"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." Albert Einstein

20 November 2014

Belzhar


Wolitzer, Meg. Belzhar. Dutton Juvenile, 2014.

Jam has been sent to a special school for "highly intelligent and emotionally fragile" teens. She hasn't been able to get over the death of her boyfriend, Reeve. To her surprise, Jam is placed in a very special English class where there are only four other students. She soon discovers that there's more to this class than meets the eye.

This book is an excellent example of a story with an unreliable narrator. We hear the tragedies of the other characters throughout the book, but it isn't until the very end that we discover the truth about Jam and why she's been sent to this school.  This was a really interesting, appropriately mysterious book that I could readily recommend to any teen. I finished it in a single afternoon because I couldn't stand the thought of not finding out what happened.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: a couple of drunk parties mentioned, the mention of a character who had smoked pot, some language
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: We Were Liars, Never Let Me Go

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