Tony Abbott (1) (1952–)

Not a lot happens in this novel for intermediate readers, as young protagonist Tom Bender himself states: ”On the outside it doesn't look like much happened. A burned girl was in my class for a while. Once I brought her some homework. In class she said my name. Then she was gone. That's pretty much all that had happened.”

But although the narrative of Firegirl may be simple and straightforward, its sensitive exploration of a child's first encounter with difference and true suffering has show more a quiet power that sometimes moved me to tears. When Jessica Feeney appears in his seventh-grade class, Tom's first reaction is one of incredulous horror at her terribly disfigured appearance. Although he knows that he "shouldn't" feel this way, he longs for the normalcy of life before she first appeared, and only gradually does he come to see that there is a real person underneath all that frighteningly "melted" flesh.

Abbott handles Tom's inner conflicts beautifully, giving a realistic portrayal of how young people react to difference, but also showing an appreciation for their ability to see past it. Highly recommended. show less

This is a great book for helping kids think about what it means to be an outsider. The book is narrated by a Catholic school boy, and tells about the short period of time when Jessica Feeney, a young girl who'd been terribly burned, joined the class. The book doesn't flinch away from hard truths and doesn't lecture or condescend to younger readers. The book openly acknowledges that Jessica, with her hard experience and terrible scars, is not the same as her classmates. It explores the fear show more and gossip that her differences inspire in her classmates. And finally, the book points out that in spite of all her differences, she is still just a girl, and could get lonely behind all those scars. It's a challenging read, at times touching, and can help start conversations about how to face our unfounded fears when we meet someone like Jessica. show less

Stunned. That’s the only word I can think of. No string of words I could put together would do this book justice.

Denis died when he was 7-years-old under mysterious circumstances. For the last 5 years, he has been in an after-life limbo place called Port Haven. Dead people arrive on boats and stay until they are forgotten. Then they move on to eternal peace. Back in the real world, his twin Matt has discovered a file on Denis’s death, which has caused his grief to resurface. Denis must show more go back and help his family move on so that Denis can move on. One chapter in and my heart was already being crushed by the sadness of it all.

As if I wasn’t suffering enough, I had to deal with paragraphs like this in chapter 2. “You keep forgetting and forgetting until your whole self fades peacefully, like mist in the sun. Unless you try not to leave, or you remember too much, or you visit the living too often. Then you get ripped away from here. And it hurts. They scream, those souls do, who remain too long. You feel them getting pulled apart. Ripped right down the center.”

Slow. Exhale. I feel the knot in my stomach returning just thinking about it. This kind of language is standard fare for the entire book. I was literally a mess. This is not for the middle grade faint of heart. Trust me on this. What you’ll be dealing with is a 7-year-old lifeless body propped up against the Georgia monument at the Gettysburg Battlefield Park. Not kidding. You’ll also have to deal with Denis retracing his steps back from where he was found, to where he was kidnapped, to where he died. He has forgotten all of it. Now he must relive it, so his family will know what happened to him and have peace.

I have left out mega amounts of detail, but here are my final thoughts. The plot is amazing, like branches of a tree converging at the trunk. No linear garbage here. The details are deep. Every character is developed down to their toenails. The prose will leave you staring with your mouth open. I don’t know where this Tony Abbott came from, but he needs to get the Newbery medal today. There is, and will be, no competition. show less

Denis, who died five years ago, can be found in Port Haven, a place where souls wait to be scrubbed clean of all their earthly memories. If someone on Earth still remembers the dead person, it takes longer for their soul to become clean. No soul can move on until he or she is completely forgotten on Earth. During the five years since Denis’s death, Matthew, Denis’ twin, thinks about Denis so much, that Denis keeps growing. And lately, Matthew’s thoughts have been like thunderous static show more in Denis’ mind. Seeing no other way to get rid of the noise, Denis goes through “the razor” and returns to earth, but his plans of returning quickly to Port Haven, becoming completely clean, and moving on to his eternal rest are thwarted. Instead, Denis begins helping his brother find out what really happened when seven-year old Denis disappeared from an amusement park and ended up dead. Denis knows that a soul that spends too much time on earth can be eternally stuck, but he, also, realizes that he needs to help solve his murder in order to save his family that is being torn apart by grief. As Matt, Denis, their dad, and Matt’s friend, Trey, reenact the events that they do know, Denis begins remembering what happened- like how he didn’t just disappear but was kidnapped. And, he begins to understand how the seemingly disparate things that his great-grandmother, GeeGee, told him while they were together in Port Haven actually relate to his disappearance and death. Many of his family’s questions begin to find answers. How did Denis die? How did his body get to the Georgia monument at Gettysburg? And why did his kidnappers choose this as his final resting place?
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com show less