Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

This sequel to Shark Girl (2007) chronicles Jane's recovery from her injuries. The verse format enhances the affecting story as Jane struggles with boyfriends and with her future: Will she become a nurse or continue as an artist even though she has lost her drawing hand? Her artwork continues to improve, but she feels obligated to give back to others what she received from the doctors and nurses who saved her life when she lost her right arm to a shark. She receives letters, interspersed throughout the book with no comment, from strangers who have been following her story. Do these influence her? Meanwhile she struggles in her science class, finally hiring a tutor who turns out to be Max, "the heartthrob who got away" in the last book. Max loves swimming, however, and when Jane decides to go with him to the pool, she finds that she can't cope emotionally with being near water again. Meanwhile she faces another difficult decision: whether or not to undergo more hated surgery to cure the neuroma that's causing excruciating pain in her phantom limb. Bingham hits the mark with her completely realistic portrait of a strong girl coping with emotional difficulties, taking advantage of her format to include a lyricism that might be lost in straight prose. An absorbing, genuine and uplifting tale of a strong girl making difficult decisions. (Fiction/verse. 12 & up)

ALA Booklist

Everyone remembers the horrible accident, but Jane just wants to return to her new normal friend-filled senior year with a bucket list that includes choosing a college and a major, winning the art competition, and going to the prom. Oh, and experiencing her first kiss! But who will ask a one-armed girl to the prom, much less kiss her? In this sequel to Shark Girl (2007), Bingham explores the reality of a teen whose life has been nearly destroyed by a vicious shark attack and her struggle to live a typical last year of high school in spite of the public's well-intentioned curiosity. In lyrical yet easy-to-read free verse consisting of e-mails, texts, lists, and first-person narrative, Jane weighs art and nursing as career choices with purpose, struggles with the public perception of her as a heroine and role model, and relishes the feelings of first love. Multifaceted supportive characters, both young people and adults, add heft to this novel about a courageous young woman intent on re-creating the richness of the life she led before it was so rudely interrupted.

Horn Book

A year after losing her arm in a shark attack, Jane, a senior, deliberates between art school and nursing. She feels obligated to help others since her "miracle" survival, yet she's still passionate about painting. The free-verse novel captures the highs and lows of a young woman living through extraordinary circumstances and an otherwise typical adolescence.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

This sequel to Shark Girl (2007) chronicles Jane's recovery from her injuries. The verse format enhances the affecting story as Jane struggles with boyfriends and with her future: Will she become a nurse or continue as an artist even though she has lost her drawing hand? Her artwork continues to improve, but she feels obligated to give back to others what she received from the doctors and nurses who saved her life when she lost her right arm to a shark. She receives letters, interspersed throughout the book with no comment, from strangers who have been following her story. Do these influence her? Meanwhile she struggles in her science class, finally hiring a tutor who turns out to be Max, "the heartthrob who got away" in the last book. Max loves swimming, however, and when Jane decides to go with him to the pool, she finds that she can't cope emotionally with being near water again. Meanwhile she faces another difficult decision: whether or not to undergo more hated surgery to cure the neuroma that's causing excruciating pain in her phantom limb. Bingham hits the mark with her completely realistic portrait of a strong girl coping with emotional difficulties, taking advantage of her format to include a lyricism that might be lost in straight prose. An absorbing, genuine and uplifting tale of a strong girl making difficult decisions. (Fiction/verse. 12 & up)

School Library Journal (Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

Gr 9 Up-Told in narrative verse, this coming-of-age story showcases a teen's mental turmoil and, ultimately, her strength of character. High-school senior Jane Arrowood may have healed physically from the loss of her arm in a shark attack a year ago, but she still grapples with emotional scars in this sequel to Shark Girl (Candlewick, 2007). She struggles as she tries to decide which path to take: continue her love of art as a painter, or try becoming a nurse-a way of paying back those who saved her life. Poems are interspersed with "fan mail," which is condescending and inspiring by turns. Some of the letters say things like, "Seeing you makes me realize how lucky I am," while others simply offer encouragement. No one is more surprised than Jane by a budding new relationship with college freshman Max Shannon. She discovers that he's dealing with troubles of his own as he's chosen to give up going away to school to care for his mentally troubled father. Recommend this novel to teens looking for something that falls somewhere between the poetic melodrama of Ellen Hopkins and the soul-searching realistic fiction of Sarah Dessen. Madigan McGillicuddy, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, Atlanta, GA