Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
In this lyrical, absorbing, award-winning novel, nothing is as it seems, and every clue leads to more questions.
At age eleven, Taylor Markham was abandoned by her mother. At fourteen, she ran away from boarding school, only to be tracked down and brought back by a mysterious stranger. Now seventeen, Taylor's the reluctant leader of her school's underground community, whose annual territory war with the Townies and visiting Cadets has just begun. This year, though, the Cadets are led by Jonah Griggs, and Taylor can't avoid his intense gaze for long. To make matters worse, Hannah, the one adult Taylor trusts, has disappeared. But if Taylor can piece together the clues Hannah left behind, the truth she uncovers might not just settle her past, but also change her future.
Synopsis
In this lyrical, absorbing, award-winning novel, nothing is as it seems, and every clue leads to more questions.
At age eleven, Taylor Markham was abandoned by her mother. At fourteen, she ran away from boarding school, only to be tracked down and brought back by a mysterious stranger. Now seventeen, Taylor's the reluctant leader of her school's underground community, whose annual territory war with the Townies and visiting Cadets has just begun. This year, though, the Cadets are led by Jonah Griggs, and Taylor can't avoid his intense gaze for long. To make matters worse, Hannah, the one adult Taylor trusts, has disappeared. But if Taylor can piece together the clues Hannah left behind, the truth she uncovers might not just settle her past, but also change her future.
Sydney Morning Herald
“Melina Marchetta has a knack for writing stories that swallow you up and refuse to let you go until you’ve read every last word....Marchetta is a master at creating intriguing characters and her stories are heartfelt.”—
Editorials
Sydney Morning Herald
“Melina Marchetta has a knack for writing stories that swallow you up and refuse to let you go until you’ve read every last word....Marchetta is a master at creating intriguing characters and her stories are heartfelt.”—Sydney Morning Herald on JELLICOE ROAD
“Melina Marchetta has a knack for writing stories that swallow you up and refuse to let you go until you’ve read every last word....Marchetta is a master at creating intriguing characters and her stories are heartfelt.”—VOYA
Taylor Markham has been living at the Jellicoe School since her mother abandoned her at a gas station when she was eleven. Taylor's whole life is a mystery to her-from what happened to her mother and who her father was to why certain people in town are so interested in her well-being. As the Jellicoe School students begin their annual territory wars with the Townies and military school cadets, Taylor is thrown together with Jonah Griggs, the leader of the Cadets. Although they are sworn enemies, Taylor and Jonah have a history and find themselves drawn to one another. Together they begin to unravel the tragic story of the five teenagers who started the territory wars a generation before and how their lives are tightly linked with Taylor's own. Marchetta, author of the highly acclaimed Looking for Alibrandi (Orchard, 1999/VOYA June 1999) and Saving Francesca (Knopf, 2004/VOYA October 2004), provides yet another great story. The interwoven lives of Taylor and the doomed teenagers from the past create a complex tale with some great twists that readers will not see coming. It is a great choice for more sophisticated readers and those teens who like multifaceted stories and characters. Reviewer: Stephanie PetrusoKLIATT
I approached this book already favorably impressed by Marchetta's previous books, Saving Francesca and Looking for Alibrandi, both set in Australia where Marchetta lives. Jellico Road is also set in Australia, which shouldn't pose any problems for American readers. What might cause problems is the complexity of the plot, the numerous characters, and the basic mystery of the connections between and among the characters, all because of a car accident that occurred on Jellicoe Road some years in the past. Let's just say that readers must be patient as they wait for the main character, 17-year-old Taylor Markham, to sort out her disturbing memories and discover the truth about herself, her mother, and just about everyone close to her. When Taylor was 11 years old, she was abandoned by her drug-addicted mother on that same Jellicoe Road. As this novel begins, Taylor is in a boarding school, and down the road is Hannah, a woman her mother's age, who has a close relationship with Taylor, but an enigmatic one. That is just the beginning of the mystery. It is revealed slowly, with plenty of action and drama. There are close friendships and there is romance, as the relationship between Taylor and Jonah Griggs changes. This reads like an adult novel in its complexity, asking much of the reader, who will be greatly rewarded and satisfied with the resolution that finally comes in Taylor's life. Reviewer: Claire RosserSchool Library Journal
Gr 8 Up
For years, three factions-Townies, Cadets (city kids doing a six-week outdoor education program), and Jellicoe School students-have engaged in teen war games in the Australian countryside, defending territorial borders, negotiating for assets, and even taking hostages. Taylor Markham, a 17-year-old who was abandoned years ago by her mother, takes on leadership of the boarding school's six Houses. Plagued with doubts about being boss, she's not sure she can handle her Cadet counterpart, Jonah Griggs, whom she met several years before while running away to find her mother. When Hannah, a sort of house mother who has taken Taylor under her wing, disappears, Taylor puzzles over the book manuscript the woman left behind. Hannah's tale involves a tragic car accident on the Jellicoe Road more than 20 years earlier. Only three children survived, and Taylor discovers that this trio, plus a Cadet and a Townie, developed an epic friendship that was the foundation of the many mysteries in her life and identity, as well as of the war games. While the novel might put off casual readers, patient, thoughtful teens will remain to extract clues from the interwoven scraps of Hannah's narrative, just as Taylor does, all the while seeing the collapse of the barriers erected among the three groups over the years. Elegiac passages and a complex structure create a somewhat dense, melancholic narrative with elements of romance, mystery, and realistic fiction.-Suzanne Gordon, Peachtree Ridge High School, Suwanee, GA