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A review by rallythereaders
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
5.0
Also posted on Rally The Readers.
Whenever I read something that is as stunning as Jellicoe Road is, I find it extremely difficult to adequately capture in words how amazing the book is. This is the best contemporary YA novel that I’ve read to date. Everything is perfect: the writing, the characters, the plotting. I loved Melina Marchetta’s epic fantasy [b:Finnikin of the Rock|6719736|Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles, #1)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256982126s/6719736.jpg|4998084] and found Jellicoe Road equally impossible to put down.
One of the many things that I admire about Marchetta’s novels is the amount of depth that she gives to her characters. They’re always complex and never clichéd. Their dialogue is smart and free of cringe-inducing platitudes. I found it very easy to root for Taylor. As the story unfolds and you find out just how hard her life has been, it’s a heartbreaking realization. I got a bit teary-eyed a few times. That’s not to say that the book is one big weep-fest, though. There are plenty of snappy exchanges between the characters to make you laugh. Throughout the novel, there is always a balance between the book’s heavier subject matter and its more lighthearted moments.
Jellicoe Road is also a fantastic story of unwavering friendship, which is epitomized by the characters from the manuscript within the book. Tragedy brings them together, and an unbreakable bond forms between them. I also really liked Taylor’s friend, Rafaella. She struck me as the type of person who’s there for you no matter what, which is exactly what Taylor needs.
A note about the previously mentioned manuscript: Jellicoe Road has a book-within-a-book thing going on with this manuscript, which Taylor’s mother figure, Hannah, has been working on. At first I was a little confused by the manuscript excerpts which were interspersed with the main storyline. Their relevance quickly becomes clear, though, and when everything comes together, the payoff is immense. I urge anyone who reads this book to stick with it even if it sometimes seems as though the story is jumping around. You’ll be richly rewarded for your efforts.
Whenever I read something that is as stunning as Jellicoe Road is, I find it extremely difficult to adequately capture in words how amazing the book is. This is the best contemporary YA novel that I’ve read to date. Everything is perfect: the writing, the characters, the plotting. I loved Melina Marchetta’s epic fantasy [b:Finnikin of the Rock|6719736|Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles, #1)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256982126s/6719736.jpg|4998084] and found Jellicoe Road equally impossible to put down.
One of the many things that I admire about Marchetta’s novels is the amount of depth that she gives to her characters. They’re always complex and never clichéd. Their dialogue is smart and free of cringe-inducing platitudes. I found it very easy to root for Taylor. As the story unfolds and you find out just how hard her life has been, it’s a heartbreaking realization. I got a bit teary-eyed a few times. That’s not to say that the book is one big weep-fest, though. There are plenty of snappy exchanges between the characters to make you laugh. Throughout the novel, there is always a balance between the book’s heavier subject matter and its more lighthearted moments.
Jellicoe Road is also a fantastic story of unwavering friendship, which is epitomized by the characters from the manuscript within the book. Tragedy brings them together, and an unbreakable bond forms between them. I also really liked Taylor’s friend, Rafaella. She struck me as the type of person who’s there for you no matter what, which is exactly what Taylor needs.
A note about the previously mentioned manuscript: Jellicoe Road has a book-within-a-book thing going on with this manuscript, which Taylor’s mother figure, Hannah, has been working on. At first I was a little confused by the manuscript excerpts which were interspersed with the main storyline. Their relevance quickly becomes clear, though, and when everything comes together, the payoff is immense. I urge anyone who reads this book to stick with it even if it sometimes seems as though the story is jumping around. You’ll be richly rewarded for your efforts.