The Thing About Jellyfish Character Analysis

Suzy Swanson

Suzy Swanson is a 12-year-old girl with frizzy hair who lives in Massachusetts with her mom, sees her dad every Saturday night, and has an older brother named Aaron. The summer before seventh… read analysis of Suzy Swanson

Franny Jackson

Franny is a friend that Suzy makes when she is five years old. Although she died in a drowning accident before the events of the novel’s main timeline, she appears prominently in flashbacks. In early… read analysis of Franny Jackson

Suzy’s Mom

Suzy has lived with her mom ever since her mom and dad divorced. Suzy’s mom is a real estate agent who wants to help Suzy but struggles to understand her after Franny dies and Suzy… read analysis of Suzy’s Mom

Suzy’s Dad

Suzy’s dad is divorced from Suzy’s mom, but he sees Suzy once a week at a Chinese restaurant called Ming’s Palace. Although he is reliable about coming to see Suzy every week, he doesn’t… read analysis of Suzy’s Dad

Justin

Justin is a boy in Suzy’s grade. Although he struggles in school, he is friendly, particularly toward Suzy. When other students make fun of Suzy, calling her “Medusa” due to her frizzy hair and… read analysis of Justin

Mrs. Turton

Mrs. Turton is Suzy’s seventh-grade teacher. She notices that Suzy has been acting different from how she used to act in previous school years and decides to try to help her. She invites Suzy to… read analysis of Mrs. Turton

Dr. M. Legler/Dr. Legs

Dr. M. Legler is the child psychologist that Suzy’s mom and dad take her to see after she stops talking in the wake of Franny’s death. Suzy don’t talk to her, but she… read analysis of Dr. M. Legler/Dr. Legs

Aaron

Aaron is Suzy’s older brother; he lives with his boyfriend Rocco. He is always patient with Suzy, even when she steals money from his apartment. Suzy looks up to Aaron, and at the… read analysis of Aaron

Aubrey

Aubrey is a popular girl in Suzy and Franny’s grade that they each pledge never to be like—they think she’s mean. But, over time, Franny starts acting more like Aubrey and spending time with… read analysis of Aubrey

Sarah Johnston

Sarah is a friend that Suzy meets near the end of the book. Although Suzy frowns at Sarah the first time she tries to join Suzy in Mrs. Turton’s classroom during lunch, Suzy later… read analysis of Sarah Johnston

Minor Characters

Dr. Jamie Seymour

Dr. Jamie Seymour is a real-life scientist who studies jellyfish and who becomes the obsession of the novel’s fictional protagonist, Suzy. Suzy admires how Jamie was stung by a deadly jellyfish but went right back into the water to continue his research shortly after recovering.

Franny’s Mom

Suzy doesn’t contact her best friend Franny’s mom for a long time after Franny’s death, but eventually, they have an important phone conversation where Franny’s mom helps Suzy understand how much Franny looked up to Suzy.

Dylan

Dylan is a boy in Suzy and Franny’s class. Suzy thinks he’s mean, but eventually Franny comes to think that he’s cute. One day, Suzy has a horrifying experience when she witnesses Dylan kill a frog by throwing it against a tree, which Franny does nothing to stop.

Rocco

Rocco is Aaron’s live-in boyfriend. Suzy remembers the day she first met him and how he was initially introduced as just a friend.

Molly

Molly is a friend of Audrey’s that Suzy struggles to fit in with.

The Thing About Jellyfish Characters