The Thing About Jellyfish: A Book That Sucks You In: by JediTeen 

 

I recently read a book called The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. I was feeling sick one day, and I was in my room with my library books. The Thing About Jellyfish sucked me in immediately. I loved the writing style. It is one of those books that is very hard to put down. It is full of gorgeous prose and interesting science, all told from the perspective of a twelve-year-old girl who has lost her best friend. 


Suzy Swanson's best friend, Franny Jackson, has drowned. Suzy is trying to recover by proving that there was a reason for her death; that someone was responsible. She has stopped talking, so no one notices her when she slinks off to the jellyfish tank in the aquarium, and learns about the rare species of jellyfish, the Irukandji, which is barely visible and highly dangerous. She  begins investigating the species, and she even delivers an oral report to her class to try to communicate what she thinks happened to Franny. They don't seem to understand. But Suzy will go too far....


Franny has stopped being friends with Suzy before she dies. She has become one of those popular girls who thinks Suzy is weird. Suzy knows an amazing amount of science. She knows that there are 50 million jellyfish stings every year, and that jellyfish are multiplying because of the warmer water temperatures. She knows that Franny's heart only beat 412 million times. But no one appreciates her. She is lost in her own world of investigation. 


Don't get hung up about the science in this book; read for language. I like how we see flashbacks from Suzy's relationship with Franny; how it grew and changed, and how it ended. I think this is a book worth reading no matter what your age or circumstance. It is one of the best middle-grade novels written in years.