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Belzhar

Meg Wolitzer

3.47 · Rating details · 13,078 ratings · 2,381 reviews

If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be at home in New Jersey with her sweet British boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She’d be watching old comedy sketches with him. She’d be kissing him in the library stacks.

She certainly wouldn’t be at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont, living with a weird roommate, and signed up for an exclusive, mysteriou ...more

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Hardcover, 264 pages

Published September 30th 2014 by Dutton Books for Young Readers (first published January 1st 2014)

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3.47 ·

Rating details

· 13,078 ratings · 2,381 reviews

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Dec 11, 2014 Wendy Darling rated it did not like it

Shelves: eye-bleeding, annoying-main-characters, read-2014, penguin, realistic-fiction, young-adult, unreliable-narrator, major-plot-twist, hipster-ya, flames-on-the-side-of-my-face

<.<

This story makes a mockery of love, emotional integrity, and mental illness, and it's glamoured by unmagical magical realism, a "sophisticated" literary style, and a twist upon which everything else hinges. I despise feeling manipulated (much as many of the characters in this book would if they had any sense), especially when the plot and writing are not particularly remarkable, and when the characters and relationships are so incredibly shallow and meaningless.

There's an attempt to in ...more

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Oct 27, 2014 karen rated it liked it

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya, books-claiming-to-be-like-secret-hi

i had a very medium response to this book. i'm conflicted about a number of its different elements, annoyed/perplexed by others, but also pretty impressed by the big reveal's ability to genuinely surprise me. however, that initial "pleasantly surprised" feeling morphed into additionally conflicted feelings once i processed the turn, so it's all a jumble of contradictory and confusing feelings.

which means i am in the same emotional state as all the characters in this book, so let's call it a 3.5 ...more

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May 07, 2014 Tatiana rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: read "The Bell Jar" instead

Shelves: 2014, ya, why-the-hype

It is astonishing how mediocre and immature this book is. Wolitzer is supposedly a writer of some critical acclaim, so how could she write something so poor?

The plot itself is ok I guess - a bunch of students with various psychological problems are learning to deal with them by experiencing their issues in a sort of hypnotic world of Belzhar (really?)

But EVERYTHING about this story is superficial - exploration of grief and guilt, portrayal of first love/obsession and mental illness, even teach ...more

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Aug 07, 2016 Maxwell rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own-it, 2016, ya

3.5 stars Reading this so soon after having read Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar for the first time was an interesting experience. If you can't tell from the title, Wolitzer pulls heavily from Plath's novel, but I wouldn't say this story is necessarily a remake or rip-off of the original.

In Belzhar, we follow Jam Gallahue, a sixteen year old girl who is sent to a school for students with 'issues,' whether they suffer from emotional, physical or psychological trauma. On her first day at The Wooden B 3.5 stars Reading this so soon after having read Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar for the first time was an interesting experience. If you can't tell from the title, Wolitzer pulls heavily from Plath's novel, but I wouldn't say this story is necessarily a remake or rip-off of the original.

In Belzhar, we follow Jam Gallahue, a sixteen year old girl who is sent to a school for students with 'issues,' whether they suffer from emotional, physical or psychological trauma. On her first day at The Wooden Barn (the school), Jam finds out she's in a class called Special Topics in English--a class that is only taught when the professor, Mrs. Q, feels like teaching it, and only for a select group of students. Jam, along with four other students at the school, is selected to participate and read Plath's novel and poetry over the course of one semester.

Throughout the course of the novel and the students' semester, we come to learn more about each character, to see them deal with their trauma, and grow close to one another. Alongside that is a plot surrounding something called Belzhar which I won't disclose in this review. But it's a unique and satisfying premise that relies enough on Plath's original work to introduce the themes but does most of the heavy lifting itself to develop each character, their growth and ultimately their conclusions.

I found Jam's situation to be the least compelling from the outside compared to the other students in her class, but because we see everything through her eyes, I came to really enjoy her narrative. It could've easily become something off-putting, but Wolitzer manages to create a vivid character that you can root for.

It's not the most mind-blowing book ever, but if you're a fan of Plath or at least have read The Bell Jar before, I can definitely recommend this one. It's got a great diverse cast of characters without feeling like it's checking off boxes, and they each have an important story to tell—perhaps you'll find one that you can relate to. ...more

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Aug 08, 2014 Melanie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, arc, young-adult, writing-envy, romance, je-suis-confused, mystery, death, could-have-been-so-much-better, contemporary

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

I originally rated this 2.5 stars but screw it, it's been almost 2 months since I read this and I'm still majorly pissed off. Lowered to 2 stars.

Belzhar is a very difficult book for me to review. I've been sitting here in front of my laptop for more than half an hour just fuming and raging inside because of this book. Because I cannot talk about the cons just yet, let me just tell you guys what this book is about.

This book is about Jam. Jam's full name is Ja See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

I originally rated this 2.5 stars but screw it, it's been almost 2 months since I read this and I'm still majorly pissed off. Lowered to 2 stars.

Belzhar is a very difficult book for me to review. I've been sitting here in front of my laptop for more than half an hour just fuming and raging inside because of this book. Because I cannot talk about the cons just yet, let me just tell you guys what this book is about.

This book is about Jam. Jam's full name is Jamaica; and yep, her parents named her after the place where she was conceived. As amusing as that is, Belzhar is not an amusing book. It is a dark and profound, for one of the first things we find out about our main character is that she was in love with Reeve Maxfield, and he died. Jam soon becomes inconsolable and her parents end up sending her to The Wooden Barn which is a school for teens who are "emotionally fragile, highly intelligent". At The Wooden Barn, Jam finds out that she's been chosen to be part of Mrs. Quenell's Special Topics in English class. This is an extremely selective and arguably elite course where only a handful of students (around 5) are selected to partake each year. Jam's roommate, DJ, tells her that all the students who took Mrs. Quenell's course in the previous years came out claiming that their lives had been changed forever, but no one outside the class really knows how; and those who were in the class never seemed to divulge much. So on the first day of her class, Jam is skeptical. Soon, she and the other students in her small class are handed a red leather notebook, and what they don't know is how much that notebook will change their lives.

Let's talk about the prose because it was one of the things I loved most here. Meg Wolitzer's writing skills are clearly not lacking. While I didn't have the best experience with this novel of her's, I am definitely going to check out her previous books. Her writing, though rather simplistic, was coated in honesty and bleakness and some of these moments in this novel hit really close to home for me.

And I also know that pain can seem like an endless ribbon. You pull it and you pull it. You keep gathering it toward you, and as it collects, you really can’t believe that there’s something else at the end of it. Something that isn’t just more pain.

One of my two issues I had this book was the superficiality of the characters and their relationships. I didn't manage to gain any emotional bond with any of the characters. Sure, I felt incredibly sorry for them and I was thoroughly intrigued by their pasts and what led them to end up at The Wooden Barn, but if they died randomly, I wouldn't have blinked any eye. What was more of a problem, for me, were the relationships--romantic and platonic. I totally didn't get why Jam and Griffin ended up smooching during this book. I mean, it was completely unnecessary and only took up pages when it shouldn't have. Jam was trying to deal with the repercussions of her boyfriend's death, for god's sake. This is just another classic example in YA books where someone meets someone else to help them move on. As for Jam and Sierra's friendship, it felt incredibly abrupt. One minute Sierra is completely closed off; the next minute they're BFFs. Please, just no.

If I hadn't read the ending of this novel, I would give this book around 3 stars. While I had issues with the characters and relationships, I loved the writing and the plot line (especially the Belzhar otherworld aspect). Unfortunately, the ending to Belzhar exists and I read it. And now, I fully regret it. I'm hiding this following part in spoiler tags to discuss why I hated the ending so much. (view spoiler)

"From New York Times bestselling author Meg Wolitzer comes a breathtaking and surprising story about first love, deep sorrow, and the power of acceptance." This is what the blurb says, and let me tell you now; this is not a story about first love, deep sorrow, and the power of acceptance. This is anything but those three things; this was an incredibly shallow story for one that first felt profound, and it really is a shame for me to say. I will say that this book was surprising, like the blurb notes, though. I did not see that ending coming, but that doesn't mean I liked it any more for that reason.

~Thank you Simon and Schuster Australia for sending me this copy!~

...more

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Jun 14, 2014 Jen Blair rated it did not like it

Forced, predictable, patronizing, trite. Just no. I have never been so disappointed in an author. I kept reading, hoping she would redeem herself. Nope.

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Jun 02, 2014 Giselle rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, own

It took me months to get through this one, I kept forgetting I was even reading it, so let's just say it wasn't a memorable read for me. It is unique, don't get me wrong, but I just didn't really care about any of these characters. Then when the magical element got introduced, it made the book even less interesting, not more as I had hoped.

Ok so let's start with this premise. After her boyfriend dies, Jam gets sent to boarding school for troubled teens, and in one of her classes she's given a jo It took me months to get through this one, I kept forgetting I was even reading it, so let's just say it wasn't a memorable read for me. It is unique, don't get me wrong, but I just didn't really care about any of these characters. Then when the magical element got introduced, it made the book even less interesting, not more as I had hoped.

Ok so let's start with this premise. After her boyfriend dies, Jam gets sent to boarding school for troubled teens, and in one of her classes she's given a journal that, to her surprise, sends her to a magical place whenever she writes in it. This place is free of pain and heartache: it's a world where the tragedy that brought them to this school has not happened. Although this might sound cheesy, I thought it was a really creative premise with tons of potential. I expected a lot of depth and soul searching, but instead I found myself getting bored while we did nothing but skim the surface, emotionally. The characters themselves were not bad, but they weren't especially interesting either. This "deep bond" that apparently connected them was brought up so much it only made it feel forced. So in turn, I quickly grew frustrated with it all.

This might just be my being used to extreme emotional situations in the books I read, but I couldn't stop from rolling my eyes at a few aspect in this story. Look at this class of people, for instance: a handful of teens selected from a pool of damaged kids because the teacher thought they needed special help to get through this difficult time. One is there because she was in an accident and got paralyzed, another is there because she's blaming herself for her brother's disappearance, and then we have this guy who's there because he found out his father cheated. Oh and also, because he's now getting Cs instead of As. Umm ok. That sucks and everything, but that hardly makes you a tragedy. Another instance that made me roll my eyes until they hurt, I unfortunately can't talk about. It's the "big reveal" of what really happened during the last day of Jam's boyfriend's life. And oh my freaking word you are not freaking kidding me! Kudos for being unpredictable, at least.

Then there were added details and sub plots in the book that were not really necessary and only distracted from the main storyline. The a cappella thing, the whole deal with her brother's snarky/changed behaviour, a freaking doe giving birth?? Why? I get that it can help to develop characters and give them a realistic life with family dynamics and such, but it just felt like pointless plot additions in this case.

All in all, Belzhar is an intriguing read, one that uses anticipation and curiosity in a way that makes you want to keep reading to find out the truth. With that said, despite my problems with it I do think it deserves 3 stars. It simply falls short emotionally and failed to live up to my expectations at the end.

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

...more

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Mar 19, 2014 Peter rated it it was amazing

Incredible. I inhaled this. It is like a dream. It is LITERALLY like a dream, and like a dream you cannot put it down. Sad, fascinating, funny, profound, real.

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May 15, 2014 Kim rated it did not like it

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary, read-2014, female-pov, tough-subjects, unreliable-narrator, annoying-mc

If you’re already skeptical about a person someone being in deep, dark mourning lasting a year over someone they knew for only a few weeks then this is definitely not going to be a book for you. Although normally that would put me off I really, really wanted this book to work. Considering Wolitzer is well established in adult literary fiction, I suppose I figured she was likely to have a shot at creating a truly wrenching story of lost love even if that love was so brief. There were a couple of ...more

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Nov 01, 2015 grace rated it really liked it

4.5! I was sent this book by Penguinteen in exchange for an honest review.

You know those books where you just go into them expecting ehhh, but come out of them like "holy heck this was amazing, and changed my mind set," yeah, well this was one of those books for me.

I found out this novel is greatly inspired by Sylvia Plath's book Bell Jar, which I have not read, but now really really want to.

We follow, Jam, a young girl whose first love died. She’s struggling with her situation, and is put in ...more

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May 12, 2014 Jennifer rated it did not like it

BELZHAR read like a book that someone who "thinks" YA sounds like. And what I mean by that is it's repetitive and there's a lot of unnecessary dialogue that tells rather than shows instead of believing in the intelligence of the reader, which offended me as a fan of the genre. I sped through this in one day as I didn't feel a particular connection to the narrator or other students, things got wrapped up way too nicely considering, and certain tropes happened as well as a "twist" inserted that se ...more

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Nov 01, 2015 Temi Panayotova rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

http://www.writingis.fun/%D0%B1%D0%B5...

Преди няколко дни приключих „Белжар“ и мисля, че ми трябваше малко време докато се съвзема и напиша това ревю. Книгата ме накара да изпитам толкова много различни чувства докато я четях и жадно попивах всяка една дума и така чак до самия й край.

Някъде прочетох, че книгата била избрана от „Амазон“ за една от 100-те книги за тийнейджъри, които всеки човек трябва да прочете независимо от възрастта си. Може да не съм споменавала до сега – но аз не обичам да пр ...more

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Oct 08, 2014 Larry H rated it really liked it

I'd rate this 4.5 stars.

You know, I thought this book was pretty fantastic. A little implausible? Sure, but I didn't feel like that lessened its appeal or emotional pull.

Jamaica "Jam" Gallahue is reeling from the death of her boyfriend, English exchange student Reeve. Even though they were only together for 41 days, their feelings for each other were so intense, and Jam is unable to cope with her grief, which upsets her family and alienates her closest friends. All she wants to do is relive thei I'd rate this 4.5 stars.

You know, I thought this book was pretty fantastic. A little implausible? Sure, but I didn't feel like that lessened its appeal or emotional pull.

Jamaica "Jam" Gallahue is reeling from the death of her boyfriend, English exchange student Reeve. Even though they were only together for 41 days, their feelings for each other were so intense, and Jam is unable to cope with her grief, which upsets her family and alienates her closest friends. All she wants to do is relive their moments together.

With seemingly no other alternative, Jam's parents send her to The Wooden Barn, a boarding school in Vermont for "emotionally fragile" teenagers. Students are isolated from the outside world, without access to their cell phones or the internet, and are closely monitored for any signs of crisis.

Unbeknownst to her, Jam is enrolled in an exclusive class, Special Topics in English. Each semester, the students in this class are mysteriously handpicked by the teacher with no rhyme or reason. It's a small class devoted to reading only one author the entire semester. While it may seem an odd choice for a school of students with emotional difficulties, this semester they'll be reading the work of Sylvia Plath.

There are four other students in Jam's class, each quite different, but all share the emotional trauma of a particular event that pushed their lives off course. The teacher, Mrs. Quenell, gives them two important assignments—they must write in the antique journal she gives each of them and return it at the end of the semester, and they must look out for each other. Seems easy, and no one can understand why this class is seemingly so exclusive.

But when Jam starts writing in her journal, she finds herself mysteriously transported back to her life with Reeve. She can relive their old memories, feel his arms around her again, and she finally feels safe and happy. Yet each time this happens, it is only for a short period of time, and when it ends, she finds pages of her journal have been inexplicably filled—with her handwriting. And this happens to each of her fellow students in the class—each is transported back to the moments before the trauma they suffered.

Does Mrs. Quenell know about the journals? If they tell her, will she take them away? And what happens when the journals fill up? The five students form a close-knit bond to try and manage the situation to their best advantage, but they fear that their happiness will only last the semester. What happens afterward, are they doomed back to their lives of pain and anguish?

As I've said numerous times before, I tend to love books that resonate for me emotionally (without being manipulative), and Belzhar definitely did. So many of us can identify with the feelings, if perhaps not the situations, that Jam and her classmates are dealing with. This is a sensitive, thought provoking, beautifully written book about having to make the choice between reliving past memories forever and moving on, and about the power of reading and writing to help us cope with and express our feelings.

Mrs. Quenell says in the book, "Words matter." And Meg Wolitzer's words really do matter, because they're so well chosen, so well expressed. I enjoyed this book tremendously and can't stop thinking about it, and if it weren't for work, I would have read the entire book in one day. As I mentioned, it's certainly a little implausible, but if you can suspend your disbelief, you'll find Belzhar well worth your while. ...more

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Mar 03, 2016 Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) rated it really liked it

3.75 stars. For some reason I thought I had heard bad things about this so I didn't think I was going to like it, but I actually ended up rather enjoying it! Plus it may be just me, but I didn't see the ending coming at all. I'll definitely read more things by Meg Wolitzer in the future.

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Jul 26, 2014 Snotchocheez rated it liked it

Gonna hafta put my Meg-crush aside for this one...

Though the core story (five troubled teens who attend a school in rural Vermont are hand selected for a "Special Topics in English" class focusing on Sylvia Plath, and find out truths about themselves thanks to the efforts of an enigmatic matronly teacher and her trippy journal-writing assignment) is at times super engaging and fun to read, Ms. Wolitzer really only hits her narrative stride 2/3rds of the way through; thus I found myself repeatedl ...more

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Mar 12, 2016 Pam Gonçalves rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ler-em-um-dia

Vídeo sobre o livro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MgSr...

Essa leitura foi... diferente.

Eu achava que seria um young adult normal, talvez com uma grande mensagem de superação, mas foi realmente diferente.

A protagonista, Jam, é enviada para uma escola especial, quase isolada do mundo, depois de passar por episódio bastante traumático. Ela ainda não consegue superar a perda e, com mais quatro alunos, é selecionada para fazer parte de um grupo limitado que terá aula de Tópicos Especiais em Ingl ...more

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Mar 20, 2014 Shannon rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014

4.5

The Wooden Barn is a school specifically designed to care for “emotionally fragile, highly intelligent teenagers.” Teenagers like Jam Gallahue, who is “sent here because of a boy. His name was Reeve Maxfield, and I loved him and then he died.” When Jam arrives at The Wooden Barn, she finds out she is enrolled in a course called Special Topics in English, which is taught by veteran instructor Mrs. Quenell when she has the perfect set of students. Mrs. Quenell chooses to focus solely on the wor 4.5

The Wooden Barn is a school specifically designed to care for “emotionally fragile, highly intelligent teenagers.” Teenagers like Jam Gallahue, who is “sent here because of a boy. His name was Reeve Maxfield, and I loved him and then he died.” When Jam arrives at The Wooden Barn, she finds out she is enrolled in a course called Special Topics in English, which is taught by veteran instructor Mrs. Quenell when she has the perfect set of students. Mrs. Quenell chooses to focus solely on the work of Sylvia Plath with Jam’s small class and gives each student a journal to write in weekly. Though they are reluctant at first, Jam and her classmates soon allow the journals to become both their bond and their place of healing known as Belzhar.

While the class discussions on Plath push them to approach reality in a new way, the students are thrown into their past through the journals. Wolitzer walks the line between her characters’ literary conversations and magic realism with ease. The dreamy of world of Belzhar that Jem and her classmates enter when writing feels less like fantasy and more like the place many of us drift to when we’re lost in words. Though the novel’s neatly wrapped closing chapter feels like a misstep, everything leading up to it is precisely placed.

“‘And you’re all so young. Plath’s protagonist is young, too. To be on the verge of your life and not be able to enter it… That ought to be prevented whenever possible.’

Everyone is paying very close attention to her. We’re talking about the novel, right? But maybe we’re not. We’re talking about ourselves. And I guess that’s what can start to happen when you talk about a good book.”
I fear some readers, particularly those more familiar with Wolitzer’s adult fiction, will see Jam’s final realization in Belzhar as a mere plot device and miss the smart observation behind it. As adults we so often forget the all-encompassing experience of being a teenager, which can make it easy to discount the emotions Belzhar‘s characters experience. I don’t know if my empathy stems from years of teaching girls like Jam or simply leftover sting from my own adolescence, but I was draped in feeling for the characters and appreciation for Wolitzer’s insight throughout my reading experience. My thoughts kept returning to readers who need this book, who need Mrs. Quenell and Belzhar; those who will find comfort in knowing they aren’t alone, even in situations much different from Jam’s, and begin to seek solace in the written word. Beyond bending plots or bits of magic realism, that comfort is Belzhar‘s greatest gift.

More at rivercityreading.com ...more

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Jul 07, 2014 Suzie Smith rated it it was amazing

I just finished reading Belzhar, and I am devastated. Not because of the ending, or the story itself, but because the book that was getting me through this hellish week, that spoke to me in so many different ways has come to an end. Let me give you some background. I am not a reader, and you will rarely see me reading… at least not in public or for fun. I'm a slow reader which makes me very insecure and less motivated to read. But, after being slightly reluctant to reading this book, I decided,
I just finished reading Belzhar, and I am devastated. Not because of the ending, or the story itself, but because the book that was getting me through this hellish week, that spoke to me in so many different ways has come to an end. Let me give you some background. I am not a reader, and you will rarely see me reading… at least not in public or for fun. I'm a slow reader which makes me very insecure and less motivated to read. But, after being slightly reluctant to reading this book, I decided, why not, and from the first page, I was completely hooked. The story was so compelling, and from page one I found myself constantly questioning and wanting to know more and more. You could find me reading Belzhar anywhere. I've spend the last few days at the gym reading on the elliptical. Those last few minutes of class when everyones packing up were spent reading. Tonight I was babysitting 3 little girls next door, and I tried to put them to bed as fast as I could so I could curl up and read a bunch before their parents came home. I read AT THE DINNER TABLE the other night, walking into and out of school…anywhere I could, really. My love for reading has been discovered.

I was so moved by this story. There were times where Wolitzer wrote something that was so relatable it brought me chills, or to tears, and other times where I laughed out loud at some very real and sarcastic remark. The range of emotion was wide. I loved the rawness of each of the teenage characters, and how beautifully and truthfully she described loss and heartbreak and first times and mistakes and everything teenagers deal with, but also how to recover…even if that means quietly going to some alternate universe in your head. I was also deeply inspired, much like the kids of Special Topics, by Mrs. Q and her wisdom, and was stunned at the end when we find out she (kind of) knew Sylvia Plath! Loved that. I could go on and on about how much I loved this book, but all I can say is THANK YOU for this intriguing, heartbreaking, hilarious, profound, REAL book. All I want to do now is give a copy to each of my friends, who I'm positive would become hooked like I did. I was thinking recently how this could one day make an amazing movie…

I have a feeling I will be thinking about this book and these characters in the weeks ahead. THANK YOU- WORDS MATTER. ...more

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Nov 26, 2014 Mackie Welch rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 12, 2014 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing

A terrific Teen story!

I inhaled it!

Realities we would prefer to avoid, or minimize, are a part of life.

In "Belzhar" we read about a group of kids who learn to face painful losses with courage, grace, clarity, and wisdom.
An exceptional teacher --and community, this story has heart-soul-and is deeply satisfying!

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Aug 28, 2014 Tori rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

Funny - I just looked at a bunch of reviews about this book on Goodreads - and was actually surprised to find so many people that DIDN'T like it!!!!!!
I loved this book! Especially knowing that it was written for teens. The ending was probably a bit too neat and tidy to be a great ending for a similar adult book....but it is often a relief to have a neat and tidy ending! Sometimes, little things that would kind of bother me in a different book, I made allowances for because this book wasn't actua Funny - I just looked at a bunch of reviews about this book on Goodreads - and was actually surprised to find so many people that DIDN'T like it!!!!!!
I loved this book! Especially knowing that it was written for teens. The ending was probably a bit too neat and tidy to be a great ending for a similar adult book....but it is often a relief to have a neat and tidy ending! Sometimes, little things that would kind of bother me in a different book, I made allowances for because this book wasn't actually aimed at me. But, I loved the premise of this book, and think that many teens would probably get a lot out of it, too.

Jam is a teenager who has been sent to a special school because of a traumatic experience she went through. This school is The Wooden Barn - a place that only accepts "special" students, and doesn't control the students with drugs. there is little contact with the outside world. Jam has been grieving the death of her boyfriend of 41 days, Reeve. She gets assigned to a Special Topics in English class, that is only taught once in a while by Mrs. Q. She selects her students and they only read one author a semester. This semester, the author they study is Sylvia Plath, who wrote the Bell jar. There are only five students in the class, each with their own traumatic experience. Mrs. Q gives them a journal that they are to write in twice a week. They soon find out that when they begin to write in the journal, they are transported back to BEFORE their traumatic experience occurred. And when they "wake" up from that experience, they find that they have written exactly five pages in their journal.

I had no idea how the stories would turn out - if there would even be a satisfying ending. But what an interesting concept - being transported back to the "good old days" before something bad happened. Jam soon finds out, though, that as nice as it is to be back together with Reeve, nothing new can happen - only the same old stuff that had already happened. So - would it be better to stay in a safe, comfortable place like that, or to confront the "real" world and learn to adapt, to change, to experience new things? Good question!

This was a quick read and very enjoyable and thought provoking. I think I would have loved it as a teenager, too!

...more

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Dec 13, 2016 Julie Ehlers rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-and-kidlit

I can’t quite decide how I feel about Belzhar. I was excited about the boarding school/Sylvia Plath themes and was looking forward to seeing how Meg Wolitzer handled her first YA novel, but for the first half I was frustrated and bored. Our heroine, unforgivably named “Jam,” is about as colorless and personality-free as it’s possible for a character to be, and most of her fellow students aren’t much better. The book keeps telling us how smart and complex they all are, but I just wasn’t seeing it ...more

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Jul 06, 2015 Mattisaldunga rated it liked it · review of another edition

No, se que onda, pero estaba por un poco mas de la mitad del libro y me parecio muy meh. PERO ESE FINAAAAAAAAAL, FUE PERFECTO. No se, lo ame.

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May 08, 2014 Caitlin rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2014, books-by-women-2k14, grief-and-loss, young-adult

This wasn't difficult to read or anything; I moved through it pretty quickly. I thought it would at the very least end up being just an okay book. But I feel like I got nothing out of this. I can't see teens enjoying this. I really disliked what it was when we find out really happened. And oddly, I could actually relate to some of what Jam experiences, but then she ruined it with the "twist" - which I had already guessed. And again - just so much telling, all the way through. Maybe this could ha ...more

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Sep 30, 2015 Amerie added it

I appreciate what Wolitzer has to say about the past, how holding on to a memory or an event and not moving on keeps us from fully living. The premise is interesting, and I quickly turned the pages to discover the big secret of the novel (I guessed incorrectly. (view spoiler)). However, the story didn't delve as deeply into character devel ...more

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Sep 12, 2017 Elisabeth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Das Buch hat mir sehr überrascht, ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass es mich so fesseln kann. Der Anfang war genial, ich war nur etwas enttäuscht, als sich eine Prise magischen Realismus dazugesellt hat, außerdem hat mich eine Stelle sehr (wirklich sehr) wütend gemacht. Fernab davon war es aber ein sehr tolles, gut durchdachtes Werk, sodass ich ihm noch 4 Sterne geben will. Das muss ich auch definitiv irgendwann nochmal lesen.

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Mar 20, 2014 Kelly rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2014

This is The Girls of No Return meets And We Stay in the best way possible. I love this story about (view spoiler) and the power of literature, of words, of writing, and of believing in things you do and do not have control of.

My one criticism is that in the final two chapters -- the second-to-last especially -- Wolitzer gets too on-the-nose. It feels a bit rookie YA, explaining The Great Meaning Here to the readers who will have gotten it because they're smart en ...more

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Nov 05, 2015 K rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Въпреки че това е тийн роман и стилът, на който е написан, ми се стори леко детински, все пак се насладих на историята. Напълно нормално и правдоподобно е книгата да е така наивна щом главните герои са тийнейджъри на по 15-16 години. Намирам книгата за доста леко и кротко четиво, но и някак силно и ободряващо.
Никой не е застрахован срещу ударите на живота, но ако с нас или някой близък се случи трагедия, нямаме друг избор освен да приемем нещата такива каквито са. Макар и удавени в мъката си, д ...more

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Mar 22, 2017 Chelsea rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-star

I picked this book up in an airport over two years ago, never having heard of it. I instantly started it, and while I loved the writing style I remember having rather mixed feelings. I decided to revisit it to see whether I wanted to keep it or unhaul it (since it is only a three star I settled on unhaul, though it does have lots of things I like about it).

This follows a teenage girl named Jam Gallahue. After her boyfriend dies, Jam is utterly distraught. Her parents decide to send her to a boar I picked this book up in an airport over two years ago, never having heard of it. I instantly started it, and while I loved the writing style I remember having rather mixed feelings. I decided to revisit it to see whether I wanted to keep it or unhaul it (since it is only a three star I settled on unhaul, though it does have lots of things I like about it).

This follows a teenage girl named Jam Gallahue. After her boyfriend dies, Jam is utterly distraught. Her parents decide to send her to a boarding school called The Wooden Barn for kids dealing with trauma.

“I’ve now compared Reeve Maxfield to both math and chemistry. But in the end the only class that came to matter in all of this was English...it was the one I took much later, at The Wooden Barn up in Vermont, after Reeve was gone and I could barely live.”

There, Jam is surprised to learn she has been chosen for the prestigious and mysterious class called Special Topics in English. There, the students study Sylvia Plath and receive journals that are not just ordinary journals.

Plotwise, it’s an interesting novel. I love stories with a ragtag group of people with different backgrounds being thrust together, which instantly drew me to this book.

I won’t go into spoilers, but this one of those books that has a lot of mystery within it and a huge plot twist, one I did not think served to strengthen the story.

The writing is absolutely my favorite part of this book. The style is one that makes everything seem important, and it has a strong narrative voice and character descriptions.

“We each have only one voice...and the world is so loud. Sometimes I think that the quiet ones...have figured out that the best way to get other people’s attention is not to shout, but to whisper. Which makes everyone listen a little harder.”

As far as the characters go, they were interesting, but I never felt like we got to see beyond a few distinct traits of theirs. Jam’s obsession with describing her old boyfriend was incredibly tedious.

This is also a book that feels it’s length, which in this case is quite short. At times it felt rushed, especially with way the characters relationships developed. Like Jam just seemed to suddenly be friends with certain people without seeing what led up to it.

Overall, I’m glad I took the time to reread this one and sort out my feelings. This is a book that has great writing and is easy to discuss, but could have used some work to create a more cohesive story. ...more

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Aug 27, 2015 Tanja Voosen rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Ich weiß nicht, wie oft ich es in letzter Zeit gesagt habe, aber was ist nur mit dem Contemporary Genre los? Jedes Buch, zu dem ich greife, ist einfach schlecht. Okay - für mich persönlich schlecht - aber allmählich verliere ich die Lust.

Also..."Was uns bleibt ist jetzt" erzählt die Geschichte einer Schule für besonderen Jugendliche. Genauer gesagt sind die Schüler alle dort, weil sie ein Problem haben, welches ihr normales Leben "gefährdet". Besonders die Protagonistin Jem scheint ein sehr schm Ich weiß nicht, wie oft ich es in letzter Zeit gesagt habe, aber was ist nur mit dem Contemporary Genre los? Jedes Buch, zu dem ich greife, ist einfach schlecht. Okay - für mich persönlich schlecht - aber allmählich verliere ich die Lust.

Also..."Was uns bleibt ist jetzt" erzählt die Geschichte einer Schule für besonderen Jugendliche. Genauer gesagt sind die Schüler alle dort, weil sie ein Problem haben, welches ihr normales Leben "gefährdet". Besonders die Protagonistin Jem scheint ein sehr schmerzvolles Geheimnis mit sich herumtztragen, welches das ganze Buch immer wieder erwähnt wird und uns gegen Ende wohl so richtig schocken sollte. Ehm...NEIN. Im Verlauf der Geschichte lernen wir Jems "Freunde" kennen. Leute, die mit ihr einem besonderen Kurs sitzen und ihre schlimmen Erlebnisse in Tagebüchern festhalten sollen.

Ich hatte nicht erwartet, dass das Buch etwas "Magisches" an sich hat, denn wie sich heraustellt befördern die Tagebucheinträge die Figuren in eine Art "Traumwelt", in der sie sich der Vergangenheit stellen. Das wurde im Buch nicht wirklich nachvollziehbar geschildert, sondern war mehr ein Umstand.

So war ich zeitlich doch reichlich verwirrt, als die Erzählung immer wieder hin und her sprang und die Autorin vergebens versuchte mir die ehemalige Beziehung zwischen Jem und Reeve nahezurbingen. Das Traurige an der Sache ist, dass die anderen Figuren wirklich viel durchmachen mussten, das schrecklich war. Eine der Charaktere weiß z.B. nicht, was aus ihrem Bruder wurde, nachdem dieser als Kind entführt wurde. Umso tragischer (und ja Sarkasmus on!) ist es, dass der Leser gegen Endes des Buches DIE WENDE offenbart bekommt, die Jem als DAS Opfer aller Zeiten darstellen soll: ihre kaputte Beziehung existierte gar nicht wirklich, sondern nur in ihrem Kopf bzw. ihrer Traumwelt.

Ehm...Sekunde, WAS?! Ja, richtig gelesen. Neben all den echten Problemen, die im Buch thematisiert werden ist Jem die tragischste Person von allen, denn ihr gebrochenes Herz hat sie depressiv gemacht und ihr Leben verwirkt. Mal wieder eine dieser ganz tollen Heldinnen, die nicht ohne Kerl auskommen. Meine Fresse! Und im Angesicht der teils schlimmen und auch berührenden Dinge, die wir so über Nebenfiguren lernen, war Jems Problem einfach lächerlich.

Keine Ahnung, was die Autorin sich dabei gedacht hat, aber das Ende des Romans war echt zum Buch-gegen-die-Wand klatschen. Da liest man sich durch die deprimierten Gedanken dieses Mädchens und denkt das Schlimmste und dann so was...im Ernst? Natürlich ist das Leben vorbei, wenn du keinen Freund hast.

Im Roman gibt es Stereotypen über Stereotypen, eine halbfertige Romanze zwischen Jem und dem Bad Boy der Gruppe, ein wenig Freundesdrama und mehr Sylvia Plath Gedichte, als man in einem Buch verkraftet. Ansonsten war das Buch auch nicht wirklich interessant und ich habe mich viel gelangweilt.

Ich kann dem Buch nicht mal die 2 Sterne geben, weil es eben nicht "OK" war, sondern ich es durchweg nicht mochte. Vielleicht liegt es auch verstärkt daran, dass ich schon wieder enttäuscht wurde...eine berührende, schöne Geschichte über erste Liebe, Verlust und Träume findet man hier jedenfalls nicht. ...more

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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Fantasy book for (young) teens about a girl who is depressed because her boyfriend died so she has to go to this special boarding school. Spoilers ahead. [s]	5	30	May 12, 2018 06:30AM
PageHabit Book Club: Belzhar Discussion SPOILERS	1	12	Aug 12, 2016 02:49PM

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About Meg Wolitzer

Meg Wolitzer

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Meg Wolitzer is the New York Times–bestselling author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking. She is also the author of the young adult novel Belzhar. Wolitzer lives in New York City.