Jillan Wine’s short story “Jillian Giggs, a Teenage Perspective” portrays the positive effects that adversity has on the human spirit. The protagonist, Jillian Giggs, encounters several problems throughout her first year in grade 7, including her parents divorce, failing an important math test and her best friend moving to New York. When Jillian first learns of her parents’ divorce, she becomes depressed. This obstacle seems too difficult for her to overcome. She does, however, after speaking to her high school guidance counsellor eventually come to terms with her father and mother’s severed relationship and ultimately, she learns to accept the fact that her family has changed. At the end of the story, Jillian explains to her counsellor how