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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
The story kept me interested the whole time.. but some of the characters and events seemed a little cliche and a little contrived.
Un libro acogedor sobre la pérdida y las posibilidades que tenemos para lidiar con ella.
¿De qué va? Chicos que no encuentran un lugar en sus antiguas vidas después del trauma son llevados a una escuela especial para sanar. Ahí se enfrentan a lo fantástico para transitar el dolor.
Tenía años queriendo leer a Meg y justo conseguí este ejemplar en un descuento tal que no pude dejarlo pasar. Valió cada centavo.
Una pequeña advertencia: la narración te pide que creas en algo, en una suerte de realismo mágico, para vivir la experiencia. Si el pacto lector se te tambalea al comienzo, será difícil que te ahondes en las profundidades del duelo como te exige el libro.
¿De qué va? Chicos que no encuentran un lugar en sus antiguas vidas después del trauma son llevados a una escuela especial para sanar. Ahí se enfrentan a lo fantástico para transitar el dolor.
Tenía años queriendo leer a Meg y justo conseguí este ejemplar en un descuento tal que no pude dejarlo pasar. Valió cada centavo.
Una pequeña advertencia: la narración te pide que creas en algo, en una suerte de realismo mágico, para vivir la experiencia. Si el pacto lector se te tambalea al comienzo, será difícil que te ahondes en las profundidades del duelo como te exige el libro.
I kept waiting for this book to reveal that Belzhar wasn't just a heavy-handed metaphor for overcoming grief. It didn't. Made worse by the "twist" that the narrator is an idiot and also delusional and definitely needs therapy.
I'm pretty sure that I'm the only person in the universe who didn't like "The Interestings." I tried a couple of times to start it but I just couldn't get past the first 50 pages. I got it on audio but still found the characters whiny and insipid. That's why when I heard that Wolitzer was coming out with the new book, I was a bit nervous. There was no reason for me to be hesitant! This novel is absolutely enchanting and perfect for the back to school blues.
When we first meet Jam, she is in a very bad place. Her boyfriend has recently died and she has sunk into a deep depression. With few options left, Jam's parents decide to send her to a school in Vermont that helps with "emotionally fragile" young adults: The Wooden Barn. Once at the school, she is enrolled in a very elite course called "Special Topics in English." This course is only offered sporadically, is only taught by one teacher, and is rumored to be a bit cultish. But Jam doesn't care about the exclusivity of the group and finds the homework a bit bizarre. The only rules of the class is that the students write in their journals that are passed in at the end of the term, and that they take care of each other. What starts off as a introverted group of misfits becomes something more, as nothing is revealed to be as it seems.
This is a beautiful book! I love the "back to school" feel, the literary allusions, and the troubled characters. I was a bit annoyed with the first 75 pages or so that felt completely redundant and lacking any introspection. I felt like I was trapped in a sequel to the novel "Prep" where nothing happened and I found myself wasting precious reading them. Between pages 76 and 110, I felt like I was in the "Dead Poet's Society" and couldn't stop thinking "seen this before!" It wasn't until the book started rounding its final bend that I suddenly could see it for what it was: a companion to "We Were Liars." It has some more bumps to work out than "We Were Liars" and there are certainly points that feel overly cliched. But it brought up similar questions and feelings as Lockhart's novel. The characters were not as enthralling and the plot catapulted itself into B storylines that we've all seen before. But what Lockhart did for a summer on an island, Wolitzer does for a fall in boarding school!
When we first meet Jam, she is in a very bad place. Her boyfriend has recently died and she has sunk into a deep depression. With few options left, Jam's parents decide to send her to a school in Vermont that helps with "emotionally fragile" young adults: The Wooden Barn. Once at the school, she is enrolled in a very elite course called "Special Topics in English." This course is only offered sporadically, is only taught by one teacher, and is rumored to be a bit cultish. But Jam doesn't care about the exclusivity of the group and finds the homework a bit bizarre. The only rules of the class is that the students write in their journals that are passed in at the end of the term, and that they take care of each other. What starts off as a introverted group of misfits becomes something more, as nothing is revealed to be as it seems.
This is a beautiful book! I love the "back to school" feel, the literary allusions, and the troubled characters. I was a bit annoyed with the first 75 pages or so that felt completely redundant and lacking any introspection. I felt like I was trapped in a sequel to the novel "Prep" where nothing happened and I found myself wasting precious reading them. Between pages 76 and 110, I felt like I was in the "Dead Poet's Society" and couldn't stop thinking "seen this before!" It wasn't until the book started rounding its final bend that I suddenly could see it for what it was: a companion to "We Were Liars." It has some more bumps to work out than "We Were Liars" and there are certainly points that feel overly cliched. But it brought up similar questions and feelings as Lockhart's novel. The characters were not as enthralling and the plot catapulted itself into B storylines that we've all seen before. But what Lockhart did for a summer on an island, Wolitzer does for a fall in boarding school!
While I thoroughly enjoyed the writing in this book and always appreciate the realistic depiction of teenagers that you don't see on TV, I'm not sure that the "big reveal" is worth the build up. However, I would still recommend reading this.
It had possibility, and Meg Wolitzer is supposed to be an amazing adult author (The Interestings), but this book felt like a copout, as in "I don't have to put much effort because it's just for teenagers." After reading All the Bright Places and Everything Everything, my expectations for YA are higher. Man up Meg Wolitzer! Develop your characters (who were weak), create real tension in the plot, and spice up your vocabulary. I'm not teaching these kids words like "incontrovertible" to not be challenged or at least interested in your language.
Keeping in mind that this book is YA, I understand why Wolitzer did not get into the depth that I have seen from her in her other writing. I appreciate that she can shift between YA and regular fiction and I enjoyed this book but didn't think that it was amazing. The characters still felt kind of shallow and I thought she could have taken the issues a little further, even for YA. It was a fast read, but I wish she had done more.
No clue how I feel about this. None.
Originally posted here
I finished this book last week and I’m still confused about it. This very rarely happens. I tend to finish a book and have a very firm opinion on the book. I sent a text message after reading this and went “Belzhar..I still don’t know.” My goodreads friends are polarized about it. Some thought it was the best book of the year and others can’t believe it got published. I continue to be firmly in the middle camp of I…I just don’t know.
The bones of the story are solid. Jam’s life isn’t remotely fair. Her British boyfriend, Reeve is dead and her parents have sent her to The Wooden Barn, the boarding school that is supposed to save her. What happens instead is that Jam is sent to Special Topics with a handful of her classmates and her life is forever changed. Part of their assignment is to write in this journal twice a week for the semester, that’s all. Just write. What happens though when they write is that they are taken to a different world. A happier world almost, one that they call Belzhar. In Belzhar, everything is different. It’s safe in a way and the person is in an alternative universe and they often become happier there. What the group finds out is the more time they spend in Belzhar (everyone has their own) is not everything is how it seems and quickly things can unravel. Including Jam’s life.
Near the end comes a twist bout Belzhar, and Jam’s life, it is understandably one that I can’t truly discuss but I will say that I wasn’t shocked. I saw it coming, and if I’m being honest with you, I rarely see twists coming and this one didn’t shock me at all. I’m not sure if it was Wolitzer’s writing, or the book in general but nothing about it particularly worked for me. It’s not a bad book persay, but it’s one that when I was asked to describe it to a friend I sat there going “Um…well..you see” and my friend stared at me because rarely am I at a loss of words when it comes to a book. Or any book.
Originally posted here
I finished this book last week and I’m still confused about it. This very rarely happens. I tend to finish a book and have a very firm opinion on the book. I sent a text message after reading this and went “Belzhar..I still don’t know.” My goodreads friends are polarized about it. Some thought it was the best book of the year and others can’t believe it got published. I continue to be firmly in the middle camp of I…I just don’t know.
The bones of the story are solid. Jam’s life isn’t remotely fair. Her British boyfriend, Reeve is dead and her parents have sent her to The Wooden Barn, the boarding school that is supposed to save her. What happens instead is that Jam is sent to Special Topics with a handful of her classmates and her life is forever changed. Part of their assignment is to write in this journal twice a week for the semester, that’s all. Just write. What happens though when they write is that they are taken to a different world. A happier world almost, one that they call Belzhar. In Belzhar, everything is different. It’s safe in a way and the person is in an alternative universe and they often become happier there. What the group finds out is the more time they spend in Belzhar (everyone has their own) is not everything is how it seems and quickly things can unravel. Including Jam’s life.
Near the end comes a twist bout Belzhar, and Jam’s life, it is understandably one that I can’t truly discuss but I will say that I wasn’t shocked. I saw it coming, and if I’m being honest with you, I rarely see twists coming and this one didn’t shock me at all. I’m not sure if it was Wolitzer’s writing, or the book in general but nothing about it particularly worked for me. It’s not a bad book persay, but it’s one that when I was asked to describe it to a friend I sat there going “Um…well..you see” and my friend stared at me because rarely am I at a loss of words when it comes to a book. Or any book.
2 Stars because I usually reserve 1 for books I don't finish. - Will update more later. -
I somehow enjoyed this book while kinda hating it at the same time. Interesting premise, but overall I didn't buy it. I wasn't surprised by the "twist" at the end, and I didn't believe it. Ending was way too tidy. Teen characters didn't talk like teens. Nope. The more I think about it, the more this book annoyed me. But it held my attention, so there's that.