The Thing About Jellyfish

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

Relatively recently, I reviewed THE NEXT GREAT PAULIE FINK, and wanted to track down their other book. No regrets.

An amazon summary, without all the extra praise and award stuff, "Everyone says that it was an accident... that sometimes things "just happen". But Suzy won't believe it. Ever. 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." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Suzy grew up with her best friend, Franny, and before summer ends, Suzy finds out that Franny drowned.

Unwilling to accept this, she looks for the truth, and lands on jellyfish. She becomes a little obsessive about proving that Franny died from a jellyfish sting rather than drowning.

However, in the interim, Suzy has kind of withdrawn from life. She used to tell her friends and family about things she learned, but now, with Franny being gone, Suzy doesn't say much of anything.

There are a couple people at school, like her science teacher, Mrs. Turton, and her lab partner, Justin. They accept her silence and treat her nicely regardless.

Suzy's quest to prove the jellyfish are ultimately responsible for Franny's death starts to lead her on a quest of sorts, and a lot about jellyfish.

That's enough summary. 

This book was a good depiction of the grieving process. It felt very authentic, and heart wrenching at the right moments. The characterization was so thoughtful, and Suzy felt like the quintessential nerdy kid, who doesn't understand their peers, and doesn't quite fit the mainstream either.

I also loved how peaceful her friendship with Mrs. Turton and Justin were. There were very minimal expectations from them, and they just let her be to heal while remaining present.

I do with we had gotten to see more about her brother and his boyfriend, and maybe a bit more about her Dad, but the story was really about Suzy grieving for Franny. So it makes sense we didn't see them as much.

It's also a bit of a tear jerker, so....I would recommend not reading it in public places unless you're cool with crying in front of strangers. I was on a plane, so there was like two witnesses. It's fine. We bonded over it.

Happy reading!