"The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin is a realistic fiction book that will leave you at a loss for words. The story follows seventh-grader Suzy Swanson and how she navigates through the loss of her best friend, Franny. I never really picked it up because I thought the story would be quite boring. The blurb on the back of the book didn’t go into detail about the plot and just talked about the emotions. After seeing the book appear in many book recommendations, I finally decided to read it. I was happy to have been proved wrong. This book was emotional and made me reflect on the actions and choices I made with my friends in the past months. 

Suzy Swanson was just like any other middle schooler before the death of Franny. We learn about Franny and Suzy’s friendship, which takes us back to a swimming class where the two girls met. They stuck together throughout elementary school and one day, Franny says something that Suzy remembers forever. In a conversation about a popular kid at their school, Franny remarks, “Shoot me if I ever become like that. Send me a signal… a secret message. Make it big.” And when one day Franny does exactly that, Suzy decides to freeze sheets of urine and place them in Franny’s locker. After hearing the news about Franny’s death, Suzy spirals into sadness knowing what she did when she saw Franny for the last time. 

Everyone believes Franny died from drowning, but Suzy has extensive knowledge of jellyfish and is determined to find the real cause of her death. On a school trip to the aquarium, Suzy learns about the Irukandji jellyfish- an invisible jellyfish the size of a fingernail. Suzy is convinced Franny had been stung by one while on her trip. Suzy’s plan to prove her theory involves traveling to Australia to find a jellyfish expert. She plans to go alone. But she’ll do whatever it takes. When her mission fails, Suzy enters a new era, she learns to let go of the past and live her life. She is content with the fact that whatever happened, happened. 

Bringing insight into middle school friendships, this book depicted the personality changes that people go through when they reach middle school. We learn through Franny’s mother that even though Franny grew mean and judgemental towards Suzy’s strange intelligence, she actually admired her very much. Franny was probably trying to fit in with the popular kids. The author shows how friends come and go, we should accept their changes and move on. It became obvious that Suzy and Franny were going down different paths in life, even though they were once best friends. The development of the characters throughout the book helped to build tension and set the stage for Franny’s unexpected change. Suzy’s growth in the aftermath of Franny’s death is extremely noticeable and amazing. She went from not talking to anyone to showing her inner voice and opening up to people.

I found this book relatable because of people I know that have entirely changed over a few months. After reading the book, something happened in my personal life. One of my close friends suddenly stopped talking to me and started spreading rumors about me. I was torn because I didn’t know if I should talk to her or let her go. At that moment, I knew what Suzy must have felt when she was seeing Franny slip further and further away from her. Suzy coped with the tragic loss of Franny, and I have let go of that friend. This book helped me understand that friends aren’t permanent. 

The story is separated into seven parts and the division of the chapters between flashbacks and present time. Each part has a title page with an illustration of a jellyfish and reflects a step in the scientific method as presented by Mrs. Turton, Suzy’s science teacher. The author does a spectacular job of making the book easy to follow. The first few pages pulled me right in and I was immediately engaged with the story. The first-person perspective communicates Suzy’s feelings and thoughts easily, making it accessible to middle-grade readers. The flashbacks are sprinkled in between every few chapters. This motivates the readers to keep reading since Suzy is vague about what happened to Franny in the beginning. The flashbacks often occur when Suzy is reliving a memory of Franny or an event. This is a clever way to make the readers feel like they are living in the moment with Suzy. As we read through the flashbacks, we start to see how the girls’ relationship went haywire. 

The ending is not as strong and satisfying as I would like it to be as it does not leave readers with a clear closing to the story. For example, we do not know what the true cause of Franny’s death is and we can only assume Suzy went on to live a happy, normal life based on the context clues given toward the end. I usually don’t like books that end with a cliffhanger but I know some readers enjoy it. The conclusion of this book didn’t make me content. I would’ve liked to see an ending that talks about how Suzy moved on and dealt with her guilt. It would’ve been more fulfilling and really gave the story a grand finale. 

Overall, I give “The Thing About Jellyfish” four out of five stars. It was a relatable read that was also inspiring and clever. The way it is written directly connects to middle-grade readers like me because it is extremely relatable. After reading this book, my views on friendships changed — I now know they don’t always last forever. Additionally, I enjoyed how jellyfish were incorporated into the book. Suzy references jellyfish constantly in her figurative language. She is often comparing events, objects, or emotions to jellyfish. Jellyfish facts, friendship lessons, and everything in between are incorporated into this beautiful, heartwarming book. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a simple read with a deep meaning.