Shark Girl [Hardcover]

Kelly Bingham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2007

A teenager struggles through physical loss to the start of acceptance in an absorbing, artful novel at once honest and insightful, wrenching and redemptive.

On a sunny day in June, at the beach with her mom and brother, fifteen-year-old Jane Arrowood went for a swim. And then everything — absolutely everything — changed. Now she’s counting down the days until she returns to school with her fake arm, where she knows kids will whisper, "That’s her — that’s Shark Girl," as she passes. In the meantime there are only questions: Why did this happen? Why her? What about her art? What about her life? In this striking first novel, Kelly Bingham uses poems, letters, telephone conversations, and newspaper clippings to look unflinchingly at what it’s like to lose part of yourself - and to summon the courage it takes to find yourself again.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 6–10—Jane, 15, is smart, good-looking, and the best artist in her school. After a shark attack at a local beach results in the amputation of her right arm, nothing is the same. Bingham's free-verse novel neatly accommodates the teen's loss; her dreams, anger, and frustration are explored as she rebelliously tries to adjust to her new circumstances. The main narrative is interspersed with news clippings, internal dialogue, and letters of support from other amputees, and even though Jane resists being part of that community, there are connections. Her voice is authentic and believable as both a teenager and victim. This engaging read will entice enthusiastic and reluctant readers; the drama of the shark attack will hook them, and Jane's inner journey will hold them till the end.—Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Jane Arrowood wonders if she will forever be known as the "Shark Girl," who survived a shark attack on a golden California June day. A popular 15-year-old with true artistic talent and a strong circle of friends, Jane suddenly feels extraordinarily different with a prosthesis where her arm should be, and, worse, pain and itching where it used to be. Why shouldn't she feel sorry for herself? Sometimes she almost wishes that she hadn't survived. Why shouldn't she feel different? In carefully constructed, sparsely crafted free verse, Bingham's debut novel offers a strong view of a teenager struggling to survive and learn to live again. Her metaphors are authentic, visual, and lovely, and she uses spacing between words to telegraph the pauses in awkward conversations when family and friends try but fail to address the real conversation--her missing arm. It's a familiar story line written in a fresh voice, one that will be justifiably popular. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; First Edition edition (April 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763632074
• ISBN-13: 978-0763632076
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #818,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Triumph Over Tragedy, July 22, 2007

By 

Little Willow (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shark Girl (Hardcover)

What begins as a typical day at the beach ends in tragedy. While swimming in the ocean, with her mother and older brother looking on, Jane loses her arm to a shark. Needless to say, her life changes forever. While recovering from her loss, she must visit the hospital, the psychiatrist, and the physical therapist in turn. She details these appointments as well as her readjustment to life at home and high school. As different people attempt to heal her body and question her abilities, Jane must try to heal her own spirit and mind.

Jane was once an artist, dependent upon that arm, that hand, those fingers to express herself on paper. Her other arm is fine, but her thoughts don't flow as freely down that way, and her other hand and fingers feel awkward, pudgy, unable to capture the pictures in her mind's eye. Everything looks and feels wrong, wrong, wrong.

Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham is 95% verse novel, with news clippings, letters, and phone conversations interspersed. At first, Jane feels as though she is maybe half of who she once was - maybe even less - but as she attempts to regain control of her life and regrasp her talents, she starts to feel whole again. This book is 100% heart. Recommended.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You have to read this book!, April 10, 2007

By 

Barbara A. Haberly "Marietta Reader" (Altanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shark Girl (Hardcover)

This is a book you can't put down. The character is strong, likeable, and believable. You will admire her courage and the obstacles she faces in her return to "normal" life. This book is written in prose with letters, conversations and newspaper articles mixed in, which makes it seem so real. You will want to see how Jane overcomes this huge loss and picks up the threads of her life. A heart-warming read!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shark Girl Book Review, October 29, 2007

By 

Mrs. H "Grade 8 Critics" (Franklin, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shark Girl (Hardcover)

Shark girl was a very intresting book I thought it related to life in many ways like how tuff it would be to be in a shark attack. Jane must have been one of the luckiest girls that survived in a shark attack. Life would be so hard to live without half of a arm but Jane got threw it . This book was one of the books i liked. There were some boring parts but then it just got better and better. I hope that there will be another book like this one .