Jellicoe Road by Melina MarchettaPublisher: HarperTeen
Release date: September 1, 2008
Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeen, is finally being confronted by her past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn't much time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs is back in town, moody stares and all...
Review:
At first I had to make myself keep reading, because I was so confused as to what was going on. There were alternating points of view in the book, and the narrator, Taylor is talking about things I have no idea about. As the book continues the plot begins to become clearer and some of the mysteries are resolved for the reader. Although, the book was pretty engaging after the first 100 pages or so, I felt like the plot was disorganized and the main character- I didn't really like at all. Taylor was bratty and rude and seemed so self centered. For me, I need to like a main character in the book, or it just ruins the book for me and I think that's what happened with Jellicoe Road. The plot was original and it did keep me reading, but I could feel my mind wandering at some points. Near the end of the book, you are wondering what will happen next, and it kept me turning pages, but I felt like on each page something terrible was happening.
When I first picked up Jellicoe Road it wasn't because the inside cover interested me or because there was a giant Printz award slapped on the cover, no what interested me was the front cover. The giant orange flower, the dimmed greens in the background, I loved the cover right away. After reading the first few pages of the book, I realized I had no idea what it was about. Already the novel was sad, and made me feel oh no this isn't going to be one of those books with a happy ending. I think I might have enjoyed it more if everything wasn't so tragic and the main character was a little more likable, as well as having a little more organized plot. Keep in mind, I hate giving books negative reviews, but in this book the negative points stood out more than the good.
Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars
