Scan barcode
A review by paperprivateer
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
5.0
This review written for the monthly newsletter of The Children's Book and Media Review"
“Jellyfish don't get bogged down by drama, by love or friendship, or sorrow. They don't get stuck in any of the stuff that gets people in trouble.”
When it comes to entertainment, I’m not a crier (real life is an entirely different story). There are only about four books that have made me cry. This is one of them.
After Suzy Swanson’s ex-best friend, Franny Jackson, drowns during the summer before 7th grade, Suzy stops talking. She decides that talking is pointless and stops. When her class goes to the aquarium and she sees a tiny, almost invisible but highly poisonous jellyfish, she is convinced that her friend died because of a jellyfish sting. Her whole life starts to focus on proving that it was a jellyfish that killed her friend, and she creates an elaborate plan to run away to Australia to get help from a jellyfish expert there.
The story is told through Suzy’s distinct style and personality. The story has Suzy’s observations about jellyfish as she does research to prove that it was jellyfish that killed her friend, quotes from her science teacher, and flashbacks that explain the history of her friendship with Franny. One of the most beautiful aspects of Suzy’s perspective is that she doesn’t truly understand what’s going on. As she focuses on jellyfish and not-talking, which for her means choosing not to fill the world with useless words, the perceptive reader understands that this is Suzy’s way of mourning the death of her friend and the earlier death of their friendship when Suzy has no power over the situation.
Her preoccupation with these things is what makes the book so heartbreaking. The reader understands why Suzy is doing these things, but Suzy herself does not. She is very much twelve-years-old and learning how confusing the world is. She doesn’t know how to help herself, or even know that she needs help, so she throws herself into not-talking and finding a way to get help from a jellyfish expert. Reading it made my heart ache for her, and when she finally starts to heal and let the people who love her into her life again, I couldn’t help but cry. Even days after I finished reading it, I couldn’t stop thinking about Suzy and her jellyfish.
The well-developed characters, complex emotions, focus on science, and the beautiful way it handles grief will capture the hearts of many of its readers. It is not surprise that The Thing about Jellyfish was nominated for the 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
“Jellyfish don't get bogged down by drama, by love or friendship, or sorrow. They don't get stuck in any of the stuff that gets people in trouble.”
When it comes to entertainment, I’m not a crier (real life is an entirely different story). There are only about four books that have made me cry. This is one of them.
After Suzy Swanson’s ex-best friend, Franny Jackson, drowns during the summer before 7th grade, Suzy stops talking. She decides that talking is pointless and stops. When her class goes to the aquarium and she sees a tiny, almost invisible but highly poisonous jellyfish, she is convinced that her friend died because of a jellyfish sting. Her whole life starts to focus on proving that it was a jellyfish that killed her friend, and she creates an elaborate plan to run away to Australia to get help from a jellyfish expert there.
The story is told through Suzy’s distinct style and personality. The story has Suzy’s observations about jellyfish as she does research to prove that it was jellyfish that killed her friend, quotes from her science teacher, and flashbacks that explain the history of her friendship with Franny. One of the most beautiful aspects of Suzy’s perspective is that she doesn’t truly understand what’s going on. As she focuses on jellyfish and not-talking, which for her means choosing not to fill the world with useless words, the perceptive reader understands that this is Suzy’s way of mourning the death of her friend and the earlier death of their friendship when Suzy has no power over the situation.
Her preoccupation with these things is what makes the book so heartbreaking. The reader understands why Suzy is doing these things, but Suzy herself does not. She is very much twelve-years-old and learning how confusing the world is. She doesn’t know how to help herself, or even know that she needs help, so she throws herself into not-talking and finding a way to get help from a jellyfish expert. Reading it made my heart ache for her, and when she finally starts to heal and let the people who love her into her life again, I couldn’t help but cry. Even days after I finished reading it, I couldn’t stop thinking about Suzy and her jellyfish.
The well-developed characters, complex emotions, focus on science, and the beautiful way it handles grief will capture the hearts of many of its readers. It is not surprise that The Thing about Jellyfish was nominated for the 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.