Suzy is quiet, although she wasn't quiet until her best friend died. People say she drowned but Suzy is positive she didn't drown because her friend was always a better swimmer than her. Suzy thinks that her friend was stung by an "invisible" jellyfish. She decides to investigate and she can almost prove that she is correct, but then she is stopped.
The Thing About Jellyfish
By Ali Benjamin
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 3 - 8 | Y | 5 | 46150 |
This stunning debut novel about grief and wonder was an instant New York Times bestseller and captured widespread critical acclaim, including selection as a 2015 National Book Award finalist! Oddlot Entertainment has acquired the screen rights to The Thing About Jellyfish, with Gigi Pritzker set to produce with Bruna Papandrea and Reese Witherspoon.
After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy must have been a rare jellyfish sting-things don't just happen for no reason. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory--even if it means traveling the globe, alone. Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe...and the potential for love and hope right next door.
After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy must have been a rare jellyfish sting-things don't just happen for no reason. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory--even if it means traveling the globe, alone. Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe...and the potential for love and hope right next door.
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN-13: 9781509821341
ISBN-10: 1509821341
Published on 10/22/2015
Binding: Hardcover
Book Reviews (71)
I LOVED this book. This book is about a girl named Suzzane Swanson, who's friend recently past away in a drowning accident. Suzy wants to prove that, things like this ''don't just happen''. She was ready to travel across to the other side of the world to prove this must have been a jellyfish sting. Read the book to find out more!
Suzy is in a situation far from ordinary. After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy begins to investigate the death. Though they say her best friend drowned, Suzy begins to theorize that her friend was actually stung by a deadly jellyfish. Through this journey, Suzy struggles against her grief, the theory of life and death, and the universe itself. But even in times of trouble, Suzy always perseveres, and she begins to discover things about herself.
After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy was a rare jellyfish sting. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory--even if it means traveling the globe, alone. Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe...and the potential for love and hope right next door.🌊
Suzy isn't the girl who is the star athlete, the popular stylist, or the class brain. She's the girl who is in the back of the class with her head down. Suzy used to be gently pushed by her best friend into fun activities, but ever since she drowned, Suzy pushed herself into the dark. She gave up speaking to the world, and pursued a passion that surrounded her thoughts with jellyfish. Jellyfish became her sole interest, and nothing captured her attention better than jellyfish. In this thought-provoking novel, you follow the thoughts of a depressed, seventh-grade loner with a bad family situation. I found the book to be amazing and really immersed me in the world of jellyfish.
This is more of a girl book, but I read it anyway. I wish I didn't. It was sad and I don't like sad stories no matter how they end.
When Suzy learns that her friend Fanny drowned while on vacation she is shocked and regretful. The last year was not what she wanted it to be with Fanny. Now she can't take it all back or make it right with her friend, because she is gone. Suzy has been silent ever since. Nobody can make her talk, not her mother, or father, or older brother, or the psychologist her parents hired, Suzy is convinced that not talking is for the world's betterment. Always the scientist ( even if she doesn't know it ) Suzy asks herself how Fanny could have drowned when she was such a good swimmer. Maybe it is that thing about jellyfish that she was reading about in the aquarium. A specific jellyfish named the irukandji, a jellyfish so transparent and tiny it is almost invisible to swimmers. Suzy must prove that the jellyfish was the cause of Fanny's death and that there was someone else to blame.
After her best friend drowns and dies, Suzy is convinced that how she died was actually a sting from a rare jellyfish. Suzy retreats into her own world -silence- and works on proving that fact. Suzy will do anything to prove how her “best friend” died- before they made up from their biggest fight. This book is a little sad, but in all, a very good book that you should read.
Suzy is quiet. She didn't used to be quiet, in fact, she wouldn't stop talking. Now it just seems easier to her to not talk. Her parents are worried about her. They bring her to "the kind of doctor she can talk to". But she doesn't talk. She hasn't talked since her former-best-friend died. People say she drowned, but Suzy knows she didn't. Because Suzy thinks she has been stung by a jellyfish. Not just any jellyfish. She knows it was the Irukandji. It is nearly impossible to see in the water. It is also extremely deadly. Suzy searches for experts on jellyfish. She finally finds the one. A man named Jamie who she knows can help her. Help her prove that Franny's death wasn't by drowning. Prove that "some things just happen" isn't a real answer. But can she do it?
This is about a girl named Suzy. She her former best friend, Franny drowned. Suzy doesn't get it, because Franny was a great swimmer. As you read more in the book, you hear what happened between Suzy and Franny, and the mistakes they made.