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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
Was not expecting how this book went, but I really enjoyed it!
The premise of this book seems realllllllllly silly when I write it out. Five troubled kids get magic journals and use them to relive their trauma and work through it, all while growing closer as friends and healing as humans at a Vermont boarding school. UGH. And yet it's well-written enough and emotionally true-feeling, so the silliness of the premise is somehow less important. This is a book about loss, guilt, and getting stuck in the past.
The stories of all the troubled kids are written fairly believably, not overly tragically, just sad and bad but believable. The story of the protagonist turns out to be the most interesting, and one I can painfully relate to - I've had plenty of romantic obsessions and delusions on my way to becoming an emotionally secure and mature adult who's able to have real relationships. It was nice to see her work her way through it too.
It's interesting to see how many people hated this book. :P Having never read any of Wolitzer's other books, I found this to be average-to-above-average YA. It's for a different audience, yo. It's ok that the main character's anguish seems silly and petty given her situation. That's how it is to be a teen sometimes. We can't all have cancer or serious family problems - that doesn't mean we can't be horribly miserable. And as we find in this book, it's possible to grow out of it.
The stories of all the troubled kids are written fairly believably, not overly tragically, just sad and bad but believable. The story of the protagonist turns out to be the most interesting, and one I can painfully relate to - I've had plenty of romantic obsessions and delusions on my way to becoming an emotionally secure and mature adult who's able to have real relationships. It was nice to see her work her way through it too.
It's interesting to see how many people hated this book. :P Having never read any of Wolitzer's other books, I found this to be average-to-above-average YA. It's for a different audience, yo. It's ok that the main character's anguish seems silly and petty given her situation. That's how it is to be a teen sometimes. We can't all have cancer or serious family problems - that doesn't mean we can't be horribly miserable. And as we find in this book, it's possible to grow out of it.
I had heard about Belzhar a while back — it was a pretty big deal because there was speculation that it was a modern-day The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath), which I read January of my freshman year of college (great book — do not recommend reading during seasonal affective disorder season, you feel?). While The Bell Jar plays a role in Belzhar, it pretty easily could have been any other major work of literature featuring themes of depression. Belzhar follows Jamaica “Jam” in her first semester at a school for teens experiencing emotional and psychological difficulties...
Read the rest of the review at YA Crossing.
Read the rest of the review at YA Crossing.
I'm going to start with the ending. I liked this in the much the same way I found WE WERE LIARS to be such an intriguing read. Maybe because I like stories with unreliable narrators. My heart really went out to Jam as soon as I figured out what was going on. And I could see how such an emotional attachment really could form in a teenage girl.
I always enjoy stories set in the world of boarding schools. I thought the bonds that formed between the students in the class where real and heartfelt. Oddly enough, Belzhar itself was the least interesting part of the book for me. May be because nothing really happened there. It was more just a catalyst for change in the outside world.
It wasn't until after I learned that her relationship with Reeve never really existed that I could really appreciate the connection she'd made with Griffin.
I've added the Ball Jar to my to-be-read list!
I always enjoy stories set in the world of boarding schools. I thought the bonds that formed between the students in the class where real and heartfelt. Oddly enough, Belzhar itself was the least interesting part of the book for me. May be because nothing really happened there. It was more just a catalyst for change in the outside world.
It wasn't until after I learned that her relationship with Reeve never really existed that I could really appreciate the connection she'd made with Griffin.
I've added the Ball Jar to my to-be-read list!
It was an enjoyable book, but much shallower than The Interestings, which I loved. I know it's 's a YA book, but still.
Uh, this book. I'm having trouble. It wasn't terrible but it had some serious issues... to the point where I find it surprising it was written by an established author and not someone in their late teen years. The writing is not good. It's dumbed down painfully in this author's attempt at YA. The point was very promising but... I don't know, didn't live up to the potential. There was what I can only describe as magic which is never explained, flat characters, and a narrator that's so unreliable that you can't even take her seriously. Full disclosure, there is a twist here and by reading other reviews it was exceptionally easy to glean what it was. Sometimes this doesn't matter (Hello, We Were Liars) but here it was just... ugh. I put down another of Wolitzer's books and after this I am doubtful I will read another.
Didn’t care much about any of the characters but this book presented a lot of interesting ideas! And it was creative!
Hated the ending though, it was so stupid and disappointing
Hated the ending though, it was so stupid and disappointing
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes