Firegirl by Tony Abbott was a thought provoking novel about acceptance and fear of the unknown. Jessica, a severely burned girl, joins Tom’s seventh grade class partially through the first term. She was only there for a couple weeks to receive treatments at a local hospital, but those few weeks made a difference in that class, especially for Tom Bender. Normality become defined as a lack of Jessica’s present. Her bodily deformations were something the kids didn’t understand and so naturally she scared them.

What, at first, was blatant ignoring of her presence quickly became mean and hateful. Tom saw the cruelty but would he step out against it or join in? Closer to home, how would we handle that situation?

What is also interesting to me is that the point of the book doesn’t seem to be that we should recognize that other people are human too no matter how different they may look on the outside. (While that is true.) It more seems like the author is telling us that we shouldn’t find our self-worth through acceptance from other people.

It didn’t have particularly impressive writing, but I also wasn’t distracted by it, which in my opinion is still a success. The book was a quick read and had easy vocabulary, which makes this possible for most middle schoolers. Also, coming from the perspective of someone who doesn’t quite fit in was probably the best way the author could’ve presented this book, as I think the majority of people feel that way in junior high and maybe always.

On a side note, I found this book because the cover enticed me. I liked it enough that I decided to read the book without even finding out more about it. I judged a book by its cover, and it was a good decision.

Kate

Firegirl by Tony Abbott
(c) 2006, Little Brown and Co.
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
ISBN: 0-316-01171-1
145 pages