I just finished JELLICOE ROAD, a book I owned from before it won the Printz, in case anyone asks. I loved SAVING FRANCESCA and so I had high hopes. So. Here's the review:



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 and there are plot threads everywhere and all I knew was that I loved SAVING FRANCESCA and Melina Marchetta was doing all of this for a reason.

And she was. It ties up beautifully in the end, and there's a scene which even made me shed a tear -- me, who has not cried since THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE (three tears) and while writing my second novel SHIVER (one tear from each eye) -- and I'm left feeling just about cheerful about everything in the book though it was not a Hollywood happy ending by any stretch.

I think quite possibly my absolute favorite thing that Marchetta does is the character reversal. She introduces a character which we view in a terrible light because the main character views them in a terrible light, and then she completely changes our mind about them in a subtle and realistic way throughout the book until finally we and the main character are in love. She did this in SAVING FRANCESCA and she pulled it off again in JELLICOE ROAD even though I was watching for it. By the time we get the first kiss in the novel, I was sort of clapping embarrassingly like a seal.

This is one of those books that I know will be wonderful on the reread, because I'll get to look past the busy beginning to see the groundwork Marchetta was laying.

Happy sigh. I'm very happy this one won the Printz this year.

Here's the link to Amazon.

and Powell's.