On the Jellicoe Road

There's a monster in my mirror with puffy bloodshot eyes because she stayed up most of the night, crying and reading On the Jellicoe Road. But it was worth it.Melina Marchetta never fails to remind me why she is one of my favourite authors and, in my opinion, this is the best of her books I've read so far. It's very difficult to put into words how I feel about On the Jellicoe Road, all I can say is that my heart has been ripped out and shredded, my throat has sealed up with emotion and when I fi [...]

There's a reason why books like Twilight don't receive those. They don't give those to just any book, and when you factor in excellence . . . well, a lot of titles just don't make the cut. But it is clear to me why Melina Marchetta's third tribute to YA literature received a Printz award back in 2009. It is because it is excellent, to the very meaning of the word.If all YA contemporary writers wrote like Marchetta, I doubt I'd play in any other genre playground very often. She writes these beaut [...]

i have got to stop being surprised when teen fiction is good. printz-award winning fiction (you know, the award for literary teen fiction that all the grown-ups read and say "this is for teens??"). australian teen fiction. complicated, multi-layered teen fictionis book is all of the above, and it is remarkable has sex and drugs and rock and roll, it has violence and terrible crimes, it has shock and awe and guilt and terrible secrets and it opens with a death. this is my kind of teen fiction. it [...]

I will preface this review by saying that I love this book. But not every will love this book. I will also preface this review by saying that you shouldn't decide whether you belong in group A or group B before you get to page 125 or so. The first 125 pages are a confusing, emotional slog that seems to be about territorial "wars" between rival teen sects in Australia. But it's really brilliantly done -- because that is exactly what the main character, Taylor Markham, thinks of things. It's busy [...]

*5+ Stars! Gorgeous*Books like this make me realize just how insignificant words become when attempting to convey raw emotion. On the Jellicoe Road is more than just a book; it is a hauntingly beautiful journey towards an unexpected destination where tragedy and despair become the bridges to the greatest of friendships. And life goes on, which seems kind of strange and cruel when you're watching someone die.This story is told in alternating perspectives set in both past and present which, at fi [...]

As seen on The ReadventurerI don't often give books 5-star ratings. Normally these are the books that either horrify me (Unwind, The Handmaid's Tale) or delight me with superb writing (The Queen of Attolia, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks) or awe me with imaginative world building (The Left Hand of Darkness) or make me cry (Before I Die). Jellicoe Road definitely falls into this last "made-me-weep" category.Jellicoe Road is the location of a boarding school for kids that are oft [...]

'On the Jellicoe Road' is the first book I've read/listened to by this author. After all of the glowing reviews for this one, I was prepared to be blown away. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out that way for me. It ended up being an "okay" story for me.My first problem has less to do with the actual story, and more to do with the format that I chose. I listened to the Audible edition and that was a big mistake. The problem didn't stem from the quality of narration, so much as the complexity o [...]

"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12 - Jesus, did you?" This quote belongs to Stephen King, but it describes the soul of Melina Marchetta's Jellicoe Road perfectly.Jellicoe Road is the story of friendships that form your world, friendships so wonderful that it's easy to fall to pieces when they break. It is the story of abandonment and loss and learning to deal with it. It is the story of love, intense to the extreme with the generous helping of teen angst. In shor [...]

GUYS.I JUST READ THIS AGAIN ON A WHIM AND MY HEART. I AM A MESS. ALL OVER AGAIN IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE BECAUSE EVERYTHING HURTS JUST AS MUCH BUT ALSO EVERYTHING HURTS JUST AS GOOD OR MAYBE EVEN INFINITELY MORE SO AND I CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO FATHOM THE FUCKING BEAUTY THAT IS THIS STORY AND THIS PROSE AND OFFICIALLY MY MOST CHERISHED BOOK OF ALL TIME.Thank you for existing.(21.10.16)________________________This is the kind of book that slowly sucks you in, and at first, you may be unsure if you want [...]

God. This book. -----Note: I’m not sure where the words ‘On the’ went… I’m assuming it’s different for the British version and not that I have a defective copy.Also… while I’m Note-ing: This review will be a lot shorter than other reviews because this book is best read knowing nothing about it. Initial Final Page Thoughts.Breathtaking. I need to listen to the masses more. High PointsNAH GRIGGS. Sorry, had to get that out there. Taylor Markham= New Soul Sister. Australia. Mystery! [...]

“From this distance everything is so bloody perfect.”This will not be a proper review, because On the Jellicoe Road turned me into ruins. Quite possibly, my favorite book of the year, because it is so unique and so gut-wrenching and so enrapturing it deserves the title. This book is not merely a reading experience; this book is a journey. One filled with two emotional plotlines, past and present, that overlap in places only to thread themselves together in a masterful and sad, yet agonizingl [...]

*had to rewrite the roast bc gr is a fucking shitface and deleted it so I apologize if it is sucky. I tried kids.*And that's basically me after reading this ^My brain cells are ded. I want to cry and drown in my own tears, not because of the feels this book gave me, but the lack of fucking everything this book failed to give me. I want my time back that was wasted reading this book.You know you should dnf a book when you:1. Can't even pronounce the fucking title correctly.2. Find it hidden under [...]

GAZILLION STARS.179 books. And this is just the second one.I cried. For the second time ever.( Now that was when I first read this book, so let me re-phrase, 262 books, and I re-read this, and I cried again. This time the tears didn't come as a surprise but as a tacit affirmation of the emotional brilliance that this book presents. You can now continue with the original review, that is all I wanted to say. )I can't write a review for this. No, I can't because its one of those books that you can [...]

Simply incredible. I cried way too much, but it was so worth it. Will review tomorrow when I can wrap my head around what to write.*moves ahead a day in time*After sleeping on it, I'm still struggling with how to write a proper review. There are some books which are virtually impossible to explain, and this is one of them. The GR book summary gives no indication what the book is really about, and truth be told, I'm not sure you'd want to know what the book is about before reading it.The first 15 [...]

You gut me, Marchetta. Absolutely gut me.

This book is so fucked up. Completely, totally fucked up. Everybody in it is fucked up, and living their lives is fucked up, and by the time you're done with it, you're fucked up, but you can't tell because your head is cloudy from all the tears you've shed getting through this fucked-up book. I hate On The Jellicoe Road. I hate books that make me cry, and this book made me want to weep tears of blood for all that lost youth and promise, and the pain of loss and the promise of the future. If som [...]

A lot of people think that Henry David Thoreau* went to Walden to live a solitary life. I felt like that until I actually went to Walden Pond. Imagine my surprise when some friends and I decided to go for a hike, go for a swim and check out the scenery--we left Boston around 9d we got there by 9:30. Yeah right, HDT, I could live deliberately in the woods, too, if I knew my transcendentalist cronies would bring me a Cinnabon and some pumpkin ale once in awhile.** Nevertheless, Thoreau’s idea se [...]

It took me 113 days to write a full review I counted.Reading one of Marchetta’s stories should be one of the “10 things to do in your lifetime”. Seriously, this woman is one of the most creative people alive, one of the most amazing writers I came across and I wish I could put into words the awesomeness of this book, but I feel at a loss for words once more.In fact, I should invent a new language with a dictionary full of ways to praise her talent.Because Melina Marchetta doesn’t only wr [...]

4.5 stars.

“He’s the most beautiful creature I have ever seen and it’s not about his face, but the life force I can see in him. It’s the smile and the pure promise of everything he has to offer. Like he’s saying, ‘Here I am world, are you ready for so much passion and beauty and goodness and love and every other word that should be in the dictionary under the word life?’”Sometimes, guys, simply reading a book once is not enough. You find that reading it a second time offers you a whole othe [...]

how could this book hurt me on the second read just as much as the first read? i am a puddle of feels and sadness and tears and joy. i love this book more than i love myself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~guess which Marchetta Trash™ is back to have her soul ruined AGAIN??? buddy read and rereadwith the nice mice, zoop & foop can't wait to die :')

Every Filipino who loves his country must read this book.Reason: On April 13, 2012, North Korea's long-range rocket launched, failed. Reuters is now saying that, embarrassed by rocket crash, North Korea may now be thinking of trying nuclear test. Check the path and the trajectory plan of that failed rocket launch:Do you see that tail-end of the yellow line? That's Luzon, the biggest island in the Philippines. That's where Manila is. That's where I live!But why should we read this book?Here's why [...]

Honest to God, I don't even know what the hell I read.Before I begin, you'll realize I've referred to this book as JelliNOE Road. Because that's what is: A NO.Don't ask me what this book is about, because 1) I don't know what it's about, and 2) I'd like to forget this book exists.Thank you. JelliNOE Road has been on my TBR for a while. I added it because MAYBELINE adores it. I only decided to pick it up last week because May and I had a deal. She fulfilled her part of the deal and me reading thi [...]

So I just don't get what others love about this book. It's a Cybil's Finalist and a ALA Printz Award Winner. So people LOVE Jellicoe Road and I usually follow popular librarian opinion, but I just can't get on this bandwagon.I felt like the writing was very, very confusing. For the first 100 pages I really couldn't tell what was going on. Don't get me wrong - dramatic and interesting things were happening, but I couldn't even begin to see how they were related. The character development is very [...]

This book was recommended to by the lovely MAYFLOWER! And boy, do I have a lot of gratitude that she pulled this book to the forefront of my TBR list.I'm gonna be honest, when I first started reading this I didn't find myself immediately drawn into the story. I was like that new kid in a group that's sort of hanging out on the edge of conversation, listening but not really participating.But then I saw the light.Things started to come together for me once Taylor began to pursue the truth of her p [...]

I’m at a loss for words. This book has made me cry and laugh out loud. It has made me fall in love with its characters, no matter how small their role. It is a book that I’m not likely to forget at any time. Jellicoe Road deals with death and loss, with abandonment, drug-addiction and suicide. Each character has her or his own terrible past to come to terms with, and sometimes I wondered: How do these people manage to live on when even I almost can’t cope with what they’ve been through? [...]

I first read 'On The Jellicoe Road' in 2006. I had been DYING for it's release ~ and can still remember how tingly and giddy I felt as I walked home with my copy. Back then, I had 3 kids under 5 and couldn't wait for them to get in bed so I could curl up and savour my new Melina Marchetta.On The Jellicoe Road is notorious for people finding the beginning confusing ~ and I have seen lovers of the book urge people to persevere to find it's magic. It was not like that for me. From the first chapter [...]

Half this book I was: ????The other half I was: on the verge of tears

The story broke my heart into a million pieces but it also fixed the pieces back. This beautifully heart aching novel did something to me I cannot explain. The truth is the beginning of the story kept confusing me that I almost wanted to quit reading. I’m glad I didn’t because if I had, I wouldn’t have known of a wonderful though devastatingly painful but inspiring story of love, grief and friendship of two different generations but whose lives are intricately connected to one another.The [...]

☠ Territorial War buddy read/reread with Chelsea, Jennifer, Jen, Laura & Harriet ☠What happens when you reread this incredible book? What? You fucking cry, what do you think?Well, you have seen me gushing frantically obsessing over this book for a while now, so you know you have to brace yourself because this book? It possibly became my favorite. Ever. That kind of means something when we read a million book a year, right? "I fall in love with these kids over and over again and my heart [...]