ALI BENJAMIN

Suzy Swanson está segura de que conoce el verdadero motivo de la muerte de su amiga Franny Jackson. Todo el mundo dice que es imposible saber lo que realmente ocurrió, que son cosas que pasan. Pero Suzy sabe que tiene que haber una explicación científica. Apenada por la muerte de su mejor amiga, y por los últimos momentos que pasaron juntas, se recluye en su mundo interior y decide no volver a hablar. Convencida de que la muerte de Franny se debió a una picadura de medusa, inventa un plan para demostrarlo, aunque para ello tenga que dar la vuelta al mundo… sola. Mientras se prepara para esta aventura, descubre cosas extraordinarias, entre otras que la capacidad de amar y de tener esperanza están más cerca de lo que creía.

In this highly anticipated second novel by the author of the award-winning, bestselling The Thing About Jellyfish, being the new kid at school isn't easy, especially when you have to follow in the footsteps of a classroom prankster like Paulie Fink. When Caitlyn Breen enters the tiny Mitchell School in rural Mitchell, Vermont, she is a complete outsider: the seventh grade has just ten other kids, and they've known each other since kindergarten. Her classmates are in for a shock of their own: Paulie Fink--the class clown, oddball, troublemaker, and evil genius--is gone this year. As stories of Paulie's hijinks unfold, his legend builds, until they realize there's only one way to fill the Paulie-sized hole in their class. They'll find their next great Paulie Fink through a reality-show style competition, to be judged by the only objective person around: Caitlyn, who never even met Paulie Fink. Who was this kid, anyway--prankster, performance artist, philosopher, or fool? Caitlyn's quest to understand Paulie is about to teach her more about herself than she ever imagined. Told via multiple voices, interviews, and other documents, The Next Great Paulie Fink is a lighthearted yet surprisingly touching exploration of how we build up and tear down our own myths...about others, our communities, and ourselves.

It's peculiar how no-words can be better than words. How silence can say more than noise, or a person's absence can occupy even more space than their presence did.Suzy is 12 when her best friend, Franny, drowns one summer at the beach. It takes two days for the news to reach Suzy, and it's not something that she can accept: Franny has always been a strong swimmer, from the day they met in swim class when they were just 5. How can someone all of a sudden, just no longer be there?Suzy realizes that they must have got it wrong: Franny didn't just drown - she was stung by a poisonous jellyfish. This makes a lot more sense to Suzy's logical mind than a random drowning - cause: a jellyfish sting; effect: death.Suzy's journey to acceptance is quiet - she resolves to either say something important, or say nothing at all. But it's also bursting with bittersweet humour, heart-breaking honesty, big ideas and small details.Perfect for fans of Wonder, Counting By 7s and My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece.