In the Ranks: Firegirl by Tony Abbot

Genre: general fiction, young adult
Rating / Class: Sloop, with the makings of a Frigate

Firegirl is a sad story, sweet with a lot of bitterness. The story of how hurtful words can be, how deeply emotions can be hidden, and how simple a kind look can really be.

Tom is a typical school kid with a normal life: he hangs out with comic books and his best friend, car magazines and school uniform, and logs to ride in a real-life Cobra.

What Tom doesn't know is that he takes his normal, average day for granted. There's a new girl coming to school who would give anything to have that normal life he has ... again.

When Jessica Freeney first enters class, Tom and his classmates don't know what to do. Do they look into her burned face and pretend it looks normal? Do they say hello - can she even talk? Should they hold hands with her during prayers, her clawlike, scarred fingers grasping theirs? Should they even ask her how she got burned in the first place?

It's too horrible to think about for some of the kids, including Jeff, Tom's best friend. "Freakin' firegirl," he mutters day in and day out. Tom doesn't want to make a big deal out of it - she is a human after all.... But how do you stop the hatred of others? And how do you swallow your own awkwardness and fear?

It's a charming, realistic story of friendship, self-hate, comfort zones, and the power of words. I read this story in one sitting, and grew very attached to all of the characters in this story. I smiled at Tom's naive realism as he wondered why people just wouldn't shut up about the whole thing; I cried when Jessica described how her family changed after her accident; and my heart went out to Jeff as he struggled with his hatred for not only Jessica, but his own broken family. It isn't an earth-shattering story...but it is a tear jerker, and very thought-provoking about what words really mean, and how the simplest actions can mean everything.