Half Way There (And Really Confused) ~ Jellicoe Road

So I was right, the whole school divisions thing is really confusing me. From what I can gather, there's three groups: Townies, Cadets, and Taylor's group. Taylor's group doesn't really have an official name, they're just the boarding school kids. The Townies are the kids that live in Jellicoe and go to the local public high school. The Cadets are kids that are there for a summer bootcamp program. I think that what's going on is that, as I said before, Hannah goes missing and Taylor is trying to figure out where she is. Taylor got dropped off on the Jellicoe Road when she was eleven and Hannah took her in, so Taylor wants desperately to find Hannah.

In between chapters in Taylor's point of view, there seems to be some kind of fictional story mixed in. What is confusing about this story is that it's so similar to what is happening in the book. The 'fictional' story is about a group of five kids who live either in Jellicoe, go to the Jellicoe Road boarding school, or are part of the Cadet program. These five kids are going through the same little war that Taylor and her friends are going through. It's hard to tell whether this story is actually fictional or not, but it seems to be getting more and more real.

I'm enjoying the book so far even though it is hard to follow at times. The way the mini story is mixed in with chapters of the main plot is nice. It gives you a little time to think about the main plot as well as expand on it a little and give some background of what the Jellicoe Road is like. It's nice to have a book every once in a while where the main character is easy to distinguish. The past two books that I've read haven't been specifically in the point of view of one person, but Jellicoe Road is told just from Taylor's point of view (except for during the mini story).

The book at times seems very simple and like an easy read, but at other times Melina Marchetta will strike you with something very profound and notable. For example, I found this quote very charming: "It's funny how you can forget everything except people loving you. Maybe that's why humans find it so hard getting over love affairs. It's not the pain they're getting over, it's the love." Although this quote may sound very romantic, I think it's more reflectant upon Taylor's feelings for her mother. Taylor feels mad at her mom for ditching her at a 7/11 on the Jellicoe Road one day, but at the same time, she knows she still loves her mom. She remembers the good times they shared, even though she does sometimes dwell on the dark days. She knows she would forgive her mom in a heartbeat and go running into her arms if she ever saw her again. I think this quote shows really well that even though Taylor acts very tough and strong, she can be broken and gotten to very easily.

So far, I'm not sure that I'd recommend the book because I'm still finding it somewhat confusing. I'll let you know next time whether I'd recommend it.

-Jenna