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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
Although I had a very hard time getting into this story, I found that it was so worth the effort once all the fragments of people and circumstances started weaving together. The story is like a puzzle, and all the more engaging for it. Now that I've finished, I have to go back to the beginning and pick up pieces I missed throughout the beginning before I knew who everyone would become later. If this doesn't make any sense, READ THE STORY.......you'll be glad you tried it!
it took me a while to really get into the book (about halfway through, to be exact), and i get the point of having the territory wars in there, but a lot of that aspect confused me and seemed overcomplicated when compared to what the book was actually about. maybe that's just me. anyway. the end was emotional enough to almost compensate for that. (almost).
Jellicoe Road is a perfect example of why I don’t DNF (and the second time Melina Marchetta has pulled this off for me [first with Finnikin of the Rock], bringing me to trust her despite early annoyance with Jellicoe Road.) . Marchetta pieces together an emotionally hard-hitting mystery that feels like a gut punch and a hug by turns, including a frustrating first half that offers seemingly disjointed and useless information — until it isn’t. As characters sharpen in the eyes of the reader, the tragedy they are bound to face heightens and strengthens. Meanwhile, through the perspective of the narrator, Taylor, suffering from a mysterious lack of memory, readers meet a series of nuanced and fascinating characters, including the emotional and intense Jonah Griggs. At times drivingly romantic and other times simply powerful, Jellicoe Road is the apex of literary young adult fiction and an excellent example of a successful unreliable narrator and a strategic release of information. Well worth the 400+ pages and surprisingly fast-paced, this is a book you’ll want to reread as soon as the final page is turned.
I read this because it happened to be available on Overdrive (ebooks available through the public library). I really didn't know what to expect -- I read the excerpt here on Goodreads and thought it would be another novel about teen angst and death. Which it is, but...it was a really odd read! At first I was confused -- who are these voices speaking, and what do they have to do with anything? The main narrator isn't the girl from the excerpt on Goodreads? Why do these kids have a war going on? What year is it? Where are they? It took a while (probably half the book) for me to figure out a lot of this. It was kind of like reading a sequel without having read the first book -- they kept referring to past events as if one ought to know what they were talking about.
And all of this annoyed me at first, but about half way through things really took off, more was revealed, and ROMANCE came into the equation. I ended up staying awake until nearly 2 a.m. to finish the book.
And all of this annoyed me at first, but about half way through things really took off, more was revealed, and ROMANCE came into the equation. I ended up staying awake until nearly 2 a.m. to finish the book.
Would have been 5 stars, but it took a little too long to get into.
I don't quite see why everyone seems to rave about this book. It was enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but the beginning was confusing to the point of frustration and I figured out all of the plot revelations long before the main character did.
Teaching Note:
- Recommended for advanced junior high readers (with a modicum of patience)
- Tasteful sex talk, appropriate for grade 9 or mature grade 8
Teaching Note:
- Recommended for advanced junior high readers (with a modicum of patience)
- Tasteful sex talk, appropriate for grade 9 or mature grade 8
I love Melina Marchetta. The emotions in her books are so powerful, and even though I felt a little lost in the beginning of this one, by the time I got halfway through I was so invested in the characters and the story I felt lost to the book. There is so much about this book that I want to express, but there are other reviews that say everything so much better than I could, so go read them (Maggie Stiefvater's especially), and then go read this book. Can't wait to get my hands on The Piper's Son, although then that means I have no more Marchetta to read until she comes out with something new...
Reread and I maybe cried more this time around. A profound story of love, the kind that makes you want to know someone for the rest of your life.
In my top 5 favorite books of all time.
In my top 5 favorite books of all time.
What happens when you reread this incredible book? What? You fucking cry, what do you think?
Well, you have seen me
"I fall in love with these kids over and over again and my heart aches for their tragedies and marvels at their friendship".
▒ This book. This fucking BOOK. ▒
Why is it so special to me? You mean, except from the fact it's written by Marchetta and contains Jonah Griggs in it? Apart from that?
Well, what you need to know is that few authors manage to change my perception of myself as a reader.
Yet if there's something I learnt this year, that's Melina Marchetta's books are written in a way that makes me want to create a stamp which would say -
That says it all. The reason I rarely cry when I read is the fact I hate feeling manipulated. I loathe it when I can see through the author's intentions and I'm pretty sure that's why I never succeeded in finishing The fault in our stars. Melina Marchetta's books show me something I was eager to learn, because even if I knew it deep down inside, I was seeking out the moment I'd unravel all my doubts : No, I'm not a cold-hearted reader.
I was just longing for stories which really speak to me, because, never, ever again I want to find myself thinking 'oh, I think I'm supposed to cry right now'. The beauty of her books lies in the surprise they never fail to create in me : I could express it with a single word : suddenly.
And that emergence of unexpected feelings? I live for that shit.
▒ But this book. This fucking BOOK. ▒
Jellicoe road takes us into the life of characters so strongly convinced of the uselessness of their life that we want to fight for them. We want to tear the appearances out, and above all that, we're grateful to Melina Marchetta because her characters are so relatable and real that we can find pieces of ourselves in them. Pieces of our friends. Pieces of our family. Pieces of my heart that broke for Jonah Griggs over and over again.
"Please don’t be crazy, Taylor,” Griggs whispers, leaning his head against mine. “Please don’t be crazy.” He kisses me, holding my face between his hands, whispering over and over again, “Please".
Therefore don't worry if you're confused throughout the 100 first pages, I swear to you, there must surely come a stage when you'll find yourself utterly captivated by Taylor's journey. Moreover, after reading it a second time, I can assure you that this experience was even more emotional and that Marchetta wrapped her plot brilliantly - I noticed some things I couldn't see the first time and WOW. Just WOW. This structure? Incredible. Everything has a sense. Everything has a purpose. Nothing's useless. Nothing.
▒ But this book. This fucking BOOK. ▒
This is a tale about where we belong. Is it a place? Is it a person? Is it love?
Can we stop belonging somewhere?
Can we earn the right to belong or is it something we have in our heart no matter what we do?
Can we allow somebody else to be our everything? Because what happens, I'm asking I'm yelling, what happens if our everything disappears?
*whisper* Do we disappear as well?
Now, I don't want to scare you
You're going to live and feel and smile.
"Go on, admit it. When he hits the ground and the blood went flying and you knew in your heart his nose was broken, didn't you just want to jump for joy and stomp on his ugly face?"
▒ But this book. This fucking BOOK. ▒
I don't want to talk about the plot. Damn, I just can't and I'll say only one thing : even if I guessed some parts of the mystery pretty fast, following Taylor and Jonah was an experience I'd have been sad to miss and that captivating and splendorous story will linger in my heart and in my thoughts for a very long time.
You know what you have to do.
"I reach the bottom and smash into him with my fists as hard as I can. He falls and I can't believe he goes down that easy, caught off balance.
"You care about nothing, you piece of shit!"
I'm on the verge of tears, like I always seem to be these days, and I hear the catch in my voice and I hate myself for it. He throws me off him and I can tell there is a fury in him.
"Never," he tells me in a tone full of ice, "under-estimate who or what I care for.”
PS : I have a million quotes to write, a million stories about Jonah, Webbs, Tate, Narny, Jude, Fitz, Taylor, Jessa to tell. But I won't. I won't because this is a book which must be savored blind. I won't even if Jonah Griggs is certainly one of the characters I will never forget. Just meet them, and if that's already the case, go reread it. That's even better the second time around, trust me.
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