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The Thing About Jellyfish Hardcover – September 22, 2015

by Ali Benjamin (Author)

230 customer reviews

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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.

The Thing About Jellyfish

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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4–7—Suzy's best friend, Franny Jackson, was a strong swimmer. There is no way she could have drowned, at least in Suzy's mind. Suzy's determined search for a different explanation for her friend's death leads her to believe that Franny was stung by an Irukandji jellyfish. Having nothing but time, since she has no other friends and has decided to stop talking, Suzy sets out to prove her theory. This multilayered novel takes readers on several concurrent emotional journeys. Benjamin skillfully blends time and narrative to slowly reveal truths about Suzy: first and foremost that their friendship was over long before Franny's death. The girl she had once thought was her best friend decided it was time for a middle school social upgrade, choosing popularity over her awkward childhood pal. Suzy's decision to seek revenge and remind Franny of their bond backfires, destroying what was left of their relationship. Consequently, Franny's death is the impetus for the protagonist's mission of personal reconciliation for the guilt and regret she feels over their falling out. Suzy's fierce intelligence, compounded by her painful transition into adolescence, makes her a sympathetic and compelling character. Benjamin's sense of timing and delivery is extraordinary, as she blends the visceral experiences of Suzy's journey with an internal dialogue that is authentic and poignant. Though Suzy herself is oddly unique in her self-imposed social ineptitude and singular focus, the politics of friendships and changing values of young teens will resonate with readers. Benjamin's inverse approach to tragedy, placing the death at the beginning of the novel and storytelling through the grieving process, transcends the trope, as the story triumphs in the affecting realities of emotional response and resilience. VERDICT Strong readers of middle grade realistic fiction will fully immerse themselves in this superbly written, heartfelt novel.—Juliet Morefield, Multnomah County Library, OR

Review

*"A painful story smartly told, Benjamin's first solo novel has appeal well beyond a middle school audience."

―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"Reminiscent of works by Jennifer L. Holm and Sharon Creech, Benjamin's novel is a shining example of the highs and lows of early adolescence."―Publishers Weekly, starred review

*"Benjamin's sense of timing and delivery is extraordinary, as she blends the visceral experiences of Suzy's journey with an internal dialogue that is authentic and poignant....readers...will fully immerse themselves in this superbly written, heartfelt novel."―School Library Journal, starred review

*"Benjamin's involving novel features clean, fluid writing that is highly accessible, yet rich with possibilities for discussion.... Her highly individual, first-person narrative makes compelling reading.... An uncommonly fine first novel."―Booklist, starred review

*"This novel has it all: just-right pacing, authentic voices and characters, beautifully crafted plot, and superb writing. Readers will find that this story lingers with them after the book is closed."―VOYA, starred review

"There are...a lot of children who might not only benefit from this book but also find themselves deeply moved by it."―New York Times Book Review

"Seventh-grade narrator Suzy Swanson will win readers' hearts as she silently struggles to come to terms with her complex emotions over the death of her former best friend."―Shelf Awareness

"A heartfelt read for kids and adults."
―First for Women Magazine

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Product details

Age Range: 10 - 13 years
Grade Level: 5 and up
Lexile Measure: 740 (What's this?)

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 22, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316380865
ISBN-13: 978-0316380867
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (230 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #22 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Family Life > Marriage & Divorce
- #46 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Difficult Discussions > Death & Dying
- #112 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Marine Life

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Customer Reviews

230

4.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		74%
4 star		15%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

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Top Customer Reviews

Five stars, five hearts, and five shimmering jellyfish tentacles for eerie beauty and emotional sting

ByDean Glosteron June 30, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Wrenching, beautiful, and haunting, this is one of the best middle-grade novels I’ve ever read.
Seventh grader Suzy Swanson is on the autism spectrum, and she can tell you lots of things most people don’t know, ranging from the sleep pattern of ants to almost everything about jellyfish. But she can’t explain, or understand, how her former best friend, Franny Jackson, could have drowned swimming in the ocean over the summer. Not just because Franny was a good swimmer: Franny had also shattered their friendship and then Suzy had done something horrible in response to Franny just before the start of summer—something that the two of them never had a chance to talk about. Now they never will. Suzy, in fact, has stopped talking completely. To anyone. But Suzy thinks if she can prove that her friend Franny died because of a poisoned jellyfish sting, then there will be some closure. And perhaps then Suzy will feel better, because there will be a villain in the story that isn’t her.
This National Book Award-nominated middle grade novel is a moving story of loss, grief, broken friendship, being a non-neurotypical kid, and the halting journey toward healing from grief. Suzy gets a few things completely, noticing some details with excruciating clarity, while missing others—including how to fit in, anywhere, in the shark tank that is life in middle school. Suzy’s autism spectrum disorder—which is never named in the book, but is clear—gives the author, Ali Benjamin, an excuse to alternate simple, straightforward prose with occasional burst of lyrical beauty in description, at the funeral (“after the men wheeled your box away and your mom stumbled after it with wild eyes…”) or even describing things like over-fishing the oceans. (“We send them to Red Lobster and Long John Silver’s. We fill supermarket cases with their flesh, all slick and gleaming on heaps of ice.”) The power of the story comes from Suzy’s aching vulnerability: She’s a kid different from the neurotypicals, although until the seventh grade she had that one good friend who made everything bearable, but then she lost that friend. Who is now irretrievably gone, even unable to hear “I’m sorry.” It’s a situation that can’t be fixed by learning everything there is to know about poisonous jellyfish, but Suzy does eventually reach some understanding of what she’ll never know, and takes the first few tenuous steps toward making two new friends.
The best kind of heart-breaking story, the kind that heals and expands your heart, and you understanding, by the end.

0Comment 9 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Remarkable

ByHaley Burkeon November 11, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is a remarkable story. Ms. Benjamin took us through the feelings of a young girl who is dealing with grief for the first time in her life. Not only do we learn about Suzy, but we learn about jellyfish, things I'd never in my life known since I'm not a scientific person by nature. I found it fascinating, emotional, and the kind of book I will keep and never lend to anyone since I don't want it to disappear from my bookshelves.

Yes, it's a Young Adult novel, but it kept my attention throughout. I read that Reese Witherspoon plans to make a movie based on this and hope she is successful as I would love to see it on the big screen too.

0Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

the reason being that her best friend Franny just died by drowning

ByEddie Sitton May 17, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The Thing About Jellyfish is a book that is so amazingly written. One of the things this book educates you about are jellyfish. There is even a jellyfish named the Irukandji, whose stings are deadly. The book is written in a way that will urge you to keep reading to the next page. It is a humorous yet intense book at the same time. Ali Benjamin is a fabulous writer that makes the reader feel a connection to the characters. She also has outstanding literary devices that give the book a very flowy read.
Suzy Swanson is suddenly quiet, the reason being that her best friend Franny just died by drowning. Suzy doubts that Franny drowned, because she knows that she was a fantastic swimmer. Suzy thinks Franny was stung by an Irukandji jellyfish, and is willing to travel around the world to prove it. In the beginning of the book Suzy doesn’t understand that things just happen and that there is no other explanation, but later on she does.
It is clearly written within the text of the book that things just happen. That even though Franny was a good swimmer there is a possibility that she did just drown. It says in the story, “It had just happened. Somehow, that fact-that sometimes things do just happen-seemed like it might be the scariest and saddest truth of all.” This shows you her understanding of the theme.
The message that Ali Benjamin sends to the readers is a life learning lesson. Her story teaches the readers to except the terrible things that happen to them, because everything happens for a reason. Also that not every time there will be a happy ending. Even though there are many ways to send the readers the message of a book, she wrote the message straight out. I love that she did this because she got her point across as simple as just writing it. I also admire that she did this because not every time does the reader understand the message the author is sending.
Ali Benjamin compared the scientific method to the structure of the plot. The way Suzy’s guess of what happened to Franny was compared to the hypothesis. She also goes back and forth in time so that the reader has background information. The literary devices she uses are allusion, alliteration, and symbolism. One book Ali mentions is Victims No Longer. The alliteration she uses is, “Suzy just seems so…unhappy”. Jellyfish symbolize something sad because she thinks Franny died from a jellyfish. Ali uses so much dialogue in the book that you feel like you’re standing right there watching everything that is happening.
Since this book is an amazing book, you will end the book relieved about the characters’ choices and development. You will also learn a lot about jellyfish. For example: jellyfish do not have any blood and that there are 150 million stings each year. There is so much I learned from this book and I’m sure you’ll learn a lot too.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Loved it!

What a great Young Adult book. I read it in less than a day. The writing is fantastic! (And I learned a lot about Jellyfish)Read more

Published 20 hours ago by Jennifer Rice

I'm a middle school teacher and read the wonderful reviews of this book so I decided to order ...

I was quite surprised with some of the content of this book. I'm a middle school teacher and read the wonderful reviews of this book so I decided to order it in hopes of maybe...Read more

Published 1 day ago by Meghan Drown

Perfectly told story of a young girls grief and jellyfish facts!

I picked this up on a recommendation from the author Ashley Herring Blake on Twitter for good middle grade reads.Read more

Published 15 days ago by Ashley Elliott

Loved It

This book was fantastic ! I could read over and over again . Ali Benjamin did a amazing job writing this insperational book .I bet everyone who reads this will be very impressed .Read more

Published 16 days ago by Deanna Donza

Five Stars

My students love this book Read more

Published 16 days ago by nthompson

My daughter and I both loved the story

We read this book as a Community read. My daughter and I both loved the story.Read more

Published 29 days ago by Lisa A. Lagattolla

Great read!

Loved it from start to finish! A really good read for adults also!Read more

Published 1 month ago by D. Wagner

Both Oceans and Friendships Sting

Dealing with grief is a process that few adults know how to navigate, much less a middle school student like Suzy, who not neurotypical.Read more

Published 1 month ago by TheLibraryChick

Characters ring true

As a middle school teacher, this story rang very true to me. The intellectually gifted but socially awkward kid, the girl who dumped her old friend for "hipper" friends,...Read more

Published 1 month ago by Laura Phinizy

Worst book I ever read

Worst book I ever read. No good points and bad finish. I think of this more as fire wood than a book.Read more

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer

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