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SHARK GIRL A young adult poetry novel.
What happens when life as you know it is changed forever?
What happens
when your dreams are snatched away?
And how do you move on when you have lost part of yourself forever?
Shark
Girl is a story of fifteen-year old Jane Arrowood, a budding artist and junior in high school. On a sunny summer day,
Jane goes to the beach with her family and goes for a swim. That's when everything changes---forever.
Now
she dreads returning to school, with her fake arm and the stares, whispers, and pity of the students around her.
Told in poems, letters, newspaper articles, and conversations, SHARK GIRL looks at what it's like to find the
courage to rebuild the life you thought you'd lost.
"With compassion,
candor, and riveting clarity, Kelly Bingham poses a paradox: Can a person really be whole without losing something first?"
--Tim Wynne-Jones, author of Rex Zero at the
End of the World
"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, along steps author Kelly
Bingham into the ranks of talented new writers with the compulsively readable Shark Girl. This debut novel
grabs hold and won't let go."
---Ron Koertge, author of Stoner
& Spaz, and Strays
"When fifteen year-old Jane is attacked by a shark, so much more is lost
than her arm. This heart-in-your-throat story, eloquently written, bravely examines the capability of the human spirit,
especially in the face of terror, indignity, and sorrow. Young readers will ache for Jane, but they will triumph, too.
Bravo to Kelly Bingham, a fresh new voice in young adult letters."
---Kathi
Appelt, author of My Father's Summers
From Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
"Bingham's debut novel strikes a delicate balance between shock story and emotive rant, and delivers a provocative
portrait of one girl's journey following a near fatal accident...... Powerful without being preachy, the book explores
hurdles that are bound to follow a physical disfigurement, and readers will come to empathize with and respect Jane for her
strength and brutal honesty."
From School Library Journal (starred review)
"Bingham's
free-verse novel neatly accomodates the teen's loss; her dreams, anger, and frustration are explored as she rebelliously
tries to adjust to her new circumstances.....Her voice is authentic and believable as both a teenager and a victim.
This engaging read will entice enthusiastic and reluctant readers; the drama of the shark attack will hook them, and Jane's
inner journey will hold them till the end."
From Shelf Awareness:
"Bingham's probing and
lyrical first novel begins with a free-verse poem that alludes to the narrator's missing right arm--and her mind and body's
inability to process its loss....The heroine repeatedly tries and finally learns to quiet the regrets-ridden "what if"
voice in her head, and to accept the reality of her situation. Her painful, gradual decsion to rejoin society begins
the difficult yet credible journey to recovery in this story of hope and perseverance."
Nominated
for Best Book For Young Adults, by the American Library Association.
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