Review: Jellicoe Road

WARNING: SPOILERS!

Melina Marchetta’s Jellicoe Road is a YA book to be held in high esteem. The novel, set in Australia, centers around Taylor Markham, a student at the Jellicoe School. Throughout the novel, readers attempt to unravel the many mysteries centered around Taylor, and watch as she grows as a protagonist. There are two main aspects of the novel that differentiate it from other YA books.

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1. Two stories within the same plot, and the structure of the second story

—The first, obviously, is Taylor Markham’s. Her story is of a typical structure, consisting of a beginning, middle, and end.

BEGINNING: Taylor identifies herself as the unofficial student leader of the Jellicoe School, a state-run boarding school in Australia. Taylor informs her readers that when she was just eleven years old, her mother abandoned her in a 7-Eleven on the Jellicoe Road. Every year, three factions face-off in a territory wars, battling for control of the land surrounding the Jellicoe Road and the bordering town. Taylor leads the Jellicoe School, Jonah Griggs leads the Cadet faction, and Chaz Santangelo leads the Townies.

MIDDLE: Taylor attempts to unravel the mysteries of her past, to discover the murky reasoning behind her connection to her guardian, Hannah. She searches for the reason why her mother abandoned her, who and where her father is, and why a man called the Hermit whispered in her ear one day and then shot himself. She discovers the surprising relationships between the adults of her past, and travels with Griggs to Sydney to find her mother.

END: Taylor has found her answers, and has created for herself a makeshift family consisting of Hannah, Jude, Jonah Griggs, Santangelo, Raffy, and Jessica. The novel ends on a very hopeful note.

—The structure of the second story is intriguing and delightfully mysterious. This story is of two completely unrelated families, brought together by a tragic car accident on the Jellicoe Road. The survivors of this crash are Narnie and Webb Markham (yes, THAT Markham), and Tate Schroeder. They are found and saved by a petty thief named Fitz. The four children bond through this shared tragedy, and form their own family unit. They are soon joined by a Cadet named Jude. We later learn that these five people created the annual territory wars as a game, not as the battle Taylor has experienced. We also discover that the five children are the adults from Taylor’s past:

1. Webb is her father, who is deceased

2. Tate is her mother, who had Taylor after her father had already died

3. Narnie is her aunt, but is also Hannah. She was nicknamed Narnie as a child, but now goes by Hannah in order to keep her identity a secret from Taylor

4. Fitz is the Hermit, who shot himself due to his guilt over accidentally killing Webb

5. Jude is a man whom Taylor refers to as the Brigadier. He brought Taylor back to the Jellicoe School after she ran away to find her mother when she was fourteen, before the opening of the novel. He is also Narnie/Hannah’s old flame.

We learn everything about these five family-less children through an unorganized manuscript written by Hannah. Throughout the novel, we are shown snippets of their story, but not in the correct order. So, in order to fully understand this second plot, readers have to mentally put the story in the correct order. The specific pages within the novel at which we are shown certain parts of the manuscript are not random, however. Readers only see what the author wants them to see. Sometimes you have two little information, and you wonder why this manuscript is even a part of the book. At other times, you learn something important that relates to the first plot, and you try to scream the answer at Taylor through the pages. It’s deliciously entertaining, and more complicated than I would have previously given a YA book credit for.

These two stories work together to weave a mystery that stumped me for over half of the book. (Normally I solve a mystery within the first quarter of the book, so that’s truly an impressive result. Kudos, Melina Marchetta!) The book’s unusual yet effective structure made for a worthwhile read, indeed.

2. No love triangle

—One of the defining characteristics of a YA book is the infamous love triangle. I can think of five books that utilize a love triangle off the top of my head. It’s an unoriginal and cheap plot device that I loath (can you tell?) Jellicoe Road is one of the few YA books that doesn’t employ a love triangle. Hurrah, hurrah! There is still, however, a teen romance. Hey, at least it's not two guys, vying for a girl's attention. The romance involves Taylor and (who else?) Jonah Griggs.

The day Taylor ran away and was found by Jude/Brigadier, she met a fourteen-year-old Jonah Griggs at the train station. He and Taylor bonded, and he agreed to accompany her to Sydney to find her mother. Before they could reach the city, however, they are discovered by the Brigadier/Jude. Taylor assumes that Jonah called him, since he’s a Cadet, and swears to hate him forever. Later, we learn that Jude was there to find Taylor. Now, three years later, Jonah and Taylor both lead a faction in the territory wars, and are forced to interact.

Okay, this is another plot device that I hate (though not as much as I hate love triangles): Hatred makes for good romantic tension. It’s been done too many times, and has fully lost its appeal. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Elizabeth-Darcy relationship, but it’s virtually impossible to duplicate that! Why do authors keep trying? I haven’t the foggiest clue.

Anyway, Jonah Griggs enters the scene near the beginning of the book, described as tall and muscular and dressed in a military uniform.

You can imagine what happens next.

Even though their relationship is a bit…trite, at least its not a love triangle. Because nothing is more unoriginal and cheap than a love triangle.

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Overall, I think Jellicoe Road deserves at least four stars, no question. It’s original and captivating, and I was absolutely unable to put it down. It’s so good that it makes me mad at other YA books. You can be this good, too! Cut the love triangle! Be original! This is definitely a novel that deserves all of the praise it receives and more.

#jellicoeroad #review #gif #melinamarchetta