By Meg Wolitzer (author)
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October 2014 Book of the Month Jam’s life changed forever on the day that Reeve Maxfield died. She withdraws into herself no longer wishing to live in a world without Reeve. In desperation her parents enrol her into ‘The Wooden Barn’, a boarding school where other ‘emotionally fragile, highly intelligent’ students are each trying to come to terms with their own personal trauma.
When Jam is selected for ‘Special Topics in English’ she is initially disinterested but is soon swept along studying Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and writing in her journal. Something unusual begins to happen to each of the students. What is the strange world that is Belzhar and will if finally return them to their lives and the world they left behind?
Meg Wolitzer's beautiful, poignant writing captures the angst and darkness of a troubled teenage mind perfectly. Belzhar is a breathtaking and surprising story about first love, deep sorrow, and the power of acceptance. ~ Shelley Fallows
ONE OF TIME AND NPR'S TEN BEST YA BOOKS OF THE YEAR From the New York Times bestselling author of The Female Persuasion comes a "smart and engrossing" (School Library Journal) story of a young girl who finds solace after the tragic loss of her boyfriend at a boarding school in Vermont.
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ONE OF TIME AND NPR'S TEN BEST YA BOOKS OF THE YEAR From the New York Times bestselling author of The Female Persuasion comes a "smart and engrossing" ( School Library Journal ) story of a young girl who finds solace after the tragic loss of her boyfriend at a boarding school in Vermont.
"Expect depth and razor sharp wit in this [young adult] novel from the author of The Interestings ."- Entertainment Weekly
"A prep school tale with a supernatural-romance touch."- Glamour There's a place where the lost go to be found.
If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be at home in New Jersey with her sweet British boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She'd be watching old comedy sketches with him. She'd be kissing him in the library stacks.
She certainly wouldn't be at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont, signed up for an exclusive, supposedly life-changing class called Special Topics in English that focuses-only and entirely-on the works of Sylvia Plath.
But life isn't fair. Reeve has been gone for almost a year, and Jam is still mourning.
When a journal-writing assignment leads Jam into a mysterious other-world she and her classmates call Belzhar, she discovers a realm where the untainted past is restored, and she can feel Reeve's arms around her once again. But, as the pages of her journal begin to fill up, Jam must confront hidden truths and ultimately decide what she's willing to sacrifice to reclaim her loss.
'Sure to be an all-too-relatable bestseller' TIME Magazine
'Wolitzer writes crisply and sometimes humorously about sadness, guilt, and anger' Publishers Weekly
‘Love, loss, belonging and acceptance, with a dash of magical realism. I loved it’ The Bookseller ‘The plot maintains an integrity that has come to be hallmark of Wolitzer’s novels . . . An enticing blend of tragedy, poetry, surrealism and redemption’ Kirkus Reviews
Meg Wolitzer's novels include The Wife, The Position, The Ten-Year Nap, The Uncoupling and The Interestings. The Interestings, published in August last year, was a New York Times bestseller and compared to the likes of Jonathan Franzen's Freedom and Jeffrey Eugenides' The Marriage Plot.
She is married with two sons and lives in New York City.
the best books for teenagers
If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be at home in New Jersey with her sweet British boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She'd be watching old comedy sketches with him.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Belzhar and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
Belzhar features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Featured Books for Young Adults, Recommended Children's eBooks, Featured Books for 13+ readers
Paperback. Not Available.
Belzhar was written by Meg Wolitzer and published by Dutton Books for Young Readers an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group
Belzhar has 272 pages
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