Review: The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

5 stars for The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin.

I have been thinking why I am attracted to children's literature so much lately. I mean besides the inner child in me, in each of us, there must be something more. Then it dawns on me that it has got to do with the story itself. The thing about reading children's fiction is, it is not just reading about some kids between the ages of 8 and 10, or 11 and 13, it is also about adventure and survival (Where the Red Fern Grows), fantasy and make-believe (Bridge to Terabithia), growing up (Short), psychology (Rain Reign), family (Walk Two Moons), being inspired (Because of Winn-Dixie), mystery and suspense (Wolf Hollow), history and war (Number the Stars). And with my latest read, I have one more to add - Science (The Thing about Jellyfish). The nine books I have listed are proof that children's books are not confined to any one subject matter, instead they are more; they can be so much more. And that is the wonder of children's literature which entices me so.

To be honest, at first, I am not sure if this is a book I should be reading. The title reminds me of junior picture books, those with drawings and illustrations, which I am not keen. But then, the jellyfish also bring to my mind the one rare trip I made some years ago to the SEA Aquarium at Sentosa Island, Singapore. The roomful of tanks with projected lights within which countless mesmerizing jellyfish float around gracefully took my breath away. They are beautiful yet mysterious to me with their deadly sting, some of them. It is then that I decide there is no harm in giving these fascinating sea creatures my reading time.

The story is about a girl who is obsessed with - what else but yea, you got it - jellyfish. 12-year old Suzy Swanson becomes subdued after the passing of her best friend, Franny. She is convinced that jellyfish is the reason for Franny's demise and goes on a jellyfish mission to substantiate her theory, hoping to rewrite a new ending, a better ending to the end of her friendship with Franny.

The Thing about Jellyfish is a heartbreaking story of the power of young friendship and the devastation of losing it. It is relatively easy to see where the story is headed, but it is the delivery of the plot, the development of the story and the execution of the mission that weigh down heavily on my heart.

The writing is remarkable; not many stories one reads can continue to convey so much emotional power. Each word, each sentence, all line up beautifully to draw out the pain and loss of losing someone dear to you.

To give an example, taken verbatim from the book "All this time, I’d thought that our story was just that: our story. But it turns out you had your own story, and I had mine. Our stories might have overlapped for a while — long enough that they even looked like the same story. But they were different. And that made me realize this: Everyone’s story is different, all the time. No one is ever really together, even if it looks for a while like they are."

Then there is the use of similes as a method of comparison, beautiful really but sad and wistful all the same.

To quote "Whenever I think about those two days — about the space between you ending and me knowing — I think about the stars. Did you know that the light from our nearest star takes four years to reach us? Which means when we see it — when we see any star — we are really seeing what it looked like in the past. All those twinkling lights, every star in the sky, could have burned out years ago — the entire night sky could be empty this very minute, and we wouldn’t even know it."

On the surface, it appears that the narrator Suzy is trying to cope with the death of a good friend and overcome the stages of grief (shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance), but in actual fact, it is more. Beneath the theme of grief and loss is that of dealing with changes and regrets. These - to me - are the real issues that Suzy is grappling with. She is not what I will say, a pleasant girl exactly. She is quiet at best and rude at worst. In fact, the way she behaves at times put me off. But I can totally understand where the author is coming from, by painting Suzy the way she is. It is all part of dealing with changes in family, struggling with changes in growing up and coping with changes in her friendship with the then-alive Franny and coming to grips with being sorry for what has been done and not-done.

I find this story sad and at times, even depressing. Maybe because it is hit too close to home. The need to find for ourselves the truth, to set us free, is always there, just like what Suzy does in her attempt to free herself through searching for truth about her friend. It is hard to make sense of unexpected death, especially when the victim is considered young - young being relative to the system of reference chosen - and even more so when it has not been long since one last seen that person, alive, healthy and all well. But sometimes things just happen, for no reason, except that time is up for that person.

Despite the solemn mood, I walk with Suzy right to the end and find that I actually enjoy her story more than I realise. Her story has much to teach the young. It is not only a lesson on life and death, but also one on Science, on jellyfish for that matter, and particularly on one species whose venom is among the most dangerous in the world - the Irukandji jellyfish. I certainly know more about jellyfish now, say their life cycle, how they start off almost like a plant in a phase called planula where they cling to the bottom of the sea. Then, as they grow in size, they break away from the seabed to pulse freely through the ocean. The adult jellyfish is known as medusa (not to be mistaken as Medusa with capital M which is the mythological creature with snakes for hair who could turn humans to stone with a glance).

Having come to the end of my journey with Suzy, I will say The Thing about Jellyfish is not at all what I have imagined right from the start. It is no junior picture book though there are some drawings of the sea jellies. Surprisingly, for a story born from failure as the author so put it, this novel is anything but a letdown. It is exquisitely written. It is a great work of fiction in all its originality. It is a striking debut novel.


Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition
Publication date: 4 Apr 2017

*** Favourite Quote 1 ***

A person can become invisible simply by staying quiet.
I’d always thought that being seen was about what people perceived with their eyes.
Being seen is more about the ears than the eyes, it turns out.

*** Favourite Quote 2 ***

Long streaks of sun crossed through the window, like spirits through walls. They lay down on the carpet and were still.

*** Favourite Quote 3 ***

I stared at the words so long that they started looking unfamiliar, like something written in an entirely different language.

*** Favourite Quote 4 ***

The thing I did hangs suspended between us. It hovers there, silently, like an unfinished sentence.

*** Favourite Quote 5 ***

Nothing had changed, and yet everything had.

*** Favourite Quote 6 ***

It’s peculiar how no-words can be better than words. Silence can say more than noise, in the same way that a person’s absence can occupy even more space than their presence did.

~ The Thing about Jellyfish
Ali Benjamin

@}--->>--->>-----

Suzy Swanson is pretty sure she knows the real reason Franny Jackson died. Everyone says that there’s no way to be certain…that sometimes things just happen. But Suzy knows there must be a better explanation—a scientific one. Haunted by the loss of her former best friend — and by a final, terrible moment that passed between them — she retreats into a silent world of her own imagination. Convinced that Franny’s death was the result of a freak jellyfish sting, she crafts a plan to prove the truth, even if it means traveling around the globe… alone. As she prepares, she learns astonishing things about the universe around her… and discovers the potential for love and hope in her own backyard.

*Blurb from author's website*

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