by Ali Benjamin
First sentence: “During the first three weeks of seventh grade, I’d learned one thing above all else: A person can become invisible simply by staying quiet.”
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Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: September 22, 2015
Content: It’s longish, but there’s nothing questionable for younger kids. It is a bit on the depressing side, so maybe super-sensitive ones wouldn’t want to read. That said, the science is pretty cool. It’ll be in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore, though the 6-8th grader would like it as well.

Suzy Swanson knows why Franny Jackson died. Sure, everyone has been telling her that it was “just one of those things” when her former best friend drowned in the ocean, but Suzy is convinced that there Needs to be a Scientific Explanation. And she knows she’s figured out what it is: deadly jellyfish stings. So, Suzy sets out to research that, and even plans a trip to Australia in order to come to terms with her best friends’ death. And Suzy’s guilt about what happened between them before.

There’s a LOT going on in this book: dead friend, grief, friends growing apart, bullying, science, divorce…. it was almost too much for me. I ended up focusing on the science aspect of it, which was really pretty cool. I really liked all the jellyfish facts, and the research that Suzy ended up doing on them. I liked that she had a fantastic science teacher (my girls’ 7th grade science teacher was really pretty awesome too) who inspired kids to want to learn.

But other than that, it was just drama and more Drama. Middle school kids are mean, and Benjamin caught that perfectly. I felt copious amounts of pity for Suzy; such an awkward girl, and no one (hardly) had any compassion for her. No wonder she stopped talking.

That said, while the resolution was done well, I never really wholly enjoyed this book. Too much being made uncomfortable by Suzy’s awkwardness and the bullying of the kids around her.

But then, maybe that was the point?