On the Jellicoe Road in What's the Name of That Book???

Feb 28, 2011 karen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sshh-family-secrets, why-yes-i-ya, teen-faves

i have got to stop being surprised when teen fiction is good. printz-award winning fiction (you know, the award for literary teen fiction that all the grown-ups read and say "this is for teens??"). australian teen fiction. complicated, multi-layered teen fiction.

this book is all of the above, and it is remarkable.

it has sex and drugs and rock and roll, it has violence and terrible crimes, it has shock and awe and guilt and terrible secrets and it opens with a death. this is my kind of teen ficti ...more

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Jan 26, 2009 Lisa Vegan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: school-story, bookclub, readbooks-female-author-or-illust, 1-also-at-librarything, novel, young-adult, goodreads-author, reviewed, fiction, orphaned-and-quasi-orphaned-kids

In some ways this book is brilliant and amazing, and I’m tempted to give it 5 stars, but for enjoyment value and overall, it was a solid 4 star book for me.

I love orphan stories and boarding school stories and this story fit the bill.

I’ve rarely read a book where felt so confused by what is going on while simultaneously enjoying it. It took a good ¼ to 1/3 the book to basically get what was going on and much further on to get all my questions answered, yet reading it was a satisfying and fun exp In some ways this book is brilliant and amazing, and I’m tempted to give it 5 stars, but for enjoyment value and overall, it was a solid 4 star book for me.

I love orphan stories and boarding school stories and this story fit the bill.

I’ve rarely read a book where felt so confused by what is going on while simultaneously enjoying it. It took a good ¼ to 1/3 the book to basically get what was going on and much further on to get all my questions answered, yet reading it was a satisfying and fun experience; I was more intrigued than frustrated as I read and tried to fathom what was going on.

I do think it screams out for a reread, and because I’m committed to reading other books and knew I wouldn’t be rereading this book in the near future, about ¾ the way through I went back and skimmed/read all the passages in italics in order to to bring myself up to speed. I think reading it for a second time would be even more enjoyable, but I did love most of it.

There is a completely engaging writing style and memorable, complicated characters, both very satisfying!

Some things I liked best: The parts about To Kill a Mockingbird were great; Mrs. Dubose was a character that always made a huge impression on me. The humor comes at opportune times in this story, in many places; I thought page 300 was particularly hilarious, and all the humor was so welcome because this story has components that are sad, tragic, scary, and otherwise dark.

Some things I liked least: The dream sequences (except for one at the end that I did love, especially the way it solved one of the mysteries) and the allusions to life beyond death were not, for the most part, my cup of tea. And, maybe just a bit too much happened; I liked it all as I was reading it, but when I got to the end, I don’t know how to explain it, but it felt too busy. Given how much pleasure I got from reading it, perhaps I’m wrong and perhaps just the right amount of content was included. The seemingly mandatory teen romance(s) that are in young adult books with teenage characters; I’d like to read just a few sans that plot point.

It’s definitely worth continuing to read as the reader is eventually let in on everything that’s going on and all the mysteries are solved.

4 to 4 ½ stars ...more

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Mar 25, 2010 Liz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-and-realistic, 5-star, young-adult, favorites

Jellicoe Road is a book that people either adore or hate, and by December of last year, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to know why people were constantly raving about Melina Marchetta and her books, especially this one. I knew Jellicoe Road was good as soon as I closed it, and as I sit here trying to write this review I’m only just now realizing how good it is.

Where do I even start with this review? Because let me tell you, Marchetta is a master of her craft. Should I start with the flawlessl ...more

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Jan 27, 2009 Chelsea rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: recced, own, contemporaryfiction, youngadult, awardwinners, 2010, 2011

This review is going to sound just like all the other reviews on Goodreads for this book, because they're all exactly right.

It's a slow and confusing start: push through.
It's frustrating, because Marchetta makes you work for every piece of information: it's worth it.
It's an incredibly satisfying ending, even if you still haven't quite worked out all the details: yep, you're probably going to want to reread this one.

I had put off reading this one because I thought it couldn't possibly live up to ...more

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Mar 15, 2015 Chelsea added it

Shelves: reread, 2015

This review is going to sound just like all the other reviews on Goodreads for this book, because they're all exactly right.

It's a slow and confusing start: push through.
It's frustrating, because Marchetta makes you work for every piece of information: it's worth it.
It's an incredibly satisfying ending, even if you still haven't quite worked out all the details: yep, you're probably going to want to reread this one.

I had put off reading this one because I thought it couldn't possibly live up to ...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Erin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

I don't know how to rate this! There were moments that were so good, I was positive it was going to get five stars. No question. This book packs an impressive emotional punch. But the first quarter or so threw me off, and that's a big chunk of book, you know? Can a book get five stars if that much of it feels poorly handled? I think the territory wars were a mistake - the tone is all wrong for the rest of the book (true story: I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up on someone ...more

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Apr 04, 2009 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

A few months ago I predicted on my blog that Paper Towns (2008) would be receiving a nod from the Printz committee at the 2009 awards ceremony. Failing that, I was certain that after nabbing a National Book Award, What I Saw and How I Lied (2008) would take a Printz award/honor.

You can therefore imagine my surprise when it was neither of my predicted titles but Melina Marchetta's Jellicoe Road* (2008**) that won the 2009 Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature. Being a fan of March A few months ago I predicted on my blog that Paper Towns (2008) would be receiving a nod from the Printz committee at the 2009 awards ceremony. Failing that, I was certain that after nabbing a National Book Award, What I Saw and How I Lied (2008) would take a Printz award/honor.

You can therefore imagine my surprise when it was neither of my predicted titles but Melina Marchetta's Jellicoe Road* (2008**) that won the 2009 Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature. Being a fan of Marchetta's previous novels Looking for Alibrandi (1992) and especially Saving Francesca (2005) you can also imagine my embarrassment upon realizing one of my favorite authors had published a new book without my realizing it.

The only solution, of course, was to immediately procure a copy from the library and read it as soon as possible.

Jellicoe Road is not a novel with one protagonist. Rather, it has many. The story starts on the Jellicoe Road with a tragic accident that will have far reaching repercussions for each character in the novel. Then, abruptly, the story starts again twenty-two years later at the Jellicoe School--the boarding school located farther down the same road--when Taylor Markham is chosen to lead the school's faction in a secret territory war that has spanned a generation between the school boarders, the Townies, and the Cadets.

The Jellicoe School is the only real home Taylor has ever known. She has been at the school since she was eleven, when her mother abandoned her on Jellicoe Road and Hannah drove by to pick Taylor up and take her to the school. Now seventeen, Taylor is in many ways still a young girl afraid of being abandoned by those she loves. Which is why, at the start of the story, Taylor balks at the authority thrust upon her and the relationships it will necessitate. Leading the Jellicoe School through the territory wars is bad enough, but being in charge of an entire dorm of students seems truly unbearable. Taylor's resolve to live a life apart is tested, and in many ways broken, with the efforts of well-meaning friends and the appearance of Jonah Griggs--the one person Taylor never expected to see, or need, ever again.

As the territory wars escalate, Taylor's life is thrown into disarray with the sudden disappearance of Hannah--the only adult Taylor would come close to calling family. With Hannah gone, Taylor begins reading Hannah's unfinished novel for lack of anything else to cling to. Marchetta weaves Taylor's story and the events of Hannah's novel and even the histories of other characters together to create one haunting narrative where, the more Taylor reads, the more it feels like she is looking not at fictitious characters but at people she has known her entire life.

While trying to understand Hannah's sudden absence, Taylor also starts to understand herself. Eventually she realizes that living life at a distance offers no protection from abandonment and provides even fewer options to heal scars from past betrayals.

The novel starts with rapid fire narration as Taylor throws out events and names at the reader without any frame of reference. Later in the story the importance of the Cadet, the Hermit, and the Brigadier becomes painfully obvious. But in the first pages the narrative comes closer to painfully confusing and unwieldy. By the end of my reading I had a marker at almost every page to indicated important points and favorite passages. However, if you can roll with the uncertainty, you will be rewarded. At a little over four hundred pages, Marchetta still creates a page-turner that moves quickly and weaves together every single narrative thread by the final page.

Because Taylor is not forthcoming with explanations, the novel reads like a mystery (fitting since my two Printz Award predictions were also mysteries of sorts). However a good portion of the story is also simply about friendship and love. Taylor expects neither from her time on the Jellicoe Road even though they might be exactly what she was supposed to find there all along. Marchetta blends moments of humor and gravitas in her unique prose style to create another really great read.

* Jellicoe Road was actually originally published, I assume in Marchetta's native Australia, with the title On the Jellicoe Road. For various reasons, upon finishing the novel, I feel that this title is superior to the American edition's shortened version.

** The book was originally published, again I assume in Australia, in 2006.

*** In addition to the original title being superior, in terms of relevance to the story, the original cover art is also much more apt. (Although I just realized the US cover has a Poppy on it which I will grudgingly admit is actually pretty relevant to the story. It also makes it impossible to pick a cover to feature here so, readers, you get both.) ...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Rachel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This book made me bristle and I couldn't wait for it to be over with. As I was reading it, I couldn't figure out why. I finished it last night and slept on it. When I woke up this morning, I realized what the problem was. I simply did not like some of the "younger generation" main characters ... especially Taylor and Griggs. Both of them seemed very fake and contrived. I especially didn't like Taylor's voice, and she's the narrator! (This books is told in first person from her view.) So, no matt ...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, coming-of-age

from the NPR poll of great Young Adult fiction ...

2.5 stars

April has been a cruel month for me - of the ten novels I've read so far this month, nine have been disappointing. This book makes ten (out of eleven) disappointing reads this month.

So many five star reviews for this one! I really expected awesome things from this book. But I was completely confused by the whole concept of the boarding school, because it seems like the kids are completely unsupervised. Is this Lord of the Flies? Am I ju from the NPR poll of great Young Adult fiction ...

2.5 stars

April has been a cruel month for me - of the ten novels I've read so far this month, nine have been disappointing. This book makes ten (out of eleven) disappointing reads this month.

So many five star reviews for this one! I really expected awesome things from this book. But I was completely confused by the whole concept of the boarding school, because it seems like the kids are completely unsupervised. Is this Lord of the Flies? Am I just clueless because I grew up in USA suburbia? (probably) Second, I didn't like any of the main characters (I really didn't like Taylor), and that made it difficult for me to care about the actions. Third, I was annoyed at the amount of information that was intentionally withheld from me. And fourth, the concept of an annual territory war was boring and childish.

Here is some scintillating dialogue between Taylor (representing the Jellicoe School), Santangelo (representing the Townies) and Jonah (representing the Cadets):

“You promised us a negotiation about the Club House,” Santangelo says, still eyeing Jonah Griggs, but speaking to me.

“Negotiations are over,” I say flatly.

“You can’t do that.”

“Any which way, we’ve got the Club House and you can’t stop us from getting there,” Jonah Griggs says arrogantly.

“Watch me.”

“If we make a deal over the Club House, it will be profitable for all of us,” Santangelo says.

“Come within an inch of our property…”

“And what?” Jonah Griggs calls over to me.

“Unfortunately the state persists in using our school as a juvie centre when it suits them. We have arsonists.”

“So you’ll burn us down?” he says, feigning fear.

“No, but we will burn down every single building you own on our property. Beginning with the Club House.”

Now I have their attention.

The amount I care: 0%

(Admittedly, later in the book these territory wars are put into proper context and they became less annoying.)

I am always down for romance, so the romance bits appealed to me, but the territory wars were tedious and the "I know something but I'm not telling" mystery bits were grating.

Lots of reviews said that everything would come together in the second half, so I didn't give up. But I never grew to love it.

All the mystery about who was whom was all fairly clear to me early on (much earlier than it becomes clear to Taylor), which made the disjointed, nonlinear story-telling style even more annoying. There was no purpose to it, other than to add a needless layer of faux-mystery. I think this would have been stronger if it had been handed out directly instead of coyly slipping a little bit a little bit a little bit.

...more

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Aug 04, 2009 Jessie rated it really liked it

Shelves: coffee-and-books

This one is worth sticking with. When I finally started to piece it all together, it was amazing. Really.

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Apr 11, 2013 Hannah added it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, for-class-masters

At the beginning, I was so not convinced. And then I was. I still did not LOVE this book as much as I would have liked to, but it was way better than the beginning had me believing.

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