Suzy Swanson’s best friend Franny Jackson was an excellent swimmer. So when Suzy’s mom gets a phone call from Franny’s mother telling her that Franny drowned, Suzy refuses to believe it. There is no way she could have drowned. In fact, Suzy suspects her once BFF was actually stung by an Irukandji jellyfish and will stop at nothing to prove her theory.
Excerpt:
“A jellyfish, if you watch long enough, begins to look like a heart beating. It doesn’t matter what kind: the blood-red Atolla with its flashing siren lights, the frilly flower hat variety, or the near-transparent moon jelly, Aurelia aurita. It’s their pulse, the way they contract swiftly, then release. Like a ghost heart–a heart you can see right through, right into some other world where everything you ever lost has gone to hide.
Jellyfish don’t have hearts, of course–no heart, no brain, no bone, no blood. But watch them for a while. You will see them beating.”
Verdict: This is a remarkable story. Through Suzy’s journey readers explore life, death, guilt, and forgiveness. Suzy’s struggle to face reality and accept her friend’s death depicts how difficult it can be to lose someone you hold dear.
5x5 Books 