Children - Fiction & Literature

Firegirl

Name: Firegirl
Author: Tony Abbott
ISBN: 9780316011709

by Tony Abbott

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Overview

"This novel may be brief, but it leaves a big impact."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Tom's a normal seventh-grader, negotiating a slightly prickly stage in his long friendship with Jeff...The arrival of new girl Jessica Feeney, however, changes everything; Jessica, who is attending a local hospital for treatment, has been badly burned by a fire, and her terrible disfigurement shocks the class into confusion. This isn't the usual book about adjustment to difference; instead, Abbott brilliantly explores the kids' struggle to manage the intrusion of abnormality in their lives...this is a thoughtful exploration of a brief interlude's lasting impact."
-The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Synopsis

"...there is..." Mrs. Tracy was saying quietly, "there is something we need to know about Jessica..."

From this moment on, life is never quite the same for Tom and his seventh-grade classmates. They learn that Jessica has been in a fire and was badly burned, and will be attending St. Catherine's while getting medical treatments. Despite her horrifying appearance and the fear she evokes in him and most of the class, Tom slowly develops a tentative friendship with Jessica that changes his life.

Tony Abbott is the author of over 35 books for young readers, including the extremely popular The Secrets of Droon series. In Firegirl he has written a powerful book that will show readers that even the smallest of gestures can have a profound impact on someone's life.

Publishers Weekly

Kenin is believable as Tom Bender, the seventh-grade narrator of this brief, affecting tale about how a young burn victim shakes up the lives of everyone around her. Tom, who describes himself as a chubby, sweaty kid that nobody really notices, inadvertently draws attention to himself by being the one person who shows small kindnesses to new classmate Jessica, a girl badly disfigured in a fire. Tom and Jessica begin to bond when Tom delivers her homework on a day that Jessica has been absent from school. But just as the friendship starts to take hold, Jessica and her family abruptly leave town to seek treatment for her at a hospital in a different city. Though Tom had known Jessica for only a short time, he now knows he's forever changed. Kenin conveys Tom's transformation, largely in a final conversation with Jessica, with an authentic-sounding emotional poignancy that is hard to forget. Ages 10-up. (May)

About the Author, Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott is the author of over 35 books for young readers, including the extremely popular Droon series, which has sold over 4.5 million books to date. He has been a bookseller and librarian, and currently lives in Connecticut with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Abbott's (the Secrets of Droon series) stirring novel centers on Tom Bender, who describes himself as a "sweaty, fat kid" who feels invisible much of the time. ("People don't really talk to me much in school or notice me.... My mother says it's because I don't `get out there.' ") The seventh-grade narrator's only friend is Jeff, who seems angry quite often since his father moved out. Tom has a crush on Courtney, a beautiful and popular classmate, and he imagines himself as a superhero who can rescue her from danger. But it isn't Courtney who needs rescuing. Jessica, who has been badly burned in a fire, joins their class at St. Catherine's when she moves to town to undergo skin grafts at a nearby hospital. "I remember wondering how someone looking like that could even be alive," Tom says the first time he sees her. None of the students attempts to get to know Jessica. Tom, too, initially keeps his distance, though he (unlike Jeff) holds her hand during class prayer time. When he brings Jessica her homework on a day she is absent, the girl poignantly opens up to him and he, in turn, shares his secret thoughts and superhero fantasies with her. Though fleeting and fragile, Tom's connection to Jessica changes his perspective on himself, his peers and friendship, and underscores the reward of reaching out to another of getting "out there." This novel may be brief, but it leaves a big impact. Ages 8-12. (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

When burn victim Jessica Feeney enters St. Catherine's school, she is almost too hideous to behold. Although Mrs. Tracy, the homeroom teacher attempts to prepare the students, no one is really ready for the shock of Jessica's appearance. Even though she is only in the school a few weeks, her presence and her ordeal changes the life of one student, Tom Bender. Told in first person, this is a powerful story of simple things and the complexities of being sensitive. Tom has a crush on Courtney, a beautiful classmate, and when Jessica becomes a part of the class, making an impression on his secret love becomes the driving force of Tom's life. Vying for utmost importance in Tom's life is the promise of his friend, Jeff, that they will both take a ride in Jeff's uncle's Cobra. However, after meeting Jessica and coming to understand her accident, Tom's perspective is radically changed. 2006, Little Brown, Ages 8 to 12.
—Janice DeLong

VOYA - Arlene Garcia

Abbott, best known for several series for younger readers, creates in his first novel for young adults an affecting story about a middle school boy and his relationship with the new girl in his class. The cover, title, and premise of an outsider changing the life of a teen boy are reminiscent of Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl (Knopf, 2000/VOYA October 2000), but that is where the similarity ends. Abbott's heroine is outcast by her severe disfigurement and not choice. Tom and his classmates do not know how to react to Jessica, but when circumstances force Tom to visit her at home, his perception of her-and of his classmates-is radically altered. There is no simple ending to this story of how people respond when unimaginable tragedy strikes. Abbott proves that he is no mere series hack with this short but powerfully moving achievement. His masterful use of description evokes the depth of Jessica's suffering. A scene in the beginning where Tom and his friend burn a toy car juxtaposes hauntingly with the circumstances of the girl's gruesome accident. The complex relationship she has with her mother, who witnessed her daughter's transition from gifted beauty to shunned outsider but was unable to rescue her, is crystallized in one short paragraph involving a stuffed frog. Tom is, of course, changed forever by his brief friendship with Jessica, and readers will be too.

VOYA - Danielle Cooper

When a badly scarred girl shows up at St. Catherine's School, Tom Bender's seventh grade class is turned upside down. Even though she only stays for a short time, she teaches Tom a lesson about true beauty that he'll never forget. Written from Tom's point of view, Firegirl expresses the thoughts of a seventh grade boy who for the first time comes face to face with a situation where he must choose between doing the right thing or maintaining the popularity he has. Well-written and hauntingly realistic, Firegirl is a story that will stay with you for years to come.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7-Tom, a seventh grader, tells about the arrival of Jessica, a new student who was badly burned in a fire and is attending St. Catherine's while she gets treatments at a local hospital. The students in Tom's class are afraid of her because of her appearance but little by little he develops a friendship with her that changes his life. Through realistic settings and dialogue, and believable characters, readers will be able to relate to the social dynamics of these adolescents who are trying to handle a difficult situation. The students who shy away from Jessica are at a loss as to what to say. Tom begins to look beyond her exterior and realizes that his life will not be the same after she leaves, just three weeks later. The theme of acceptance is presented in a touching story of friendship that is easy to read yet hard to forget.-Denise Moore, O'Gorman Junior High School, Sioux Falls, SD Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Seventh-grader Tom Bender is nowhere near the in-crowd at St. Catherine's Catholic School. He does, nonetheless, have a crush on popular Courtney, and he fantasizes about saving her from wild disasters. Tom's only friend Jeff is struggling to deal with his parents' divorce as well as his father's indifference, and Jeff does so by acting out and lying. Not long after the start of the school year, Jessica Feeney joins their class. She's a burn survivor who's in town for treatment. The students don't know how to act around her. Jeff finds her abhorrent; Courtney feels sorry for her. A little scared at first, Tom slowly gets to know Jessica and misses her when she leaves abruptly. His short friendship with Jessica has gotten him noticed by Courtney and has started to draw him out of his shell. Prolific fantasy author Abbott has created a realistic wallflower struggling to bloom. However, Tom's fantasies quickly become repetitive, and several logical inconsistencies keep this from being totally successful, despite its worthy messages. (Fiction 9-12)