The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
My name is Jasmine. I am 11 years old and live in Ketchum, Idaho. I love ski racing, snow/winter, and many other fun things.
The Thing About Jellyfish follows a middle school aged girl named Suzy Swanson, heartbroken, but healing. Suzy Swanson is a girl who’s quirky and different, not afraid to speak what’s on her mind. That is until she finds out that her former best friend, Franny, drowned during a vacation to Maryland. Suzy is heartbroken and can’t get over the fact she’s dead. While grieving Suzy falls in a state where she refuses to talk, shutting herself out from conversation. Suzy just can’t believe Franny drowned, for she was such a great swimmer. However, as she enters 7th grade, she starts to form a theory about how a very rare jellyfish, the Irukandji, stung Franny causing her to die. The more she investigates this, the more convinced she is that she’s right. Suzy becomes obsessed with proving her theory, stopping at nothing to do it.
Suzy copes with the heartbreak of Franny dying along with the memory of poor choices and unfortunate decisions. She wishes she could fix things between her and Franny. But it’s too late, and now she has lost a friendship. Is there nothing left but regrets? Somehow by proving Franny didn’t drown, maybe she could make up for how bad of a friend she was to her in 6th grade. As Suzy’s theory gets realistic, she formulates a bold plan to travel across the globe.
Moving and heartfelt, you’ll find yourself wanting to read more of this book. Even though the book is magical, I would not recommend it to readers who prefer a long and action-packed story.
