On the Jellicoe Road

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Taylor is tormented by the grief and uncertainty of her abandonment and keeps herself emotionally distant from others. She has few memories of her childhood, but when her history starts presenting itself she begins a relentless quest for answers.

This is Marchetta's most sophisticated novel; it opens cryptically and is imbued with subtle mystery that crisply unfolds in uncluttered, evocative prose ... The Australian

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When you can manage making my heart feel so passionately for a person who only exists in whisps of memories throughout the entire course of a novel, I salute you. A mesmerizing and ultimately uplifting story about the fierce loyalty of friendship and the power of forgiveness. Publishers Weekly Only Ben Cassidy, Taylor's sort of nerdy friend who heads up one of the houses, stands up for Taylor, securing her the position. Generation Xerox: Three Jellicoe kids (Hannah, Webb, and Tate) befriend a Townie (Fitz) and a Cadet (Jude) and become good friends. Decades later, three Jellicoe kids (Taylor ( the daughter of Tate and Webb), Ben, and Raffy) befriend, after much arguing, a Townie (Santangelo) and a Cadet (Griggs) and become good friends. In addition, in both generations, one of the Jellicoe kids gets together with the Cadet- Hannah with Jude, and Taylor with Griggs.

Wham Line: "And then he told me to close my eyes. And I think I've been afraid to do just that, ever since." Taylor, after the Hermit killed himself in front of her. The character development in this story is extraordinary; no one is denied the sweetness of redemption and transformation. And yet, despite my adulthood, despite a few eye-rolls, despite the issues that I describe above, I STILL teared up at the end. I think admitting that will TOTALLY ruin my street cred, but oh well. All the above taken into consideration, 4 easy stars. " And life goes on, which seems kind of strange and cruel when you're watching someone die. But there's a joy and an abundance of everything, like information and laughter and summer weather and so many stories." Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award: Winner of the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award in the Older Readers category in 2007. Interrupted Suicide: Though Taylor didn't realize it at the time, she was this to Jonah. She was also the reason Tate's slow suicide took seventeen years instead of happening immediately. Subverted with Fitz, aka the Hermit, who Taylor had to witness die. Tate and the rest of the group also may have interrupted Hannah's attempt.

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Taylor says that her first strategy as leader is to get the Townies to side with the Jellicoe School faction. While pretty much everyone disagrees with this idea, Taylor reminds them that they've lost a considerable amount of territory in the last few years, leaving everything split pretty much between the other two sides. Now, I have to say that not once did I look at this book as a mystery even though it's marketed as such. The central mystery of the story - well, I easily figured it out only a few chapters in, and the rest of the details easily came into light as the story developed. Not much took me by surprise; it was quite predictable, actually. But since the mystery was not why I enjoyed the story, the reading experience was perfectly fine. To use the book's own language, the whole mystery setup was not a trip but a journey. It was never about the resolution but about the emotional journey it took to get there. " I remember asking, "What is the difference between a trip and a journey?" and my father said, "Narnie, my love, when we get there, you'll understand," and that was the last thing he ever said."What I loved was the friendships that the 'old five' and the 'new five' have developed throughout the course of their respective stories. My favorite by far was between Taylor and Raffaela, with the developing friendship with annoying but adorable Jessa as a close second. Even though there was a romantic story threatening to take the foreground, it never overshadowed the rest of the story and the friendships, and I'm thankful for that. " This is the best night of my life," Raffy says, crying. Sometimes the emotional intensity slips into a blatant melodrama. I mean, there was actually a remark on how intense Taylor and Jonah's relationship was, which made me feel like I'm reading a Twilight-type love story. Another piece of the puzzle is a book Hannah's been writing for years about five children, three of whom survive a terrible car accident on the Jellicoe Road. The more Taylor reads the book, the more convinced she is that it isn't just fiction. Yes it was confusing but I love figuring things out. We got passages set in the past, which didn't follow a proper time line. The mystery of not knowing what was going on or how things connected added to my enjoyment. I needed to know how everything fit.