STARRED Book Review: The Jellyfish

Reviewed by Timothy Thomas

A whimsical tale in a beautiful package

Odette has a jellyfish in their eye. It’s kind of like an eye floater, but it’s got tentacles. It dangles. It’s dark, and it obstructs Odette’s view. Since it’s not getting any bigger, it could be nothing to worry about.

Or it could be.

Odette is a relatable, awkward early adult who dropped out of college and lives by themself to the chagrin of their parents, supporting themself with limited income from a bookstore. Sure, the story is largely about the jellyfish, but it’s even more about the person. They have an instantly lovable longtime friendship with Leo and a moving newfound romantic relationship with Naina. And like any romantic relationship, it can be difficult for a variety of reasons. In Odette’s, it stems from a lack of communication about the jellyfish problem.

At first, there’s only one jellyfish, but it multiplies. It advances from a minor annoyance to a serious disturbance that affects everything they’ve ever known. The thing has happened.

Jellyfish does a lot right in balancing the angst of this situation and the travails of early adulthood with hopeful commentary on love and relationships. It’s a sad story, no doubt, but it’s made buoyant with hope. That is really where the story shines. Though Odette is dealing with this crisis, the novel is less about the onset blindness and more about the value of relationships in helping us stay afloat in the midst of our difficulties. 

And the illustrations, just as you could imagine from this cover, are gorgeous. They set exactly the tone we need; purple to convey sadness, purple to convey hope. We aren’t just listening to Odette complain about the jellyfish; we are feeling it, seeing it, worrying about it along with them. Where words fail to convey the frustration of Odette’s predicament, the artwork speaks for it. The graphic novel form is the only way to tell Odette’s story, and Boum is the only artist for the job.

Jellyfish is both comforting and sad. It is both timeless and present. It is a real one.

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