Melina Marchetta’s coming-of-age novel is a refreshingly mature young adult adventure that captures the feeling on the crux of growing up and watching all that was familiar with the world shift into something new.
On the Jellicoe Road transports the reader to a world caught between the dreams of childhood and the horrors of reality, a boarding school where the students wage war with the Cadets and Townies, and the teachers never stick around long enough to stop them. In her last year at the school, Taylor Markham is given responsibility she never wanted, and must decide where her priorities lie when the truth about her identity and the people she thought she knew start to unravel.
The novel switches between two timelines, which are beautifully balanced. Taylor’s story is the main focus, and the reader is guided into the second timeline in a way that feels organic and doesn’t detract from either side. The two stories overlap and weave through each other without blatantly pointing out the connections, instead allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions. The payoff for the links between the timelines is incredibly rewarding, something that was carefully planned by Marchetta.
Marchetta succeeds in creating a setting vivid enough that it feels like its own world, but is still tethered in reality. While the Jellicoe School isn’t the happiest place, there’s a certain warmth of homliness attached to it that disappears the instant Taylor ventures into the outside world. Even in different timelines, the atmosphere of the school is as tangible as ever, making it easy to get lost in the Jellicoe Road.
Taylor stands out as a protagonist. She is incredibly strong and opinionated, and watching her grow and mature is extremely satisfying. But what really defines this novel is the theme of kids having to deal with things far beyond what should be expected of them, and the impact it has on them. The majority of the characters in On the Jellicoe Road have suffered great losses or gone through terrible ordeals, and what this novel does so well is explore the different ways people cope with trauma. No one is without flaw, but everyone is capable of improvement, and On the Jellicoe Road shows that it’s never too late to change.
A Curse of Ash and Embers follows Elodie, who is sent away from her stepfather, mother and siblings to work at Black Oak Cottage. But as Elodie journeys there, she will discover that she is working for a mistress named Aleida, who is left to care for the house after the passing of Gyssha Blackbone, …
The Bronze Key is the third instalment in the Magisterium series. Picking up a year after book three (The Copper Gauntlet), Callum and his best friends are now entering the third year of their magical training. Callum has now revealed the truth about his soul to his close friends, as well as his frenemy Jasper …
Skulduggery Pleasant – Playing with Fire is the second novel in Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant series. Following on from the events of the first novel (if you have not read the first novel, or do not want spoilers, please STOP reading right now), the novel picks up a few months after Skulduggery and Valkyrie defeated …
Eoin Colfer’s bestselling middle-grade adventure mystery novels chronicle the lives of twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl. In the first Artemis Fowl novel, we meet our eponymous character, who is more devious and clever than most adults. The novel follows Fowl after he attempts to catch a fairy in order to obtain gold for ransom. His main motive …
Highway Bodies is the second novel from Australian author Alison Evans after their debut novel Ida, which received a mixed opinion from readers, reviewers and critics. Set to be released in the February of 2019, Highway Bodies tells the tale of three distinct groups of Melbourne teenagers as the world around them falls victim to …
Eleni Hale’s Stone Girl is an incredibly powerful and honest story about the Australian foster care system. Drawing on elements of Hale’s own childhood, the novel is a confronting look into the troubling conditions faced by the children most in need of care. When twelve-year-old Sophie is moved to a foster home after the death …
Book Review – On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
On the Jellicoe Road transports the reader to a world caught between the dreams of childhood and the horrors of reality, a boarding school where the students wage war with the Cadets and Townies, and the teachers never stick around long enough to stop them. In her last year at the school, Taylor Markham is given responsibility she never wanted, and must decide where her priorities lie when the truth about her identity and the people she thought she knew start to unravel.
The novel switches between two timelines, which are beautifully balanced. Taylor’s story is the main focus, and the reader is guided into the second timeline in a way that feels organic and doesn’t detract from either side. The two stories overlap and weave through each other without blatantly pointing out the connections, instead allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions. The payoff for the links between the timelines is incredibly rewarding, something that was carefully planned by Marchetta.
Marchetta succeeds in creating a setting vivid enough that it feels like its own world, but is still tethered in reality. While the Jellicoe School isn’t the happiest place, there’s a certain warmth of homliness attached to it that disappears the instant Taylor ventures into the outside world. Even in different timelines, the atmosphere of the school is as tangible as ever, making it easy to get lost in the Jellicoe Road.
Taylor stands out as a protagonist. She is incredibly strong and opinionated, and watching her grow and mature is extremely satisfying. But what really defines this novel is the theme of kids having to deal with things far beyond what should be expected of them, and the impact it has on them. The majority of the characters in On the Jellicoe Road have suffered great losses or gone through terrible ordeals, and what this novel does so well is explore the different ways people cope with trauma. No one is without flaw, but everyone is capable of improvement, and On the Jellicoe Road shows that it’s never too late to change.
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