The Thing About Jellyfish

Suzy describes in this flashback chapter some of the uncomplicated ways that she and Franny demonstrate their friendship at age seven. Suzy is comfortable with Franny’s need to host their sleepover at Franny’s house (instead of Suzy’s), with Franny’s trouble reading, and with Suzy’s teacher’s recommendation that Suzy have other friends in addition to Franny. Suzy helps Franny feel better when Aubrey LaValley, a girl in their class, says that Franny “isn’t pretty or smart” (52). Suzy knows that she and Franny are perfectly happy being friends with each other.

Suzy and her mother meet Suzy’s father at the counselor’s office. Suzy’s parents are divorced, but her father lives locally and Suzy sees him each Saturday for dinner at Ming Palace restaurant. The counselor is a child psychologist called Dr. Legler. Suzy calls her “Dr. Legs” throughout her interior monologue. Suzy’s parents accompany Suzy for this first appointment, and the doctor asks them to talk about their concerns. Both parents say that they are worried about Suzy’s silence and that she seems unhappy. Suzy says nothing for the duration of the visit, and her mind wanders to books on the shelves and to things she has seen online. Inspired by Dr. Leg’s use of the word “professional,” Suzy gets the idea to find an expert “jellyologist” to help her prove her hypothesis. 

Suzy relates how she began “not-talking.” At Ming Palace one Saturday evening right after the start of seventh grade, her father asked Suzy about the new school year; she remembered a time when he asked a simple question and then seemed disappointed with her response about the Great Pacific Garbage Vortex. This time, she simply did not answer her father’s question. She did not answer any other questions that night either, though she reflected on her experiences with other students and her teacher, Mrs. Turton. Dad eventually told her to “let me know when you’re ready to make conversation” (70), but Suzy did not speak that night at all. Suzy continues “not-talking” for the next four weeks.

After the first visit to Dr. Legs, Suzy begins her search online for the perfect jellyfish expert. She clicks past many experts before she finds a good possible candidate. In her notebook, she lists details about Dhugal Lindsay, a lab scientist in Japan who also writes jellyfish haiku. Suzy compiles bulleted information about advantages to selecting this researcher such as “Discovers new things” (73) and disadvantages like “Might ask me to read his poetry” (73). Suzy decides against this researcher “for reasons related to poetry” (73).

In science class, Mrs. Turton tells the class about the 1968 Apollo 8 mission and shows the class photographic images of Earth taken by the astronauts from space. She shows them an image of Earth taken from a great distance; in this photo, the planet is just a speck. Suzy feels “panicky” at the thought of not mattering in the vastness of space.

Suzy must pair with a boy named Justin Maloney for an experiment with pond water. He has a reputation for clumsy antics. He speaks kindly to Suzy, however, and begins following instructions. When a stopwatch around his neck goes off, he pauses to take his medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. After class, Mrs. Turton asks Suzy if she has picked a research topic, and Suzy answers her by saying only one word: “Jellyfish” (82). Mrs. Turton reminds her that she must deliver the report, which is necessary for passing the class, orally.

In a flashback to fourth grade, Suzy and Franny are studying explorers. Franny has trouble remembering facts, so Suzy helps Franny use mnemonic devices. The conversation turns to Aubrey LaValley, who recently announced herself the most popular girl in class. Franny makes Suzy promise that if she, Franny, ever shows personality traits like Aubrey’s, Suzy will send her “a signal. Like a secret message” (86). They take a break from studying and pretend they are rock stars. Franny gives Suzy the nickname “Mizz Frizz” for her frizzy hair, and Suzy gives Franny the nickname “Strawberry Girl” because of her hair color, which Franny loves. 

Back in the real-time storyline, Suzy continues to take notes on jellyfish researchers. One day in science class, Justin catches sight of her notetaking pages and asks about them. Suzy does not respond except to glare at him. She adds notes for two possible experts to her notebook: Diana Nyad, a 64-year-old long distance swimmer whose attempts to swim from Cuba to Florida failed due to jellyfish stings, and a biochemist from Hawaii named Angel Yanagihara, who studies a jellyfish species similar to the Irukandji. Angel resembles Franny, and Suzy initially thinks the resemblance might be a sign that she is the perfect expert to help. Suzy then discovers an online video of an experiment Angel conducted in which she injects a mouse with jellyfish venom to study its death. Suzy then thinks that Angel resembles her, Suzy, and not Franny. Suzy discovers the perfect expert, a man named Jamie Seymour, soon after watching the video.

In a flashback addressed to Franny, Suzy recalls how badly she wants to tell Franny her awful news: Suzy’s parents are getting a divorce. It is now fifth grade, and a morning bus ride to school seems the perfect moment to tell Franny this secret, which Suzy has told no one: “I am going be one of those kids with divorced parents” (97). She wants to tell Franny, but when Franny gets on the bus, Franny wants to discuss boys: “Who do you like?” (98). Suzy does not like a boy and does not understand why Franny says she, Suzy, “has” to like someone. When Suzy asks Franny who she likes, Suzy is shocked and dismayed to hear that Franny like Dylan Parker, who is unkind. Franny feels that things are changing for the worse.

Suzy discusses why Jamie Seymour is the perfect jellyfish expert to help her prove her theory about Franny’s death. He is smart, experienced, and eager to share information with others. He lives in Queensland, Australia, a continent known for its fierce and strange animals: “You have to be crazy brave to live in Australia” (102). Suzy watches Jamie exhibit bravery in a video of his hospitalization after an Irukandji sting, in which he writhes in pain for two days. Afterwards, though, he gets back in the water with more jellyfish. Suzy thinks he will help her prove that the reason behind Franny’s death is not simply “sometimes things just happen” (105).