Book Report: THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH

This book is called, “THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH”, written by Ali Benjamin. It is a deep story about growing up and forgiving. The main character is Suzy and she doesn’t talk anymore. Not after her best friend, Franny, who was an excellent swimmer drowns while swimming at sea. Suzy assumes that the only possibility for Franny to have drowned was that a deadly jellyfish stung her and she couldn’t fight it any longer. Determined to uncover the mystery of why her best friend died, Suzy goes to great lengths; she researches a few Jellyfish Experts and finds Jamie in Australia. Jamie, inspite of not being in her presence, becomes Suzy’s source of confidence. Suzy then decides to fly away to Australia, where Jamie is, to try and meet him face to face. So, Suzy steals some money from her parents and brother and then makes her way to the airport alone- without adult supervision and without informing her parents. Children are allowed to travel in the States alone if they are twelve and above but Australia is out of the United States of America. Although she is teenaged, she is denied access and starts to cry until her mother and brother arrive. Suzy explains her intentions to the two of them and then apologises about the money. She finally realises that Franny maybe just died and she’ll have to give her up. Suzy starts to talk again and all is well.

My Feelings and Thoughts about This Book:

• This story was very visceral. Everything seemed so realistic and it seemed like I was Suzy, getting hurt so badly by a friend but determined to try and uncover what killed her. It talks about the pain of giving up and having to let go of something and somewhere inside, I was touched.
• I actually cried reading this book. There were little diary entries dating back in time to when Franny and Suzy were ultimate best friends and then the diary entries started to show the time when Suzy and Franny grow apart from each other and become frenemies. On one occasion, Franny was so mean to Suzy that she even spat on her! I cried a bit that time. This is quite a big thing since I’ve hardly ever cried over a book before.
• At first, after reading the blurb to know what this fantastic story would be about, I thought that since it’s a mystery story and the blurb focused on trying to solve the mystery, it would be in third person. But, I was so wrong. This book, despite the fact that the main plot was to try and discover what killed Franny, is about growing up and letting go. So, Suzy has written this herself in first person.

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 8 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $9.79!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP FOR £9.01!

Book Report: HOOT!

This book is called, ‘HOOT’ written by Carl Hiassen. It is a touching story about saving owls and fighting for what you believe in. The main characters are Roy, Beatrice and Mullet Fingers (Napoleon Bridge Leap). Roy is a teenaged boy who is bullied by the big, Dana Matherson. One day, he sees a boy running as fast as the wind. He is intrigued and determined to find out where that boy was running to and why. But then, the next day, Beatrice ( a teenaged girl) steps in to tell Roy to mind his own business. She does this because she wants to protect her step-brother from getting found out and put in an orphanage. But, Roy doesn’t stop his investigations and soon uncovers the mystery of Mullet Fingers’ (Beatrice’s name for him) mysteriousness. He wants to help the owls. He gets snakes, to feed the owls. Finally, Beatrice, Mullet Fingers and Roy agree to work together to save the owls from getting completely destroyed. They will get destroyed because the Mother Paula Pancake House are creating a new branch in Coconut Cove. These are one of the places where owls burrow. So, Mullet Fingers tries to annoy and scare the Mother Paula Company off by spray painting the Police Squad Car with black paint, putting alligators in the Truck’s Toilet Bowl and many more tricks. Beatrice and Roy are fearless. They try their best to scare of the dangerous dogs, beastly people and delay the Construction. At the Opening Ceremony for the All-American-Pancake-House, Roy and Beatrice bring along friends and many posters. Everyone protests for the Pancake House to be torn down since the company has no authority to bury the owls. And, thanks to Roy and his researching skills, we got to know that Florida is possessive about their birds and protects them. Even the actress playing Mother Paula, Kimberly Lou Dixon, is against this. ‘I don’t wanna work for a company who would bury helpless owls just to sell a few Flapjacks.’ The owls are saved and all is well. Mullet Fingers or Napoleon Bridge Leep is on the run again. 

What I Feel about This Book:

• I think this book was a very powerful book. It left a big impression and mark on me. In the days after finishing the book, I used to smile and nod to myself when I came across a bird in school. I felt more passionate about taking care of these helpless creatures who rely on us for food and shelter. And when we are as cruel as the Mother Paula Company, these birds can’t carry on. They will need homes, which are about to get buried. They need food which is normally found on the ground and in trees, which is going to get broken down to build the Pancake House.

• I could relate to this book and some of the big incidents because in one of the adventures I’ve had in my own life, I’ve made a handmade bird nest with my friend; also, a few of my other friends have spotted a bird who was hurt and tried to help it recover.  

• Roy’s family and Beatrice’s family is different in many ways. Firstly, Roy’s family is much more enthusiastic and supportive of Roy in what he feels is good. Of course, they do question him but then they finally see the good meaning in it. Whereas in Beatrice’s family, they wouldn’t even care what their daughter and stepdaughter did. Roy’s family interacts with Roy and the parents get along well but Beatrice’s stepmother is always fighting with her father because she has bought a lot with his credit card. 

• Mullet Fingers vandalized the construction site and the Detective’s Squad car. He wasn’t justified in doing this because he has absolutely no right to take the law into his own hands. However, he was right on one hand since Mother Paula’s hadn’t the authority to bury helpless owls. In the end, Mullet Fingers managed to show many people how owls were getting hurt and how Mother Paula’s new branch would bury these owls. He even showed Kimberly Lou-Dixon (Mother Paula) who didn’t know about this terrifying process that the company would bury owls. 

• I like how Mullet Fingers earned his nickname from his stepsister: it was because of his ability to catch a mullet fish with his bare hands (and fingers). It made me think that since I have a passion to write stories and often have flashes of ideas, my nickname might be: Story Lightning! Or, since I like testing the pH of the water, I might be called: Hydrogen Tester! What would yours be? 

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 9.5 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING HOOT!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $6.00!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP FOR £5.73!