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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
I absolutely loved The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, and after reading two of her other books, I'm beginning to think it was a fluke. The Uncoupling was underwhelming, and Belzhar was downright annoying. It's loosely-related to The Bell Jar, which is spectacular and one of my all-time favorites. I enjoyed the book until the 'big reveal' at the end. It cheapened the book, and the main character, Jam, so much to learn the truth of her situation. Disappointing!
*Maybe more like 3.5?*
So I got this book as a gift about a million years ago, but I wanted to wait to read it until after I'd read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, because I thought it was a pretty big thing in this book. Turns out, it really wasn't haha and you don't need to read The Bell Jar before this at all, though it was kinda nice to know that story going in.
I actually enjoyed this more than I thought it would--at the beginning the book seems very "stereotypical teen" book, but it ended up being a very quick read (the book is also only like 250 pages). I ended up really liking and rooting for all of the characters. The plot twist (which everyone seems to have a very strong opinion about in the other reviews lol) was...interesting. I wasn't SHOCKED or anything...I don't really have any strong feelings on it either way, though I can certainly see why people wouldn't like it.
This isn't a new favorite of mine or anything, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, and I'm glad I read it. :)
So I got this book as a gift about a million years ago, but I wanted to wait to read it until after I'd read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, because I thought it was a pretty big thing in this book. Turns out, it really wasn't haha and you don't need to read The Bell Jar before this at all, though it was kinda nice to know that story going in.
I actually enjoyed this more than I thought it would--at the beginning the book seems very "stereotypical teen" book, but it ended up being a very quick read (the book is also only like 250 pages). I ended up really liking and rooting for all of the characters. The plot twist (which everyone seems to have a very strong opinion about in the other reviews lol) was...interesting. I wasn't SHOCKED or anything...I don't really have any strong feelings on it either way, though I can certainly see why people wouldn't like it.
This isn't a new favorite of mine or anything, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, and I'm glad I read it. :)
My initial enthusiasm for this petered out by the end.
I took Belzhar to the gym and read it on the elliptical, that's how deep into the story I was. It's both an emotional character piece and a mysterious thriller, firmly in the spooky camp of magical realism. I hope many, many teens read this, and grown ups too.
I felt torn about this book. I liked certain things about it - the boarding school, the relationship between the characters, but the more far-fetched elements seemed to pull this story apart for me. Maybe I should go read some Sylvia Plath for a bit of backstory. I expected more.
Interesting idea and having no knowledge of Sylvia Plath I was more interested in reading it. I liked the story except at the end I lost any sympathy when I found out the reason Jam was at the barn, I was like what? Not to belittle her feelings but her trauma was nothing like the other students.
"Everyone has something to say. But not everyone can bear to say it."
"Everyone has something to say. But not everyone can bear to say it."
Intriguing story of friendship and supernatural with some surprising twists
Well....I don't know how to rate or review this. I read this in one day, practically one sitting. I loved it early on, but by the time it started getting down to the end I was irritated. I think the ending felt rushed and incomplete and, all at once, wrapped up too neatly with a perfect big red bow.
Blargh.
Blargh.
Rating: 5
"Sometimes it's easier to tell ourselves a story."
I picked this book up, started it and put it back down again 2 or 3 times during the first quarter of the book... I just couldn't decide if I liked it or not... or it I was into it at all. I'm glad I picked it back up again though (since it is technically a book club read), it's was an absolutely profound book! I really enjoyed the voice of this character, and how she developed it over the course of the book.
"The Wooden Barn is a halfway house between a hospital and a regular school. It's like a big lily pad where you can linger before you have to make the frog-leap back to ordinary life."
Jam is a girl with some deep-rooted emotions... Reeve, the love of her teenage life, has died... and she has to figure out how to move on. She's sunk into this depression that no one has been able to get her out of... so she's sent off to a school that's supposed to be better equipped to handle these teens with issues that go far beyond surface emotions. She meets some interesting people - Griffin and DJ are my favorites!! Oh, and Sierra!
"Sometimes an alternative world is much better than the real one."
The journals. That was my favorite part of the story, the best aspect by far! Belzhar. It's a place. A destination. Jam ends up in this special English class at her new school - and the writer picked for the semester to study, is Sylvia Plath. Now, that's one screwed up broad with one effed up story... but it's the words she wrote that matters. It's the words they study in class that begin to take on new meanings...
"Words matter. All semester, we were looking for the words to say what we needed to say. We were all looking for our voice."
It's the words the students in that class write down in their journals that matter. It's the journeys they allow themselves to take to get where they need to be to survive this harsh world, and the bad things that happen in it. It's the discoveries made about themslves and their lives - it's the realizations that they can overcome the bad hands they've been dealt...
"I think having the knowledge, plus the experiences you've lived through, make you definitely not fragile. They make you brave."
Bravery. Ability to face your fears head on and survive, and move on. That's the beauty of this story. Just read it. You won't regret it.
"Sometimes it's easier to tell ourselves a story."
I picked this book up, started it and put it back down again 2 or 3 times during the first quarter of the book... I just couldn't decide if I liked it or not... or it I was into it at all. I'm glad I picked it back up again though (since it is technically a book club read), it's was an absolutely profound book! I really enjoyed the voice of this character, and how she developed it over the course of the book.
"The Wooden Barn is a halfway house between a hospital and a regular school. It's like a big lily pad where you can linger before you have to make the frog-leap back to ordinary life."
Jam is a girl with some deep-rooted emotions... Reeve, the love of her teenage life, has died... and she has to figure out how to move on. She's sunk into this depression that no one has been able to get her out of... so she's sent off to a school that's supposed to be better equipped to handle these teens with issues that go far beyond surface emotions. She meets some interesting people - Griffin and DJ are my favorites!! Oh, and Sierra!
"Sometimes an alternative world is much better than the real one."
The journals. That was my favorite part of the story, the best aspect by far! Belzhar. It's a place. A destination. Jam ends up in this special English class at her new school - and the writer picked for the semester to study, is Sylvia Plath. Now, that's one screwed up broad with one effed up story... but it's the words she wrote that matters. It's the words they study in class that begin to take on new meanings...
"Words matter. All semester, we were looking for the words to say what we needed to say. We were all looking for our voice."
It's the words the students in that class write down in their journals that matter. It's the journeys they allow themselves to take to get where they need to be to survive this harsh world, and the bad things that happen in it. It's the discoveries made about themslves and their lives - it's the realizations that they can overcome the bad hands they've been dealt...
"I think having the knowledge, plus the experiences you've lived through, make you definitely not fragile. They make you brave."
Bravery. Ability to face your fears head on and survive, and move on. That's the beauty of this story. Just read it. You won't regret it.