 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Shark Girl
- By Kelly Bingham
- Genre: Coming of Age
Common Sense Media says
Introspective look at a teen's road to recovery.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there is graphic description of the physical, mental, and emotional trauma of a 15-year-old girl being attacked by a shark and having her arm amputated. Profanity is present but fairly mild, and there is discussion of having boyfriends, kissing them, etc.
What's the story?
Jane is an award-winning, 15-year-old artist who joins her mother and brother on a routine trip to the beach one summer afternoon. A few hours later, she's attacked by a shark while swimming only four yards from the shore. Her right arm is amputated above the elbow, and her life is changed forever.
Jane is acutely aware of boys and how they'll respond to her with an artificial arm back at school. People reach out to her though, including a "popular senior boy" that stirs some school gossip and tension with a girl friend. Volunteering at the hospital and helps her on her slow journey of self-discovery and acceptance.
Is it any good?
This is an emotional book that's best for the tender-hearted reader ready for some soul-searching. Written using narrative, poems, and letters to Jane from strangers moved by her story, the story follows Jane's slow progress to accepting her traumatic experience. The sadness, hopelessness, and depression felt by the main character, along with emotions of meaningful people in her life, are honestly depicted through dialogue and plot and will be quite moving to the right kind of introspective reader.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the challenges Jane faces when she loses her arm. Can you imagine how this would make your own life more difficult?
Also, parents can ask their teens about the person who videotaped the
attack and then had the film shown on TV.Was this appropriate, and was
there anything positive to be gained by showing the footage?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
wooooooooooooooo
I'm a 13 year old kis myself, and i didnt think that the book was to bad it was pretty good. the book DOES give visiual images
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Kid, 12 years old
December 2, 2010
AGE
GREAT FOR ALL AGES!!!!!!
shark attack, a young girl, a lost arm, and a hole lot more! right now im reading this book for the first time and i heard it is suppose to be awesome my friend told me to read it and i did i love it so if your at a libary ask if they have SHARK GIRL it rock!!!
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AGE
fabulous!
i think besides the bad laungage (not alot though) its a really good book! whenever i start reading i cant stop until like an half hour atleast!!!!!or much longer!i thinks its amazing and you should read it.
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AGE
A truly fantastic novel about a young girl dealing with huge problems. An eye-opener about what it is really like to be a teenage outcast in every sense of the word.
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AGE
A MUST READ FOR ALL TEEN GIRLS!!!!
i loved this book and i think that the fact that it is written in verse is a neat idea and a new twist on books in general....this book tells and good story and you walk away learning a lesson or at least thinking about what you have just read.... this book will really touch you i suggest that everyone read it......for her first book Kelly did well... i can't wait to see what else she comes out with!!!!!
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AGE
Great book for people 11+, most likely girls
i love this book because the girl was doing what she loves, is attacked, and keeps goin on with what she loves to do when she is healed. she is a great role model. this book is also a true story.
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Kid, 12 years old
December 11, 2010
AGE
best book shark girl
loved this book it was good. i have to write a paper about it.
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AGE
A must- read book
It is an amazing story about a girl who gets chewed-off an arm by a shark. However, she still manages to persever in life.
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| Author: | Kelly Bingham |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Coming of Age |
| Publisher: | Candlewick Press |
| Publication date: | April 19, 2007 |
| Number of pages: | 288 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 12 - 12 |
| Read aloud: | 12 |
| Read alone: | 12 |
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