"I know some people have a thirty page rule. I wish they didn’t. I’d like to think there are so many..."

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I know some people have a thirty page rule. I wish they didn’t. I’d like to think there are so many wonderful surprises on page 31 of someone’s story. I’d like to think that the first line of a novel doesn’t make sense if you haven’t read the last. That they may discover that I’ve written a story about something more than territory wars between Boarders and Townies and Cadets.

For me, Jellicoe Road is a story of love between people, regardless of gender and age. It’s about the mistakes adults make for all the right reasons. It’s about redemption being possible in the most tragic of circumstances. It’s about girls challenging the boys they love and swooning when one tells her the extent of her importance in his life; and it’s about boys fighting the battles within the territory of their hearts. It’s about staying individual and still belonging to a community. It’s about pointing out the beauty of wonder in the midst of ugliness.

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- Melina Marchetta | 2009 Printz Award Acceptance Speech for On the Jellicoe Road [x] (via thebookhangover)