Top 10 facts about jellyfish

They've been around for at least 600 million years - before dinosaurs, bony fish, insects, trees, flowers or fungi - and survived five mass extinctions. Ali Benjamin tells us why she is deeply fascinated by jellyfish

In my debut novel, The Thing about Jellyfish, Suzy Swanson - an awkward, methodical 12-year-old who refuses to engage in small talk - learns that her former best friend, Franny, has drowned. Franny was a good swimmer, and no adult can sufficiently explain how something like this could happen. Desperate for answers, Suzy becomes convinced that the true cause of her friend's death was a rare jellyfish sting. She's determined to prove it. As Suzy researches her hypothesis, she becomes utterly obsessed with jellyfish.

Related: The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin - review