Firegirl

Abbott, Tony. Firegirl. 2006. 145p. ISBN 0-316-01171-1. FIC ABB on the library shelves.

Tom is in the 7th grade in St. Catherine’s Catholic school in New Haven, Connecticut. His life is typical of a middle schooler. He loves cars, especially the Cobra, and he cannot stop thinking about Courtney, the most beautiful girl in his class. In fact, when he daydreams he conjures scenarios that involve him saving her from sure harm. But to most, he’s invisible, someone no nobody else wants.

The social order established in the classroom is upended when Jessica arrives near the end of September. Badly disfigured and burned in a car accident, Jessica is being treated at the burns unit at the New Haven hospital, and will attend classes when she can. Suddenly, Jessica is all that people can talk about and speculate as to what happened to her.

Tom finds himself drawn to Jessica despite his attraction for Courtney and means words from his best friend Jeff. Gradually everything that Tom thought important disappears in the background, as he learns that beauty is not necessarily on the outside of a person. Tom’s growth from a child to a young adult is well illustrated in this amazingly written book. You will not be able to put it down.