Title: On the Jellicoe Road
Author: Melina Marchetta
Genre: Young Adult Literary Fiction
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: August 26, 2008
Hardcover: 432 pages

Where’d I Get It: Blahblahblah

Synopsis (From Goodreads): This absorbing, award-winning novel is part love story, part family drama, and part coming-of-age story in one compelling tale. If Taylor Markham can put together the pieces of her past and present, she might just be able to change her future.

My Thoughts: When Bree over at All the Books I Can Read (or you may know her as 1 Girl 2 Many Books) says you should read a book, you should read a book.  So, when she told me to pick up a couple of Melina Marchetta novels, I decided to do just that. She recommended Saving Francesca first, but my library had a sad lack – so On the Jellicoe Road got bumped up.

I’ll tell you like Bree told me – this one starts out a little slow. Some might even call it boring, if what you’re after is instant action. Give it 50-60 pages. Even though the story hasn’t turned into something spectacular in the first few chapters…it will. It will suddenly explode into a piece of Literary Fiction that will rock your world.

Marchetta is a master of words, and even in those introductory chapters she’s giving a ton of information that you’ll need later in the book. The prose is not overly lyrical, i’s are not dotted with little hearts, but the writing is so exquisite in its simplicity that each passage has a profound affect on the reader.

The characters are written in such a way as to make each and every one of them understandable and fascinating…they have -so much- thought behind them; it’s just fantastic.

This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry. It is so many things – mysterious, lovely, tragic, and beautiful – all at once that it leaves you feeling worn out at the end and yet wanting more.

I got my copy from the library, but I’ll be buying one of my own. You should buy one, too.

Rating: 5 of 5