It’s funny how this whole Smackdown thing works. All these months and here we are with the three finalists - all three very good books in their own right - and I didn’t find it really close at all. I feel confident in saying that The Thing About Jellyfish was the best book I read this round, although I’ll acknowledge there has been little time for reflection, as I literally finished it five minutes ago. I feel pretty confident in saying that you could give this book to anyone from a ten or eleven year old , ll the way on up and those readers are going to see themselves in some aspect of this book. I don’t think the prose is particularly sparkling, but I think it is a remarkably honest novel.I found the interplay between the infinite - our young narrator's ponderings on big history - and the intimate- her soul crushing grief and sorrow - really powerful and moving. The other books are very strong, but Jellyfish is the book that I sat down and bought a few copies of on Amazon before I started writing this brief reflection. I have people in my life who will love this book and I want to get it in their hands. (Please picture me very coolly - Obama, Kobe etc - dropping a mic)
My vote is also for The Thing About Jellyfish. While I enjoyed both of the other books, I feel Jellyfish will have wider appeal.
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