Customer Reviews

Firegirl

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When you are a children's librarian, like myself, you grow to stereotype certain authors without thought. For example, if you had walked up to me not too long ago and asked me to describe author Tony Abbott, I would've rambled off some well meaning dribble about the man's overwhelmingly successful, "Chronicles of Droon" series. "Droon" synthesizes everything I dislike about early chapter series fiction. So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that I was skeptical when I heard that "Firegirl" was written by the same guy. My colleagues and I are currently in the process of reading all the best children's books of 2006, so it came as a shock to me when two of them started crooning in unison over Abbott's latest effort. In a fit of pique (not to mention a sort of I'll-show-them mentality) I volunteered to read the book next. I think my intention was to read it, hate it, and show everyone that Abbott was just a two-bit hack without a drop of writing credibility. Then I actually sat down and read "Firegirl". And to my shock I found it to be a dignified, touching, and remarkably SMART little work of fiction. Little, Brown and Company took a chance on seeing if Abbott had the writing chops to win over skeptics like myself. Their gamble will pay them back in spades.

The book only covers a couple of weeks, and as Tom himself says right from the start, "Stuff did get a little crazy for a while, but it didn't last long, and I think it was mostly in my head anyway". And it all happened when Jessica Feeney came to his class. Until she came Tom was a very regular seventh grader. He's a little plump, obsessed over a rare car called a Cobra, and daydreams regularly about saving the life of the girl of his dreams, Courtney. Then Jessica comes to his class. Caught in a fire a couple years ago, Jessica suffers from severe burning over her entire body. Tom is just as disgusted by Jessica's appearance as everyone else in his class, but he's also completely fascinated. Slowly he gets to know her better than anyone else, and in turn incurs the wrath of his friend Jeff. By the end of the book Jessica has moved to another town and Tom is a person completely and utterly different from having known her for the brief period he did.

Okay, I summed it up poorly. It doesn't sound like a book you'd want to read, does it? What's remarkable is that it is, though. It's amazing. For example, at one point Tom and Jessica are having their first conversation and Tom starts talking about superpowers. He's always liked to daydream that he had, what he likes to call, "dumb powers". Something like an indestructible finger or legs of snow or the ability to roll uphill. The kids then have a great conversation about how many powers a person would actually need and how the best power could be one that "nobody else wants". It's a small scene and the writing in it is so beautiful and succinct that kids can read this conversation as it happens and then read between the lines as well.

Here's what Abbott could have done with this book but didn't. He could've ended it with some schmaltzy finale where beautiful Courtney starts dating Tom cause she knows he's a nice guy. He could've filled the book with cheap platitudes about looking past a person's skin and finding out who they really are. In short, he could've written a book that just reeked of didacticism or cheap emotional shots. Instead, as an author Abbott never takes the easy route out of a scene. And by saying this I do not want to be mistaken for saying that the book doesn't have any emotion. One of the last scenes in this book involves a stuffed frog and a moving van and if you don't find your breath catching in your throat when you read it then you have no soul.

By the way, I've been staring at the cover of this book for quite some time and I only just now understood that the image presented there is a scene in the book. Oh yeah. I'm quick. You know, the book's only about 145 pages. It's not very long and it's not a hard read at all. Reluctant boy readers who've grown to enjoy books through series like "The Chronicles of Droon" may well find themselves drawn into Abbott's newest subtlest tale. Maybe that's Abbott's super-power. It doesn't matter if he's writing about three kids and a staircase of rainbows or a tale of a boy and a girl at a Catholic school. Whatever he writes is infinitely readable. And that's a power more than one author would kill to get their hands on.

For Tom Bender, seventh grade isn't all that different from the grades that came before. He still attends a private Catholic school, St. Catherine's. He's still pretty much best friends with Jeff Hicks. He still loves the Cobra, a sports car that he spends plenty of time dreaming about. The few things that are different this year? He has great teacher, Mrs. Tracy. Jeff's uncle actually owns a Cobra, and Jeff has promised Tom a ride in it. He's in love with Courtney Zisky, a girl he fantasizes about saving from make-believe situations on a daily basis. Oh, and Jessica Feeney shows up in his classroom.

The day starts out regular enough. Morning prayers, the announcement of a class election, and the impending arrival of a new girl in their class. And then things change more than anyone could have ever imagined, because Mrs. Tracy informs her students that Jessica, the new girl, is unlike anyone they've ever met before. Jessica was burned in a fire, a terrible, horrible tragedy, and she looks different than anyone these kids have ever seen. Tom has only a short time to think about what this means before she's there, the Firegirl, hideously disfigured yet someone how still wholly alive.

What follows in the few short weeks that Jessica Feeney is in his class has a life-changing impact on Tom's life. His friend's jokes and elaborate stories they've made up for how Jessica got burned no longer seem funny. His daydreams keeping slipping Courtney out and Jessica in. And during the class election, where Tom wanted to nominate Courtney so she'd know how he felt about her, he's unable to say anything at all. He takes Jessica her homework during one of her many school absences, and learns the truth behind how she was burned, and he cries because she's just a kid like he himself is. Even a ride in the Cobra, which Tom has been dreaming about for years, is pushed by the wayside.

FIREGIRL is the story of being different, of change, and of acceptance. There are no real happily-ever-afters in this book. Jessica isn't miraculously healed, Tom doesn't morph into a superhero or righter of all wrongs, and the students in Mrs. Tracy's class don't all learn that you can accept people who are different. Instead, this is the story of individual strength, of the internal struggle to balance what you know is right with what is wrong. A very inspiring story, indeed.

It only takes an hour or two to read but you will remember the way it made you feel. You want to be the person who would reach out to Jessica; it's not her fault that she is so disfigured that she is painful to look at. The kids in the class are real. There are kids who fear her, pity her and care about her. They are curious about how she got like this and make up stories to calm their own fears. But Jessica isn't just the burned girl she has a story too, she is keeping a secret.
The story is powerful but still appropriate for pre-teens.

Tom is your typical middle-school boy. He is just a little rough around the edges, has a crush on the prettiest girl in class, and hangs out with a friend talking about cool cars and gross stuff. Then, a new girl comes to class for two weeks - two weeks that change who Tom is deep inside.

The new girl has been disfigured in a fire and has come to Tom's town for treatments. In this brief little story, Tom's inward character comes rising out of himself - often to his own surprise - as he resists the crowd's reactions to this poor girl.

The author doesn't create an overly heroic response. Instead he allows the reader to view a very realistic struggle...to want to be better than you are...yet still wrestle with a desire to be relieved of caring so much.

What an EXCELLENT novel! Everything isn't tidily resolved at the end. It's just a glimpse at the life-changing moments we face that shape our character.

I am an elementary school librarian who has been a fan of Tony Abbott's books for a while. The Secrets of Droon series have been just right for those readers between the easy chapter books and the "real" chapter books. However, the Secrets of Droon where pretty much just formulaic series that had little merit outside of a big fan base and a good reading level.
Then, bang, along comes Firegirl. This book serves up a powerful, poignant, moving story. I won't go over plot because other have but this book has so many potential uses for teachers. It deals with difference (in this case a most severe difference) in an amazingly personal way. The main character isn't heroic in his action but his small everyday behaviors have a profound influence. I recommend this book most highly.

Tom Bender's homeroom teacher at St. Catherine's School tries to prepare him and his fellow classmates for the addition of a special student. No amount of explanation can prepare them for the shocking appearance of Jessica Feeney, a burn victim who has moved to their town to receive special medical attention. Her face looks like a mask, her hands and arms are disfigured, and thick stockings cover her burned legs. Most of the children in the class can't even bring themselves to look at her, much less talk to her. The teacher seats Jessica between Tom and his best friend Jeff. While Jeff slides his desk far away from Jessica, Tom does his best to act normally around her even though inside he's terrified.

Before Jessica entered Tom's class, his biggest concerns in life were trying to impress Courtney Zisky and getting to take a ride in Jeff's uncle's Cobra. Jeff's homeroom class learned that they will have a class election for President just minutes before Jessica's arrival. Through the election process the reader learns more about the students in Tom's class. Tom has no intention of running for President, but he plans to nominate Courtney to get her attention. Of course no one is thinking about nominating Jessica.

Shortly after Jessica's arrival, rumors begin to circulate about how she was burned in a fire. The rumors get wilder and more far-fetched every day. Tom learns the truth about Jessica when the teacher asks him to deliver homework to her one day after school. He begins a tentative friendship with her that changes his outlook on life.

This powerful, emotional novel told in first person will touch readers' hearts. Some situations come only once in a person's lifetime, but they are enough to change that individual forever. Don't miss the opportunity to be moved by FIREGIRL.

--- Reviewed by Renee Kirchner (renee.kirchner@usa.net)

I recommnd this book because of the point of view the author is coming from. This story is all about trust and friendship. The moods of this book are like a roller coaster going up and down all the time. The way the author describes the emotions of the characters make you really feel the way they are feeling. It doesnt matter what kind of books you are into, I garaunte you will love this one.

This is a sleeper for boys, because the name of the book is "Firegirl." The narrator actually is a boy who encounters the challenges of "having a dumb friend," (my son says) and standing up for someone who is different. Even though this book is categorized for older children, the messages are pertinent for children as young as second grade. Read it together and discuss. You will enjoy it and your child will learn what it takes to counter others they don't agree with. Older children might identify with the awkwardness of the protagonist and the feelings that he clearly conveys through the course of the narrative.

This was a pretty nice little school life drama. It moves pretty quickly, with something interesting happening in every chapter, which to me is a huge plus with any book. And another huge plus - I could completely relate to the characters.

But let's start from the beginning. Firegirl follows Tom, a regular 7th grade kid who is like many other kids - he is somewhat envious of his best friend, Jeff, and he has a crush on a girl named Courtney. Tom regularly daydreams about being a hero and saving Courtney from various dangers, ultimately resulting in a romance between the two. In the real world, he can't imagine being close to her, especially since she's the most popular girl in his class.

Then one day, Jessica, a girl who was burned horribly in a fire, enters the class, as her parents don't want her to miss too much school inbetween receiving treatments at a hospital. From that point, everything begins to change.

The other kids are repulsed by Jessica, Jeff in particular. Jeff makes nasty comments about her when she's not around, and can't stand her presence. Tom, on the other hand, sees Jessica as a human being and feels sorry for her, and begins to like her more when he (as part of a favor) visits her house. Tom ends up torn between Jeff's constant belittling of Jessica and his lack of compassion for a horrible burn victim, and his own desire to do the right thing.

The plot may be relatively simple (Tom himself even sums it up in a few sentences near the end while reflecting on the events), but what makes it really work is the characterization. I could definitely relate to Tom. While he may kind of be the "Everykid", so to speak, he's actually more of the quiet, shy kid, who comes from a stable two-parent household, but still envies the cooler kids who have more material goods than him. Tom is afraid to speak up and stick up for Jessica, but does try to redirect meanspirited conversations away from her, to mixed success.

Jeff is pretty much the kid who's cool among his peers and has all the coolest stuff everyone wants, but secretly hates his home life. And sadly, it's left its toll on him. I couldn't help but wonder if Jeff would have more compassion for others if he hadn't been bouncing between his neglectful father and his mother, who he also doesn't have that much respect for. The scene where Jeff burned a toy car and compared it to Jessica, while Tom tries desparately to change the subject, rang painfully true.

And Jessica, even with horrible backstory, is no saint. She's as imperfect as any human being, and even displays some rudeness and bluntness, as if trying to hide her pain. That only makes her more real as a person, and more likeable.

In all, Firegirl may not be a fantastic or complex story, but with its believable characters, situation and dialog, it's an excellent experience as a book. I'd recommend it.

In this story a 7th grade boy stands up to his friends in defense of a new student who has been disfigured in a car fire. A great concept. So rare these days to see something that teaches kids the difference between right and wrong without being sappy.