Firegirl

Unremarkable Tom Bender's predictable year at Saint Catherine's is shaken up when Jessica Feeny arrives. She is temporarily enrolled while she's being treated at a local burn hospital. Sean Kenin employs a believable seventh-grade-boy's voice as Tom navigates a lopsided, needy friendship with his only friend, Jeff Hicks, and imagines ways to attract the attention of the lovely Courtney Zisky. Kenin gives Tom the fast-paced, self-absorbed voice typical of the young adolescent. We hear him wrestle between the aversion he feels toward the hideously disfigured Jessica and the compassion he feels for a fellow outcast. As he comes out of his shell, he tentatively reaches out in friendship and finds a courage he didn't know he possessed. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

Starred review from May 22, 2006
Abbott's (the Secrets of Droon series) stirring novel centers on Tom Bender, who describes himself as a "sweaty, fat kid" who feels invisible much of the time. ("People don't really talk to me much in school or notice me.... My mother says it's because I don't 'get out there.' ") The seventh-grade narrator's only friend is Jeff, who seems angry quite often since his father moved out. Tom has a crush on Courtney, a beautiful and popular classmate, and he imagines himself as a superhero who can rescue her from danger. But it isn't Courtney who needs rescuing. Jessica, who has been badly burned in a fire, joins their class at St. Catherine's when she moves to town to undergo skin grafts at a nearby hospital. "I remember wondering how someone looking like that could even be alive," Tom says the first time he sees her. None of the students attempts to get to know Jessica. Tom, too, initially keeps his distance, though he (unlike Jeff) holds her hand during class prayer time. When he brings Jessica her homework on a day she is absent, the girl poignantly opens up to him and he, in turn, shares his secret thoughts and superhero fantasies with her. Though fleeting and fragile, Tom's connection to Jessica changes his perspective on himself, his peers and friendship, and underscores the reward of reaching out to another—of getting "out there." This novel may be brief, but it leaves a big impact. Ages 8-12.

August 13, 2007
Kenin is believable as Tom Bender, the seventh-grade narrator of this brief, affecting tale about how a young burn victim shakes up the lives of everyone around her. Tom, who describes himself as a chubby, sweaty kid that nobody really notices, inadvertently draws attention to himself by being the one person who shows small kindnesses to new classmate Jessica, a girl badly disfigured in a fire. Tom and Jessica begin to bond when Tom delivers her homework on a day that Jessica has been absent from school. But just as the friendship starts to take hold, Jessica and her family abruptly leave town to seek treatment for her at a hospital in a different city. Though Tom had known Jessica for only a short time, he now knows he's forever changed. Kenin conveys Tom's transformation, largely in a final conversation with Jessica, with an authentic-sounding emotional poignancy that is hard to forget. Ages 10-up.

July 1, 2007
Gr 5-7- -Tom Bender, a 7th grader, is overweight and usually goes unnoticed. He pines for the beautiful Courtney, and his best friend is dealing with unsettling issues at home. Much of this takes on new meaning when Jessica Feeney enrolls at his school while she is seeking medical treatment. Jessica, a burn victim, has disfiguring scars over most of her body and face. Rumors and gossip begin to swirl and Tom's classmates try to avoid the girl. Tom is conflicted about his feelings, but his hesitant efforts to befriend Jessica have a profound influence on his life. Tony Abbott's novel (Little Brown, 2006) is ultimately about friendship, acceptance, and the need to look beyond the exterior of a person. Sean Kenim's narration flawlessly evokes each character's personality and mood as well as the tender moments between Jessica and Tom. With abundant potential for discussion, this audiobook is a terrific choice for school and public library collections.-Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.