- There was buzz on Twitter about this book and how difficult it was to get into, so my curiosity was peaked!
I also recommend:
- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Summary from GoodReads:
‘m dreaming of the boy in the tree. I tell him stories. About the Jellicoe School and the Townies and the Cadets from a school in Sydney. I tell him about the war between us for territory. And I tell him about Hannah, who lives in the unfinished house by the river. Hannah, who is too young to be hiding away from the world. Hannah, who found me on the Jellicoe Road six years ago.
Taylor is the leader of the boarders at the Jellicoe School. She has to keep the upper hand in the territory wars and deal with Jonah Griggs – the enigmatic leader of the cadets, and someone she thought she would never see again.
And now Hannah, the person Taylor had come to rely on, has disappeared. Taylor’s only clue is a manuscript about five kids who lived in Jellicoe eighteen years ago. She needs to find out more, but this means confronting her own story, making sense of her strange, recurring dream, and finding her mother – who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road.
My Review:
On the Jellicoe Road is, quite possibly, one of the most complex young adult novels I’ve read to date. I will fully admit to feel frustrated and wanting to give up anywhere from 5 to 50 pages in – simply because the narration style, the back and forth, and the strange groupings of children had me confused. But then a story began to emerge and I was sucked in.
When that story hit me, I lived, breathed, and slept this book until it was done. My mind went into overtime working over the connections and trying to piece everything together neatly. But I didn’t lose the entertainment either – because I was seriously entertained by the antics of the Cadets, the Townies, and the Boarders. My best advice when trying to figure out what’s going on is to sit back and let the story wash over you and be patient, because oh.. your patience is going to be rewarded.
When Melina Marchetta began to tug together the pieces of this story, revealing bits and pieces, adding in a twist here, and taking one away there, I knew something special was happening. I wasn’t wrong. There’s a reason this book was a Printz winner, people. And if you are not a young adult reader, or are frustrated by the endless amount of “fluff” out there, then I tell you to go out right now and pick this book up. It’ll restore your faith – it did for me.
By far one of the top reads for me this year, and I picked it up on a whim after seeing some chatter about it on Twitter. So glad I dove into this one and stuck it out..
Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!
Belle’s Bookshelf| Justin’s Book Blog | Alexa Loves Books
- Method of Obtaining: I checked my copy out from my local library.
- Published by: Penguin Australia
- Release Date: 8/28/2006
