Common Sense Media Review
Introspective look at a teen's road to recovery.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 15 kid reviews
Kids say this book is an engaging read that effectively portrays the challenges faced by a young girl who survives a shark attack, though it includes some foul language. Many reviewers recommend it for older kids, praising its inspirational message about resilience and recovery, while noting that it may not be suitable for younger audiences due to the language.
- engaging read
- inspirational message
- older kids
- some foul language
- resilience theme
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
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.
Talk to Your Kids 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?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Candlewick Press
- Publication date : April 19, 2007
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 12
- Number of pages : 288
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate