The Thing About Jellyfish

One that fits the bill is Ali Benjamin's heartfelt and fascinating fiction debut, “The Thing About Jellyfish,” which has been nominated for a 2015. Ali Benjamin is a National Book Award Finalist forThe Thing About Jellyfish, and the co-writer for HIV-positive teen Paige Rawl's coming-of-age memoirPositiveas well as Tim Howard'sNew York TimesbestsellerThe Keeper.

Make each other's lives easier in the time we have together, not harder. We can decide to change. When scary things make you feel small, you can be brave if you remember you're made from the same atoms in stars that existed at the beginning of time.

You get very few chances to make things right, so you have to grab them and act on them when they come along. We learn a lot more from our failures than we do from our successes. A scary and sad truth is that sometimes, bad things just happen, and you can't know why. An adult older brother warns several times that middle school is very, very difficult.

Suzy Swanson, 12, is a great role model for scientific inquiry. She independently researches when she wants to know something and models careful and thorough note-taking. Socially, she's a bit awkward and comes across as odd to her fellow students, but she just has a lot on her mind and doesn't see much point in small talk. She makes mistakes in judgment, thinking it's OK to act on her own and that everything will be fine when she explains afterward. She goes from drifting (like a jellyfish) through her grief, without understanding her place in the world and being able to accept how things are. Her divorced parents are loving, caring, and supportive and model amicable, cooperative parenting. An adult older brother also is loving and supportive.

Science teacher Mrs. Turton is the one we all wish we had: engaging, playfully curious, and serious about her subject matter, and while giving misfit kids a safe haven, she also gives them the personal space to be themselves. Parents need to know that The Thing About Jellyfish is a coming-of-age story about seventh-grader Suzy Swanson, whose best friend has just died by drowning. Death and grief are explored in nongraphic, literary detail. Suzy's a great role model for scientific inquiry, and there's a lot of educational value on academic as well as emotional levels. The pain of jellyfish stings is briefly described, there's speculation about the friend's death, and a spot of blood is mentioned in the context of a first period.

Suzy's adult gay brother has a boyfriend and she mentions seeing through the windshield a quick kiss between them before they backed out of the driveway and drove to the movies. Readers of all ages will have a lot to think about regarding grief, hope, science as a field of study, friendship, and much more, on many levels. Just before the start of seventh grade, Suzy Swanson learns that her best friend has drowned. But her friend was an excellent swimmer, and Suzy can't accept the idea that it's just a random event. Worse still, the last time they saw each other, Suzy and Franny were in a big fight. Suzy feels terrible about the way things were left between them, and she needs to find out how and why Franny died so she won't feel like the villain of Franny's life anymore.

As she starts to learn about jellyfish, she thinks it's possible Franny drowned after being stung by a particularly venomous kind. To prove her theory correct, Suzy learns everything she can about jellyfish, and as she retreats into herself and her grief she becomes obsessed with consulting a jellyfish expert who lives on the other side of the world. Beautifully written, lovingly constructed, deeply touching, and thoroughly engaging, this gem of a debut from Ali Benjamin delivers tremendous emotional depth with remarkable grace and restraint. Suzy Swanson is an engaging, quirky, utterly believable, often lyrical narrator whose unique voice will appeal to independent readers of any age. Life and death; science and heart; and in-between just trying to get through seventh grade all are on display in THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH, structured and voiced in a way that feels unique, authentic, and universal all at once.

Suzanne “Suzy or Zu” Swanson

Suzanne “Suzy or Zu” Swanson is the main character and narrator for the novel. She is a seventh grade student who is intrigued by science. While she was struggling with the typical stress of middle school, Suzy was also grieving the death of her friend, Franny. She regretted they way their friendship had ended. Suzy was not a typical middle school student. Instead of being obsessed with boys and makeup like the popular girls in school, Suzy was interested in science and knowledge. Her friend, Franny, however had joined the popular girls when they began middle school and left Suzy behind.

Suzy made friends with Franny when they met each other as 5-year-olds in a swimming class. Suzy had been impressed with Franny when she first saw the girl swim underwater across the pool at their first lesson. They had been best friends since..

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