Firegirl by Tony Abbott

Firegirl by Tony Abbott

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Firegirl by Tony Abbott

As a reporter I would say the realistic story of a 7^th grader Tom and his fellow classmates at St.Catherine catholic school evokes empathy. Tom’s only friend Jeff   has issue with his parents and usually appears sad. Jessica on the other hand is a burn survivor and is new girls in Tom’s class. The rest of the student appears to be scared of her because of her condition. However tom the seemingly antisocial boy seems to get along well with Jessica. Tom’s relationship with Courtney his crush takes a positive turn as everyone in class starts to notice him.

Tom Bender is a fat smelly boy who has a crush on stunning Courtney Zisky and often fantasizes of how he could save Courtney’s life however Courtney hardly notices him. Tom’s attention is drawn away when Mrs. Tracy announces a new girl will be arriving that day. Mrs. Tracy announces that the new girl Jessica was involved in a fire and will be attending their school will visiting the nearby hospital for treatment. Little is known on the reality of Jessica’s looks to Tom and his classmates even after Mrs. Tracy warns them of Jessica’s looks .Jessica arrives and Tom and his classmates are shocked by Jessica’s appearance. Toms thinks she must be in a lot of pain and even suggests that with that kind of burns may make one scream to death. Tom’s friend Jeff Hicks is disgusted by Jessica’s appearance. Tom slowly learns about Jessica that her parents are from Boston. Jessica has had many skin grafts and that she has been to many schools and that she might not be around for long.

Firegirl is a story that tries to bring forward the fact that a person’s appearance does not really reflect who a person is. This is clearly demonstrated by the interaction between Tom and Jessica. Jessica is severely burned and his and this has really altered her appearance making her classmates speculate about her. Toms describes her face appearing like a mask and her lips swollen such that they could fill the space between her nose and her chin. He even looks at her face back and forth wondering if he is looking at a dead person. Later Tom’s perspective on Jessica Feeney changed after learning about burns. He describes how he started staring at her in class especially when he knew she wasn’t looking. He says that looking at her from the side suggested that she was like any other girl as you cannot see her hands and the face He goes on to say that with even with her condition he felt there was a person inside her.

Jessica is a victim of a fire that burned her destroying her face and body while her parents are from Boston. She attends St. Catherine’s catholic school as she receives treatment from a nearby hospital. She has been to many school a therefore she is used to classmates staring at her and even gossiping about her.  Jessica may not be as beautiful as Courtney zisky but she gets the attention of Tom bender. Jessica also alters the way Tom thinks of life. Jessica describes of how her burns and face doesn’t matter compared to what she experience she gets when she goes to the hospital.

The novel reflects on how Tom views friendship and deals with acceptance as he himself was not accepted prior to Jessica’s arrival by his classmates. It is a view of how a person’s appearance goes beyond the surface appearance and how inner beauty can create a firm connection. Tom Bender later on in the book realizes what matters in life. He hugs Jessica despite having thought he would never touch her and goes on to cry when she leaves.

References

Cajuns, H., & Sextons, G. The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults.