Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
Cliched, afterschool special-quality melodrama.
I actually kind of liked it at first, but quickly grew tired of the Wise Teacher who was so over-the-top, she was almost a parody by the end, the "extremely intelligent" teens who still couldn't figure out the simplest of things (Side Rant: really, they couldn't figure out that what they had in common was they were all mourning the loss of something? not in a whole semester of hearing each other's stories? and with Wise Teacher droning on about Plath's losses? and then at the end when the main character Jam (cliche quirky name alert!) was like, 'gee, I wonder if my friend's seizure might be related to the journal?' REALLY, JAM?!? Look out, Sherlock, we've got a real detective here!! Not once in this whole novel did I actually buy that ANY of the characters were "extremely intelligent". And while we're at it, the whole IDEA of the school for "emotionally fragile but extremely intelligent" teens is bullshit, especially once the "and we don't believe in medication" thing was thrown in there. I guess Wolitzer wanted her teens angsty, but not with any gross REAL mental illness or anything that couldn't be conveniently fixed by magic and a Wise Teacher and a some forced bonding lifted straight out of the Breakfast Club. End Rant.)
Also,.
I actually kind of liked it at first, but quickly grew tired of the Wise Teacher who was so over-the-top, she was almost a parody by the end, the "extremely intelligent" teens who still couldn't figure out the simplest of things (Side Rant: really, they couldn't figure out that what they had in common was they were all mourning the loss of something? not in a whole semester of hearing each other's stories? and with Wise Teacher droning on about Plath's losses? and then at the end when the main character Jam (cliche quirky name alert!) was like, 'gee, I wonder if my friend's seizure might be related to the journal?' REALLY, JAM?!? Look out, Sherlock, we've got a real detective here!! Not once in this whole novel did I actually buy that ANY of the characters were "extremely intelligent". And while we're at it, the whole IDEA of the school for "emotionally fragile but extremely intelligent" teens is bullshit, especially once the "and we don't believe in medication" thing was thrown in there. I guess Wolitzer wanted her teens angsty, but not with any gross REAL mental illness or anything that couldn't be conveniently fixed by magic and a Wise Teacher and a some forced bonding lifted straight out of the Breakfast Club. End Rant.)
Also,
Spoiler
the "twist" wasn't even a twist for me, because I thought he had dumped her the whole time. The second I read she asked him for the jam, because her name is Jam, and he was like *shrug* "yeah, whatevs, it's good..." I was like "girl, this guy is not as into you as you think."
A real disappointment
This book had it all and squandered it so thoroughly. I also suspected the BIG TWIST from page one. I would love to see a novel actually about therapeutic boarding school or about believable people in general. The Secret History this is not, nor is it Special Topics in Calamity Physics as the text lamely insinuates.
This book had it all and squandered it so thoroughly. I also suspected the BIG TWIST from page one. I would love to see a novel actually about therapeutic boarding school or about believable people in general. The Secret History this is not, nor is it Special Topics in Calamity Physics as the text lamely insinuates.
This almost would have been a 5 star read for me, but the ending kind of fell apart. I really liked that it turned out Reeve wasn't dead, just that he and Jam never dated because he wasn't into her. I could tell the entire story that something was off about their relationship - he definitely didn't intend to give her the jar of jam. It was pretty obvious Jam was leaving big parts out of the story of her and Reeve, but I didn't exactly expect that she was completely delusional. Listening to her tell her real relationship with Reeve made me cringe so hard. Where the end really went down hill for me was that we learn the Special Topics in English teacher was at a mental institution with Sylvia Plath (the author they read all semester). It just seemed too...hokey or something. I also didn't like that everyone supported Sierra's decision to stay in Belzhar because she couldn't bear to be without her brother. It wasn't until after her brother was found that they thought maybe she should have just toughened up and tried to live life even though it was hard.
Overall this was an interesting story and I listened to it really fast. I couldn't wait to hear why each of the five Special Topics students were at this special school - what their trauma or issues were. I really like Meg Wolitzer as a writer and I hope she writes some more YA novels.
Overall this was an interesting story and I listened to it really fast. I couldn't wait to hear why each of the five Special Topics students were at this special school - what their trauma or issues were. I really like Meg Wolitzer as a writer and I hope she writes some more YA novels.
I'm super torn on this book. More on my review after book club.
This book ticks so many boxes for me: Sylvia Plath references, an advanced English class with an inspiring yet challenging teacher, a secretive narrator concealing her history, and most importantly, great writing by an author as talented with style as she is with plot. It seems so many people writing for teens these days excel at dreaming up interesting premises and shocking plot twists and just hope that we'll forgive them their lack of artistry. I was so excited to see Wolitzer, already an established writer of literary fiction for adults, making her YA debut. Finally, I thought, a book for teens that is sure to be both engaging and well-written.
And for the most part, Wolitzer delivers. There are a few uneven passages, a couple exchanges between characters that strain credulity, and maybe a moment here or there that made this twenty-nine-year-old roll her eyes, but despite all that, Belzhar manages to be fresh while treading familiar teenage territory.
Jam Gallahue is the quintessential lovestruck teenage girl. She had just a few weeks with her boyfriend Reeve, a British exchange student, before he died. Mysteriously, I might add, as Jam is so traumatized she doesn't go into any of the details of his death. Now her parents have enrolled her at The Wooden Barn, a school in rural Vermont for kids like Jam who are struggling psychologically in some way or another.
Jam knows her parents expect her to use the time away to get herself and her life back on track, but she's not making much effort. All she can think about is Reeve and how she lost him. Doing homework and making friends aren't high on her priority list. However, when she is assigned to Special Topics in English, a class of only five students taught by the oldest teacher in the school, Jam slowly comes out of her shell.
The class is like an exclusive club, with the members hand-picked by Mrs. Quenell and the entire curriculum focused on just one author. For Jam's class, Mrs. Quenell has chosen the work of Sylvia Plath, the tortured poet whose depression eventually led to her suicide at age 30.
Reading Plath's work hits close to home for all the students, but what really bonds them together are their journals. When they write, they are somehow transported to another place where their individual trauma hasn't happened. So when Jam writes in her journal, suddenly she's back in Reeve's arms, reliving the few weeks they had together. It sounds weird, sure, but it's actually a pretty neat way for the characters to process their issues, and it sets up the inevitable choice: will Jam move on from Reeve and rebuild her life, or will she remain stagnant in her own grief and self-pity?
Belzhar is a book about a lovesick girl that somehow isn't a drag to read. And if it leads more young readers to discover Plath's work, all the better.
Find more of my book recommendations for grades 6-12 at www.read-or-die.com.
And for the most part, Wolitzer delivers. There are a few uneven passages, a couple exchanges between characters that strain credulity, and maybe a moment here or there that made this twenty-nine-year-old roll her eyes, but despite all that, Belzhar manages to be fresh while treading familiar teenage territory.
Jam Gallahue is the quintessential lovestruck teenage girl. She had just a few weeks with her boyfriend Reeve, a British exchange student, before he died. Mysteriously, I might add, as Jam is so traumatized she doesn't go into any of the details of his death. Now her parents have enrolled her at The Wooden Barn, a school in rural Vermont for kids like Jam who are struggling psychologically in some way or another.
Jam knows her parents expect her to use the time away to get herself and her life back on track, but she's not making much effort. All she can think about is Reeve and how she lost him. Doing homework and making friends aren't high on her priority list. However, when she is assigned to Special Topics in English, a class of only five students taught by the oldest teacher in the school, Jam slowly comes out of her shell.
The class is like an exclusive club, with the members hand-picked by Mrs. Quenell and the entire curriculum focused on just one author. For Jam's class, Mrs. Quenell has chosen the work of Sylvia Plath, the tortured poet whose depression eventually led to her suicide at age 30.
Reading Plath's work hits close to home for all the students, but what really bonds them together are their journals. When they write, they are somehow transported to another place where their individual trauma hasn't happened. So when Jam writes in her journal, suddenly she's back in Reeve's arms, reliving the few weeks they had together. It sounds weird, sure, but it's actually a pretty neat way for the characters to process their issues, and it sets up the inevitable choice: will Jam move on from Reeve and rebuild her life, or will she remain stagnant in her own grief and self-pity?
Belzhar is a book about a lovesick girl that somehow isn't a drag to read. And if it leads more young readers to discover Plath's work, all the better.
Find more of my book recommendations for grades 6-12 at www.read-or-die.com.
2.5 stars - I enjoyed reading this book (read it in a day!), but the twist at the end knocked it down a full star for me. I don't want to say too much, but I thought the twist was kind of inane, and the character faced basically no consequences for her deception/manipulation of the situation. I also felt incredibly manipulated as a reader. Finally, I don't think that people would have reacted to her as kindly in real life as they did in the book, which further baffled me. It's really a shame, because I quite liked the book otherwise.
After reading the reviews I didn't quite know what to expect. This book resonated so hard with me, though... books impact people in different ways and on different levels depending on the person's own life experiences. I was very invested in this story... I found it to be interesting and I couldn't wait to pick it up again to continue reading.
“Words matter. All semester, we were looking for the words to say what we needed to say. We were all looking for our voice.”
Words matter....in every aspect of mental health, words matter....
“Words matter. All semester, we were looking for the words to say what we needed to say. We were all looking for our voice.”
Words matter....in every aspect of mental health, words matter....
Belzhar is a form of escape for the elite Special Topics students of The Wooden Barn, an institution for "highly intelligent, fragile" adolescents. While they may seem unstable at first, we soon realise that they are all hanging, dealing with grief and loss. Belzhar allowed them to restore their past so that they can somehow deal with the present. The book started out as a raw and poignant portrayal of depression, but it progresses into a beautiful depiction of redemption and hope, making Belzhar more than just a place of escape - it is also a place of discovery.
What the hellllll. I'd have to give this a 2.5 because what the helllllll. The ending was unexpected and totally threw me off.