with her two daughters, two wild puppies and an imaginary octopus named Hans Gruber. A former marine biologist, she now writes children’s stories filled with adventure, humour and the occasional catastrophe.
She is the author of the PD McPem’s Agency for Mysterious Mysteries series. The Grey Beret’s Guide to Surviving the Odds is her first middle-grade novel and the opening book in a planned trilogy.
Battese drew on her own experience of anxiety and her family’s neurodiverse perspectives when creating Odie. As a result, Odie’s worries are handled with warmth, while her caution is also shown as part of her intelligence and strong instinct to protect others.
The book is illustrated by Sydney artist Erin Reeves, who studied fine art at the National Art School and has developed a love of children’s books, drawing and storytelling.
