SuitabookGrief and bereavement
Suzy is trying to understand Franny Jackson’s death and the end of her friend’s life.
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Book details
Ali Benjamin - Author
A grief-centred story about a child trying to understand a friend’s death and her own regret. Scientific facts, imagination and the natural world provide ways into Suzy’s feelings, while love and hope shape her search for self-forgiveness.
Some hearts beat only about 412 million times. Which might sound like a lot. But the truth is, it barely even gets you twelve years. Suzy Swanson has always known things that others don't. She can explain the sleep patterns of ants. She knows there are 150 million jellyfish stings on the planet every year. She knows that the average middle school kid contains about 20 billion of Shakespeare's atoms. But she can't understand how Franny Jackson's lifetime could be cut so short ... before Suzy could make up for the worst thing she'd ever done to her friend. As Suzy retreats into a silent world of her imagination, she finds that the universe won't allow her escape into grief. Astonishing wonders are all around her ... as are the love and hope she desperately needs to forgive herself.
Book Brief
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Sign in for personalised guidanceA grief-centred story about a child trying to understand a friend’s death and her own regret. Scientific facts, imagination and the natural world provide ways into Suzy’s feelings, while love and hope shape her search for self-forgiveness.
Suzy is trying to understand Franny Jackson’s death and the end of her friend’s life.
Suzy believes she must make up for the worst thing she had done to Franny before Franny’s death.
Suzy knows detailed facts about ants, jellyfish, Shakespeare’s atoms and the universe, and retreats into imagination.
Give space for discussion rather than expecting immediate reactions. It may help to pause around the death, Suzy’s regret and her movement towards forgiveness, allowing the reader to decide what feels important.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: the current material supports only a cautious reading; another book-specific source is still needed.
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