34. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
ISBN: 9780061431838
Harper Teen, New York, 2008
419 pages

Teaser: Seventeen year old Taylor Markham finds life within the boarding school walls as safe, protected and regimented, until contact from old friends in the neighborhood of abandonment she has tried so hard to forget at age eleven by her mother. Memories of an auto accident and other tragedies dot the memories of Taylor’s past. Challenges of life beyond school and social expectations are tempted when a relationship develops from a contact from her past.

Summary: Taylor was abandoned by her mother at a pre-teen time in her life where she had once felt her dysfunctional life was normal and getting by was easy. Now in a structured Catholic boarding school environment with a higher education and expectations, her past tugs at her as she falls in love and deals with the challenges of what awaits outside the protection of her daily existence.

Adding to the plot, Taylor’s mother suddenly becomes ill and possibly severely depressed as a weakness that Taylor does not want to acknowledge and is also fearful of, as maybe hereditary. Taylor ponders the decision about building a bond with the mother who abandoned her or choosing to walk away and help herself, ignoring her possible future fate. Add in the temptations of delinquent residents and the lure of boys, Taylor has her world torn upside down.

Evaluation: I like the way Taylor deals with the decisions torn by her vague memories of the past and what she embodies and her vision for her faint memories and old friendships from her old neighborhood and actions that led her to her current placement and ultimately her future. I feel Taylor’s journey explores the possibly of mental illness, societies tolerance for standards of children and the strict environment of a religious boarding school for outcast girls.

Challenge issues and age recommendation: Death and dying, abandonment, mental health issues and temptations faced by those growing up were all issues in this book. This book would suit older teens for its content of budding boy/girl relationships and boundaries between good and evil. It may be a difficult book for those who are not raised by a biological parent or extended family members. It may also be difficult for children dealing with depression, mental illness or abandonment issues in their past or present lives. The book setting is a Catholic boarding school, but does not delve into religious matter per say, but does deal with making right choices and saying no to situations, such as relationships that may be moving too fast. The character is also very mature and in a leadership role and may not represent the average teenager in a romantic situation. I would recommend this book for readers 12 and up.