She is mortified, and that is why she tries to hide from him in the ocean. She comes to know her family better, and recognize the love that she shares with them. Her father tells her, "You know when you were little and tired like this, I'd throw you over my shoulder and carry you home like a sack of rice. Sometimes I wish you were still that little. I wish I could still do that" and although she is embarrassed, "she wished it too...with all her heart" (Henkes 110). In the end, she takes a bit of the ocean back for Olive's mother to share, and comes to realize that her dream of being a writer is really what she wants to do with her life.

This was a charming book that was not as simple as it first seemed. Martha has complex thoughts and emotions, and the book very realistically shows the difficulties of turning from a young girl into a young woman. It makes the reader think about difficult subjects, like life and death, but it does it gently without too much moralizing....

Martha is not perfect, and she has the same reactions to many situations that many 12-year-olds would. Hiding in the ocean when she sees Jimmy is one of them, and so, it makes her more believable and sympathetic.
Perhaps my favorite scene is the scene on the porch when Martha confides in Godbee that she wants to be a writer. She is so engrossed in her own thoughts that she never gives Godbee the chance to share what she wanted to share. She goes off to write, and the moment passes. The scene though is important, because it shows the warm relationship between the two, and how much Godbee loves Martha. It is pivotal because it is the first time Martha has told anyone about her dream, and it is also beautiful, with the sun baking the rose petals and showing the deep lines on Godbee's face.

References

Henkes, Kevin. Olive's Ocean. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2003.