Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

Shark Girl is novel about a teenager who survives a shark attack and her struggle to reclaim her life.

The novel opens with fifteen-year-old Jane Arrowood experiencing phantom sensations of her missing right hand. She remembers that "on that day" her mother and her brother Michael headed to the beach with Jane having packed her sketch book in her beachbag.

In a news report it is reveals that on June 22, Jane was attacked at Point Dume State Beach in shallow water by a shark. Her brother saved her life by tying a tourquinet on her arm. She was rushed to UCLA hospital where her right arm was amputated. Dr. Andrew Kim tells reporters that she is lucky to be alive and is in a coma due to blood loss.

When Jane awakens from the coma after ten days, she learns that her right arm has been amputated above the elbow. Michael tells her that the attack was video taped by some guy on the beach and that it has been repeatedly played on television.

Jane's life revolves around her art and she wonders what happens now. Her mother, who teacher English at USC is with her and her grandparents are arriving soon. When her friends begin calling to see if they can visit, Jane's mother suggests they wait a few more days. Meanwhile, Jane receives not only letters, but many flowers and plenty of teddy bears, which she calls "pity bears". While Jane doesn't want any of this her mother encourages her to try to appreciate people's efforts. 

Jane misses her father who died when she was three-years-old of cancer. For twelve years she hasn't had a dad but right now she wishes she had a hug from him. Jane is assigned a therapist named Mel who tells her that it is fine to grieve the loss of her right arm. Although Jane's mother seems very optimistic, Jane does not feel that way. When her best friend Rachel visits, Jane tells her that she's tired of telling them "it's okay".  Jane tells Dr. Kim about the dreams she has of her arm being snapped off by an alligator or a dog and he explains that it is the brain attempting to reason out the phantom pain she is experiencing.

In the hosptial Jane has a team of specialists: a doctor, occupational therapist, rehab coordinator, psychologist, and physiotherapist. Each day is filled with a struggle: her friends visiting but the feeling of belonging to their group is missing, wondering what her life will be like, wishing she had died. She is tired of people telling her how strong and brave she is and wishes people would just say "Jane, you are a mess."

Eventually though, the time comes for Jane to go home from the  hospital. Not only is she now physically and mentally changed, but her life is forever altered. What does this mean for her? for her future? 

Discussion

Shark Girl is a realistic fiction novel that focuses on the inner journey a young teen girl undertakes after she suffers a life-altering injury. Fifteen-year-old Jane Arrowood was attacked by a shark and has had her right arm amputated. The attack is recounted in both newspaper articles which are written in prose and flashbacks by Jane in free verse, as well as letters written to her by people concerned for her or having suffered amputation. The novel is divided into three parts.

Author Kelly Bingham traces Jane's inner journey as she works her way through grieving the loss of her arm and her changed life. The newspaper articles portray the reporting of the accident and reveal that Jane is a prize-winning artist who attends Mountain Ridge High School. She has won state art competitions and won the top prize at the West Coast Wings Competition. They tell the reader what Jane has lost - the ability to do art, which up to this point in her life, has defined her. The free verse offers Jane's thoughts as she struggles to heal psychologically from her injury and deal with the changes in her life, while the letters offer examples of how others view these tragedies from the outside. 

In the hospital Jane receives much help in the form of occupational, physical and mental therapy. It's unfortunate that the occupational therapy was never focused on, because when Jane returns home it seems that she is unable to do anything. Having lost her dominant hand, she would need extensive and ongoing occupational therapy, something that doesn't appear to be happening. The same can be said of her mental therapy which appears to end once she leaves the hospital. 

While in the hospital, Jane struggles with what has happened. Her therapist Mel tells her to consider the "big picture", that 

"You could have died.

Instead, you are here. You have time to find out why.

You have your whole life to discover

and rebuild."

On days that feel like "canyon days" where she wishes she had died, Mel tells her to look at the smaller picture, sometimes one day, or one hour, or one minute.

As expected, once she returns home Jane's struggles only intensify as she faces the reality of her life. She blames herself  "If you had helped that lady. The one with the tray of  hot dogs..." she would have missed the shark. Later on she feels anger at Michael for saving her. Jane refers to herself as "Shark Girl".  At home Jane struggles: although she can dress herself, she doesn't cook,  doesn't help with chores around the house, refuses an invitation to meet her friends, and won't attend a support group. Ashamed of her missing limb, Jane wears a heavy sweater in the heat while walking Mabel. She refuses to enter the grocery store and instead attempts to stay in the hot car while her mother shops. However, the extreme heat forces Jane into the store where she feels everyone is staring at her. For Jane,

"Missing an arm is like wearing a coat,

a really big, hot, ugly coat

that I can't take off.

Ever.

it's all people see."

Folding laundry, taking out the garbage, are a struggle, but when Michael forces her to mow the lawn, Jane feels relief and grateful that he's treated her like "...old plain Jane". But it takes months for Jane to recover her desire to live life as she once did. When Jane returns to school in September she struggles with how others view her and the comments she overhears about her accident and her body. During this time, Jane returns to working on her art, attempting to teach her left hand to do what her right could do so well. She doesn't tell anyone except Justin about this.

"This thing is private,

very private, 

and no one needs to stand witness

with a stopwatch or a progress chart.

No one needs to say the wrong thing."

It isn't until the following March during a rainstorm that Jane, who used to cook most her family's meals, struggles to make scrambled eggs and toast.
"The eggs are overcooked.

The toast is a buttered murder victim.

But I'm proud, really proud,

like I just had a baby or something..."
Jane announces her accomplishment to their dog Mabel, noting,

"And the next time will be easier, I think.

And the next time, and the next time."

This point marks a significant change in how Jane thinks about her life. When she forgets to wash the dishes afterwards and her mother offers, Jane begins to realize that her mother will not always be there to help, in college or any other time. She volunteers at the hospital where she was taken after the shark bite, orders special items to help her with meal preparation and even more importantly Jane begins to see possibilites in her future. While talking with Max Shannon, Jane tells him that nursing and other options look "interesting" and she is shocked at this change in her thinking.

"So much looks interesting?

Wow.

Just a few months ago,

my radar was EMPTY.

So it's true, then?

Time makes a difference?"

But during this time, Jane still struggles with the "what if?": if she hadn't been swimming that day, if the shark had been somewhere else that day, if she had stayed home that day.... In this way, Bingham demonstrates that Jane's healing isn't a linear process, but one that occurs in steps with much struggle, regression and progress, making the portrayal feel realistic.

It takes time but eventually Jane does reclaim her life, offering readers a positive conclusion and an important reminder that the past cannot be changed but that the future is what we make of it, regardless of what has happened.  She bakes her specialty lemon bars for her mother, finds her stump that was "once alien, is returning to be a part of me." makes up with Angie, and gives Justin her first drawing - that of his beloved dog, Spot. 

Sharing Jane's journey is Justin,  a ten-year-old boy who lost his leg and was in the hospital during the same time period. Justin's innocence and forthright way of dealing with loss gradually open Jane to the possibilites open to her. When he learns that she is an artist and asks her to draw him a picture, Jane refuses telling him she can't use her other arm because it isn't her "good one". 

"Justin looks down. "Both my legs were good.

But now I only have one, so it's the good one.

Isn't that the way with your arm?"

Later on Justin asks Jane if she "hated everybody" because she looks like she does. He reminds her she just has to love her family including him! When Justin calls, Jane realizes that he isn't focused on his artificial limb because he's too busy living his life. In contrast, Jane hates her artificial arm which she has christened "Chuck".  She has "playdates" with Justin, who encourages her to work at her drawing and who models what recovery from a life-altering accident looks like: he plays baseball, wants to play soccer and doesn't see the limitations that Janes sees.  Eventually, as Jane reclaims her life and begins to heal, she lets Justin go, to live his own life, just as she must live hers.

Bingham has crafted realistic characters in Jane's mother and Janes friends: they are not perfect and like Jane are struggling to deal with what has happened and how to help Jane. They don't always do the right thing but their intentions are well meaning. The best example of this is Jane's friend Angie, who has her own issues with her body, but attempts to help Jane in ways that seem pushy and misguided.

There is a reference to Bethany Hamilton (not specifically named) who lost her left arm while surfing in Hawai'i to a shark in 2003. Twenty-six days after her ordeal, Hamilton was back out surfing - a remarkable feat to be sure, but one that most people would not be up to. Like Bethany Hamilton, the fictitious Jane Arrowood demonstrates resiliency, grit and determination.

Despite the heavy topic, Kelly Bingham has succeeded in crafting a novel that doesn't overwhelm but offers readers a chance to consider how they might help friends or family who suffer life-altering injuries.

Book Details:

Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
Candlewick Press       2007
276pp