Middle Grade Review: The Thing About Jellyfish, by Ali Benjamin

 

Title: The Thing About Jellyfish

Author: Ali Benjamin

Publisher: Little, Brown & Co., 2015. 343 pages.

Source: Library

Publisher's Summary:

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.

My Review:

First, I want to add a couple of things to the summary: Suzy's grief is complicated by the fact that she and her friend hadn't just parted on bad terms; they had grown apart. And she is the kind of kid who knows lots and lots of little facts, and takes comfort in them.

In fact, then, Suzy appears to be yet another middle-school-book character who is a bit on the Aspergers side of normal.* This does lend legitimacy to her difficulty relating to the other girls her age, including her (former) best friend Franny. She just doesn't get those girly concerns, and they don't get her somewhat different way of seeing/processing the world (which she doesn't know how to filter for the others).

Fine. I'm okay with that, to a point. I do wonder, though, about the prevalence of this character, because it seems like I'm seeing it a lot (the kid with Aspergers, I mean). Is it just an easy way to make the struggles of middle school stand out with greater clarity? I wonder about how well most kids can relate to the "weird kids" in the books. 

Okay, rant over, I will agree with the blurbs that talk about this as a moving book. It is. Suzy's path through her grief to some kind of acceptance is striking and should give most readers, of any age, pause to think (including to think about their relationships). And Suzy's efforts to make sense out of the random accident that caused her friend's death are impressive, if quirky. I like the way she gradually finds her way to friends with whom she can relate, and her silence--she stops speaking entirely not long after the accident--make clear her recognition that she has issues with words. That is, she has trouble figuring out what might be the right words at any time (this makes the Aspergers part make more sense, and feel more necessary to the story, though I'm thinking plenty of neuro-typical middle school kids have no idea what to say).** She stops talking because her words seem to her to lead to trouble, rather than communication.

So: The Thing About Jellyfish is a beautifully written story that weaves together the difficulty of middle school with bigger life issues. 

Recommendation:

I think this would be a good story for a lot of middle-school kids to read, both the ones who struggle and the ones who make other struggle. Maybe books like this can help the "popular kids" recognize the humanity of the geeks and nerds and that weird kid who sits alone at lunch? I'm not sure. Most of us don't do well as seeing ourselves in the villains of a piece. But it's worth a try.  Ages 9 or 10 up.

*Note: Suzy is never explicitly described as having Aspergers Syndrome. But her obsessions, focus on obscure facts, and tendency to spew them out without controls make it pretty clear where the author was going with this.

**I can't help thinking of a current discussion in my Goodreads Great Middle Grade Reads group about what current books will become classics. There is a definite feeling that this sort of middle-school-trauma book is too tied to it's own time and place to have that kind of lasting appeal. I suspect that they are right, though that doesn't mean the book isn't a fine and valuable work right now.

FTC Disclosure: I checked The Thing About Jellyfish out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Middle Grade Review: Heartbeat, by Sharon Creech

 

Title: Heartbeat

Author: Sharon Creech; Narrated by Mandy Siegfried

Publisher: HarperFestival Audio, 2004 (Original by Harper Collins, 2004; 208 pages).

Source: Library digital collection

Summary: 
12-year-old Annie loves to run. Not for the track team--definitely not for the track team!--but for the love of feeling her heart beat and her feet hit the ground. Running helps her cope in this year of change: her mother is pregnant, her grandfather is failing, and her best friend Max is even more grouchy than usual.

But between the rhythmic thumping of her heart and, oddly, the art-class assignment to draw an apple for 100 days, Annie learns to find the continuity in change.

Review:
Sharon Creech seldom disappoints, and this book is no exception. A short, sweet, story of a time of change (when is 12 ever not?) for Annie, the book offers no great insights into the world, but does offer some insights into living and being yourself. I thought that the apple was a brilliant touch, allowing Annie (and the reader) to see how through all sorts of change the apple retains its (pardon me) core essence. It's a lesson Annie is learning to apply to other things in her life, and the author doesn't ram it down the reader's throat--you have to see it for yourself.

The narration is good; i.e., nothing about it sticks in my mind. That tells me that the characters were adequately rendered and the reading largely transparent. There were no technical glitches or oddities.

Recommendation: 
The book doesn't give us huge issues or crises, making it suitable for younger readers, and if some of Annie's changes are specific to starting middle school, life changes at every age. I can recommend this for kids from 8 up. 


Full Disclosure: I checked Heartbeat out of my digital library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Middle Grade Review: Origami Yoda

Title: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Author: Tom Angleberger
Publisher: Amulet Books, 2010. 141 pages
Source: Library

Summary:
Middle school is a challenge, so when class loser Dwight starts talking to his origami Yoda finger puppet, the first reaction of the 6th grade is inevitably ridicule. But when Yoda starts dispensing good advice and saves one of his pals from total humiliation on the romance front, Tommy starts to think maybe there's something in it. So he assembles a casebook to try to collect and weigh all the evidence, and we can decide along with him whether Yoda really has the power of the Force or Dwight's talking through his hat. Or his finger.

Review:
This was an entertaining look into the heads of middle school boys (though with a comment like that, you might think it was horror instead of comedy!). It is short, with very short chapters, each written in a different voice, so it should work well for reluctant readers and those with short attention spans (parents, maybe?). The format is essentially episodic, with each chapter and independent story of one student's experience with Yoda, building to a final decision Tommy must make to follow Yoda's advice or not.

The book is not substantial and offers no brilliant insights, but I had fun reading it (and trying to make the Yoda, though my results were. . . sad). .

Recommendation:
Take it or leave it. Not a must-read, but rather a book that can be enjoyed and might help a kid learn to like reading. But if you fold Yoda and he starts talking to you, I recommend taking a long step back!

Full Disclosure: I checked  The Strange Case of Origami Yoda out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Middle Grade Review: Wonder, by R.J. Palacio

 

Title: Wonder
Author: R. J. Palacio
Publishing info: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012.  313 pages.

Summary:

August Pullman was born with extreme facial deformities.  At age 10, after being homeschooled all his life (due to his medical issues), he enters school for the first time.  It's supposed to be easier because everyone is starting middle school together.   But things are never easy when you look different, especially when you look that different.  He and his family and classmates have a ways to travel before anyone can see Auggie as just another 5th-grader.

Review:

This is a moving and important book, less about disability (August doesn't have any lack of abilities, he just looks very, very unusual) than about difference.  Different is frankly the worst thing a kid can be after about age 6.  Using the start of Middle School (in his case, 5th grade) and the entrance into school for the first time makes for a convenient frame, as it's a time when kids struggle with all kinds of differences and realities.  But people of any age can go through a similar process of registering difference, dealing with it consciously and carefully (or reactively and hurtfully, as the case may be), until it ends up as the least important aspect of the person.

One of the things that makes this book so strong is that not only do we get Auggie's viewpoint, which says so much about how he copes with his looks and people's reactions, but sections of the book are written from other points of view as well.  In many ways, the best section is that told by Via, Auggie's older sister, who is just starting high school.  She is 4 years older than he is, so she doesn't really remember life without him, and she loves him dearly.  But she's human, and sometimes she wishes things were different.  Different so that she could be more important in the family, and (to her intense shame) so that she didn't have to let anyone at her new school know she has a little brother who is "disfigured," a word she hates.  The way Via and other characters talk about their divided feelings a mixed reactions to Auggie allows them to be real people, even while they are people who rise above themselves.  And, ultimately, the author lets almost all the kids rise above their initial rejection of anything different, which may not be completely realistic but is the model we all want.

Recommendation: For everyone.  Seriously.  We all need help in seeing the world through the eyes of others, and in dealing with differences.

Full Disclosure: I checked  Wonder out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Kid Lit Blog Hop: Write On, Callie Jones

Title: Write On, Callie Jones

Author:  Naomi Zucker

Publisher: Egmont, USA, 2010.  188 pages

Source: Library

Summary:

Callie Jones, hero of Callie's Rules (see review), is back, and she's making more progress towards figuring out the strange beings (i.e. adults) who rule her world.   This time she's writing for the school newspaper and taking on everything from cockroaches to the Principal, with mixed results.

Review:

I think this is a stronger book than the first about Callie and her unusual family, in part because it is in some ways less dramatic.  My criticism of Callie's Rules was that it had too many over-the-top characters and situations, and they just didn't fit.  Zucker has tamed that down in this book, though there is still the absurd Chief Bloodworth who is in charge of security for their little town, and the Principal remains pretty clueless.  But most of what goes on is just believable enough, and keeps the reader laughing even while the story delivers some pretty strong messages about freedom of the press, bullying, and narrow-minded idiots.  Though Zucker might not have phrased that last just like that (Callie would, in her thoughts, though).  Zucker clearly enjoys drawing the narrow-minded with a bold pen.

The story develops nicely from Callie's simple desire to be a journalist and to find a place in Middle School where she can fit in.  Her efforts to find and write stories she cares about lead naturally to clashes with the powers that be, but also to a better understanding of friendship and perseverance.  The school year is tied up with a nice triumph for the students and one final great article for Callie.

Callie's still writing down The Rules, too.  Some of her best wisdom: 

"When parents tell you to figure out something for yourself, it's usually because they don't know the answer."  She got that one right.

"Fashion rules don't make any sense.  but you have to act as thought they do."  Well, Callie and I probably have quite a bit in common!

This was a quick, fun read, and I can recommend it for girls especially, from about 8 up.

Full Disclosure: I borrowed Write on, Callie Jones  from my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

###

In other news: I have brought some order to my listings of book reviews for adults and short stories.  Take a look and let me know what you think.  Rational order for the children's book reviews will be coming soon.  Somehow, when I started, I never thought there would be so many I needed to organize.  But I'm looking now and see quite a pile of stories and reviews.  

Z: Naomi Zucker (Book Review)

Review: Callie's Rules, by Naomi Zucker.  Middle Grade fiction; 225 pages (fast read).

I was attracted to this book in the beginning, because Callie is a bit like I was in Jr. High--still a kid, and clueless about all this new stuff the other girls all seem to know.  And right off on page 7 there's a great quote about rules, the kind of rules that govern the behavior of teen girls, not the kind that schools make:
Stupid rules.  Well, rules are rules.  They're not supposed to make sense.  they're supposed to make the people who know the rules feel good and the people who don't know the rules feel stupid.  Too true!  These are rules for how to fit in, how to be cool, and by the end of the book Callie figures out that the girls who slavishly follow them are fools.

The premise of the novel is two-fold: Callie is just starting middle school (6th grade), which is a huge transition and she really doesn't get it.  At the same time, the richest woman in her rather small town has decided that Halloween is a pagan festival, both too frightening for small children and designed to lure kids into satanism or something.  Since she is the banker's wife, she is able to convince lots of people, including the Town Council, that she is right.  So while Callie is trying to fit in at her new school, she is also trying to save her favorite holiday.  The two tasks seem to be completely incompatible, since being an activist means standing out.

The story is fairly well told, and the message is sound: to be yourself and to stand up for what you believe in.  I think it will appeal to middle-grade girls, and may be of some help to those trying to navigate all those unspoken social rules of middle school.  Overall, however, I wasn't satisfied.  The story didn't feel real, with characters and situation that were just a bit over the top.  That's fine, of course, in the right book--one that knows it's over the top.  I didn't feel like this one did.  It was good enough, but just didn't work for me, despite my appreciation of the message.

Three stars.

*******************

So that's it.  A to Z is finished!  Tomorrow I'll be doing my reflections on the Challenge, and laying out some of the things I've learned and decided about my blog.  I will then return to my 3-4 day/week blogging schedule!