Is Suzy in The Thing About Jellyfish autistic?
Suzy seems to be on the autistic scale to me, though she's high-functioning and extremely verbal: she imagines telling Franny with her eyes that the pee in the locker is the "big message," that Franny asked her to do this, that Franny hurt her feelings; in return, she fully expects that Franny's eyes will apologize.
What grade is Suzy in in The Thing About Jellyfish?
7th gradeAli Benjamin's The Thing About Jellyfish is an intriguing story about a 7th grade girl named Suzy who has an unusual perspective on the world. This story takes place in a normal town. Most of the story concerns Suzy's house and her school.
Is The Thing About Jellyfish LGBT?
And then Suzy's adult brother Aaron is involved in a homosexual relationship with his boyfriend Rocco, and Suzy mentions seeing through the windshield of Aaron's jeep a quick kiss between them before they back out of the driveway and drive to the movies.
What age is The Thing About Jellyfish for?
10 - 12 yearsProduct informationPublisherLittle, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (April 4, 2017)Paperback352 pagesISBN-100316380849ISBN-13978-0316380843Reading age10 - 12 years, from customers8 more rows
Is The Thing About Jellyfish a true story?
The Thing About Jellyfish is a 2015 children's novel written by Ali Benjamin, her fiction debut.
What type of animal is jellyfish?
Immortal jellyfishStaurozoaCarybdea brevipedaliaKeesingia gigasAcraspedaJellyfish/Representative species
What did Suzy do to Franny in The Thing About Jellyfish?
She had to make Franny realize she had become everything she never wanted to be. Suzy froze thin sheets of her own urine in restaurant take-out containers and shoved the frozen sheets through the slits in Franny's locker.
What grade level is The Thing About Jellyfish?
The Thing About JellyfishInterest LevelReading LevelWord CountGrades 4 - 8Grades 3 - 846150Oct 22, 2015
Where can I watch The Thing About Jellyfish movie?
NetflixNow it's with Netflix specifically under Netflix's Indie studio.
What happens at the end of The Thing About Jellyfish?
Towards the end of the book Suzy finally reveals her rather disturbing actions that may have done away with any chance that Franny would reach out to her again. Suzy is never found out and doesn't get to speak to Franny again before Franny dies but clearly Suzy feels a lot of guilt, which can be its own punishment.
Why should I read The Thing About Jellyfish?
Parents need to know that The Thing About Jellyfish is a coming-of-age story about seventh-grader Suzy Swanson, whose best friend has just died by drowning. Death and grief are explored in nongraphic, literary detail.
How many chapters are in the thing jellyfish?
11 ChaptersBibliographic informationTitleThe Thing About Jellyfish - FREE PREVIEW EDITION (The First 11 Chapters)Export CitationBiBTeX EndNote RefMan6 more rows
What grade level is the thing about jellyfish?
The Thing About JellyfishInterest LevelReading LevelWord CountGrades 4 - 8Grades 3 - 846150Oct 22, 2015
What did Suzy do to Franny in the thing about jellyfish?
She had to make Franny realize she had become everything she never wanted to be. Suzy froze thin sheets of her own urine in restaurant take-out containers and shoved the frozen sheets through the slits in Franny's locker.
How did Suzy change in the thing about jellyfish?
While trying to deal with this failure, Suzy learns that Diana Nyad made a successful swim despite the jellyfish stings. This news inspires Suzy to pick herself up and keep going. She accepts positive memories of Franny without guilt and allows herself to acknowledge the start of new friendships.
Is the thing about jellyfish on Netflix?
1:473:34Millie Bobby Brown Movie 'The Thing About Jellyfish' Release on NetflixYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipCollege. It could be a while before the thing about jellyfish gets in front of cameras. Though givenMoreCollege. It could be a while before the thing about jellyfish gets in front of cameras. Though given brown's packed slate the majority of which is set up at netflix.
Who wrote the jellyfish book?
The Thing About Jellyfish is a 2015 children's novel written by Ali Benjamin, her fiction debut.
What happened to Suzy and Franny?
After the two had a falling out in the sixth grade year, Franny died during the ensuing summer before they had a chance to heal their friendship. Suzy discovers a ton more about jellyfish than she expected she would, and confides in her science teacher, who helps her form her theory.
What did Suzy learn about Franny?
Suzy postulates that Franny's death was the result of Irukandji syndrome after Suzy learns about jellyfish on a field trip to an unnamed aquarium, which Benjamin states is the New England Aquarium in the end notes.
Why did Diana Nyad abandon her attempts to swim?
Diana Nyad (America), who was forced to abandon several attempts to swim from Cuba to Florida due to jellyfish stings
Who is the director of Suzy?
Gigi Pritzker, Bruna Papandrea, and Witherspoon were named as the producers. In March 2019, it was announced that Wanuri Kahiu would be directing the film, with Millie Bobby Brown starring as Suzy.
What caused Franny Jackson's death?
The book follows Suzy Swanson, the protagonist and narrator, who theorizes the death of her friend, Franny Jackson, was caused by a jellyfish sting. Suzy has started the seventh grade, which is the second year at Eugene Field Middle School in South Grove, Massachusetts. During their sixth grade year, Franny became interested in boys and started to join a more popular social circle than the sometimes awkward Suzy, who had been best friends with Franny starting shortly after they met, when they were both five years old. After the two had a falling out in the sixth grade year, Franny died during the ensuing summer before they had a chance to heal their friendship. Suzy discovers a ton more about jellyfish than she expected she would, and confides in her science teacher, who helps her form her theory. Suzy also reads about brave and daring scientists who study jellyfish, and tries to get in contact with them, to work as a team to try and prove her theory about Franny's death.
How did Suzy change her character?
Suzy begins seventh grade changed as a character because after she loses Franny’s friendship, Franny dies suddenly over the summer between sixth and seventh grade.
Where is Suzy Swanson?
She is currently in seventh grade in South Grove, Massachusetts. Suzy has frizzy, hard-to-control hair and does not have much interest in clothes, styles, make-up, or boys.
Does Suzy have a brother?
She sees her father at least once every Saturday night for dinner, a promise he made and kept since the divorce. Suzy has one older brother, Aaron, who attends the local university.
How old is Suzy Swanson?
Twelve-year-old Suzy Swanson learns that her best friend, Franny, has drowned while on vacation in Maryland. Stunned and overcome with grief, Suzy wonders how this could have happened to someone who was such a good swimmer. The narrative begins shortly after Franny’s funeral. Suzy has completely stopped talking, even to her divorced parents, ...
What is Suzy convinced of?
Suzy is immediately convinced Franny was stung by an Irukandji, and she sets out to prove it. The story is peppered with flashback chapters, in which Suzy narrates her memories as if talking to Franny. Readers learn how the girls met at a young age in a swim class and became inseparable.
What did Franny tell Suzy to do?
She told Suzy to send her a big message, something she couldn’t ignore, if she ever behaved that way.
What grade did Franny start caring about?
In sixth grade, Franny started caring about hair and clothes and a boy named Dylan. Soon, she began sitting with the pretty girls at lunch. Suzy sat with them until her attempts at small talk made her seem weird and undesirable. Franny eventually began to ignore her.
What does Suzy see outside the dance?
Outside the dance, Suzy sees a girl in her class who is also nervous about the dance. The girl asks if they can walk through the door into the dance together. Suzy takes a deep breath, and the girls walk together into the room full of laughter and pulsating lights.
How long did Diana Nyad swim?
As they sit together in the airport, they see a news story on the screens about Diana Nyad. She has just successfully completed the 103-mile swim from Cuba to Florida. In the midst of her grief, Suzy is inspired by Diana’s bravery. Justin invites Suzy to meet him at the school costume dance.
Why does Justin choke up Suzy?
Suzy makes a quick call to her dad to apologize for all the trouble. He gets choked up because he’s so glad to hear her speaking again.
What did Suzy Swanson learn about jellyfish?
When Suzy Swanson learned her best friend Franny Jackson had died while swimming in the ocean Suzy was not happy with her mother’s explanation that sometimes things just happened.
What happened to Suzy after she learned she couldn't fly internationally alone?
After Suzy’s plan to go to Australia was destroyed when she learned she couldn’t fly internationally alone, Suzy began to come to grips with Suzy’s death. She sat on the floor of the airport and realized that even if she had been able to pinpoint the cause of Franny’s death it wouldn’t have changed the way the girls’ friendship had ended and it would not have brought Franny back. With the help of her family and friends, Suzy realized that Franny would live on through the people who loved her and knew her best.
Why did Suzy want to find out about Franny's death?
Suzy had more than one reason for wanting to find out how exactly Franny had died. She sought closure not only for her loss of her friend to death but also because their friendship had been such a mess when Franny died. The two girls had been inseparable from the time they met as five year olds. In middle school everything seemed to change. Franny began hanging out with the popular girls and worrying about hair, clothes and boys. Suzy didn’t understand Franny’s new priorities. Franny began ignoring Suzy after Suzy embarrassed her in front of her new friends. Suzy was hurt by Franny’s hatefulness but didn’t retaliate until after a class trip where Franny not only let a boy she liked kill a frog but also spat on Suzy - apparently on a dare from the other students. Suzy made frozen discs of urine that she slipped into Franny’s locker on the last day of school. Franny had once told Suzy to send her a message if she ever began acting like the pretty girls. Suzy hoped Franny would recognize the message and that they could repair their friendship. Because Franny died, the last time Suzy ever saw her friend was when she was walking down the hallway crying and carrying the bags of urine soaked belongings from her locker.
Why did Franny die from jellyfish?
The stings of these jellyfish were so powerful that many had died because of them. It was believed that deaths attributed to other causes might even have been caused by these organisms. Suzy set about to prove that Franny’s death had been the result of a jellyfish sting.
Why did Suzy grieve after Franny died?
After Franny died of drowning during a beach vacation Suzy grieved not only because she missed her friend but also because their relationship did not end the way it should have. In hopes of redeeming herself, Suzy set about to prove that her friend’s death had been caused by a jellyfish.
How old were Suzy and Franny when they met?
The two girls had been inseparable from the time they met as five year olds. In middle school everything seemed to change. Franny began hanging out with the popular girls and worrying about hair, clothes and boys. Suzy didn’t understand Franny’s new priorities.
How many pages are there in The Thing About Jellyfish?
This Study Guide consists of approximately 64 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Thing About Jellyfish.
How long have jellyfish been alive?
In “Early Life” Suzy describes the longevity of jellyfish. They have survived five mass extinctions and have been in existence at least 600 million years. She concludes they are the bridge from the world of the past to the present world. They are survivors.
How many pages are there in The Thing About Jellyfish?
This Study Guide consists of approximately 64 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Thing About Jellyfish.
Why are the flashbacks set up a nice little mystery?
The flashbacks set up a nice little mystery because we know from early on that Suzy feels guilty about something, but we don’t know what happened. We get the story parceled out to us through the flashbacks.
What is the reason for Franny Jackson's death?
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.
Is Suzy's life in sixth grade the best?
Meagan: Yes, some of those scenes from Suzy’s daily life in sixth grade are the best. I liked the parts about Suzy and Franny’s unraveling friendship (in the flashbacks). It’s set up so that you know they used to be best friends and you also know things ended badly between them, but you don’t quite know how. Most of the dramatic tension in the book arises from watching this social disaster unfold.
Is the climax in the flashback story more satisfying than the present day climax?
Eva: Yeah, the climax in the flashback story was more emotionally satisfying than the present- day climax, but I think the story probably needed both. Maybe there was a different way the present-day story could have ended, though, to make it feel more organic and satisfying. In some ways, the present-day story just seemed like a vehicle for the very-cool lab report structure. But since I loved the lab report structure so much, I was able to forgive some of what the story was lacking.
Is Suzy on the autism spectrum?
Death of a child, divorced parents, some bullying. It’s also possible that Suzy is on the autism spectrum, although this is never addressed outright.
Overview
Plot summary
The book follows Suzy Swanson, the protagonist and narrator, who theorizes the death of her friend, Franny Jackson, was caused by a jellyfish sting. Suzy has started the seventh grade, which is the second year at Eugene Field Middle School in South Grove, Massachusetts. During their sixth grade year, Franny became interested in boys and started to join a more popular social circle tha…
Development
Benjamin cites The Secret Garden, Harriet the Spy, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler as shaping her reading life as a child. The Thing About Jellyfish was inspired in part by a trip Benjamin took to an aquarium, and influenced a novel she had been developing about a girl in middle school and her sibling.
Suzy postulates that Franny's death was the result of Irukandji syndrome after Suzy learns about j…
Reception
Publishers Weekly gave the novel a starred review, calling it "a shining example of the highs and lows of early adolescence, as well as a testament to the grandeur of the natural world." Jacqueline Kelly, reviewing for The New York Times, said it was "heartfelt and fascinating" and believed "a lot of children [...] might not only benefit from this book but also [would] find themselves deeply moved by it."
Adaptation
Reese Witherspoon announced in October 2015 on her Instagram feed that her company, Pacific Standard Films, would create a film based on the novel. In January 2017, OddLot Entertainment acquired the screen rights to the novel. Gigi Pritzker, Bruna Papandrea, and Witherspoon were named as the producers. In March 2019, it was announced that Wanuri Kahiu would be directing the film, with Millie Bobby Brown starring as Suzy.
See also
• Goodbye Stranger, by Rebecca Stead
• Otherwise Known as Possum, by Maria Laso
External links
• Ali Benjamin reads at the 2015 National Book Awards Finalists Reading on YouTube
• Introducing Ali Benjamin and THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH on YouTube
• Ali Benjamin (2015). "Interview With Ali Benjamin - 2015 National Book Award Finalist, Young People's Literature" (Interview). Interviewed by Tim Manley. National Book Foundation. Retrieved 10 June 2018.