1. Bibliography
Marchetta, Melina. 2006. Jellicoe Road. New York: HarperTeen. ISBN 9780061431852
2. Plot Summary
Jellicoe Road is the setting for two interwoven stories - one in the past, one in the present. Both involve disturbing deaths, lifelong friendships, and tragically flawed characters. Taylor Markham is a senior at the Jellicoe boarding school in the Australian bush. She was abandoned by her mother at the age of eleven at a gas station near Jellicoe Road. Taylor was rescued by a woman named Hannah who lives on the school grounds. Taylor lives at the Jellicoe school and as a senior becomes the leader of her school's underground community that stages yearly territory wars with the visiting Cadets and the Townies from the nearby town. Everything in Taylor's world gets turned upside down when Hannah mysteriously vanishes and the leader of the Cadets turns out to be Jonah Griggs, whom she had attempted to run away with a few years before. Bits and pieces of a story of five kids who met tragically twenty-two years ago on the same Jellicoe Road are interwoven into the main story line. At first, it is unclear what these past characters have to do with Taylor's story, but as the book progresses, it becomes clear that these two sets of characters have everything in common.
3. Analysis
The epilogue of Jellicoe Road is one that grabs the reader and lets him/her know that this story is filled with tragedy and heartbreak but also of serendipitous accounts among its characters. At first, the narrative about Taylor's life seems a bit out of place and aimless after reading the epilogue. It takes a while for the true plot of this story to form. All of the bouncing back and forth between the five kids and a tragic car accident in the past and Taylor's life at school and the territory wars in the present is confusing, and may seem a bit unbalanced. About halfway through, it is clear that the two stories are in fact linked together in a way that Taylor herself is shocked to find. The flashbacks are Hannah's manuscript that Taylor says is always out of order, but turns out to be the key to her past.
While this book is slow moving, it is worth the while. The themes of finding one's true self and love and loss are beautifully written in this sometimes devastating novel. With out giving away too much, Taylor finds out who she really is and uncovers the mystery of her early childhood and her mother's addiction. She even remembers why her mother left her at the gas station so long ago. She also discovers the origin of the territory wars and how the original warriors weren't really feuding at all, but playing a sort of game for fun. All of these revelations forever change Taylor and the relationships among all of the people on the Jellicoe Road.
This book is definitely for mature readers, as it can be a bit heavy to get through. The motifs of drug abuse, child pornography, suicide, sex, and gory accidents could also be upsetting to younger readers. This book does have an audience, however. Young adult readers and adults alike will be pleasantly surprised by this complex but fulfilling cast of characters.
Audiobook Analysis
I also listened to the audiobook version of Jellicoe Road in addition to actually reading the book. It is narrated by Rebecca Macauley who is Australian. While her accent does help to make you feel like you are actually in Australia, her pace was extraordinarily slow. In addition to her long pauses after every piece of dialogue, the low, raspy tone she uses in her voice for the male characters is just distracting rather than appealing. Although her accent does bring your mind to Australia, sometimes I couldn't understand Macauley and never would've know what she was saying if I hadn't been reading along.
Another strange thing to note is that the audiobook version is only available in the original version of the book written and published in Australia called On the Jellicoe Road. The US version was changed somewhat, I assume, to be more relatable in US culture. It was very strange when I was reading and listening at the same time and the words were different. It wasn't anything major, just changing kilometers to miles and year elevens to seniors, but the changes were inconsistent as references to the metric system as well as Australian spellings and colloquialisms were sprinkled throughout the book. I would not recommend "reading" this book in audiobook version. Macauley narrates some other books by Marchetta which I have not heard, but this one is not worth 8 hours and 53 minutes of time.
4. Review Excerpts
Micheal L. Printz Award Winner
VOYA - "Marchetta...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."
KLIATT - "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."
Kirkus Reviews - "Readers may feel dizzied and disoriented, but as they puzzle out exactly how Hannah's narrative connects with Taylor's current reality, they will find themselves ensnared in the story's fascinating, intricate structure. A beautifully rendered mystery."
5. Connections
*Students may want to read other acclaimed books by Melina Marchetta:
Saving Francesca ISBN 9780375829833
Looking for Alibrandi ISBN 9780375836947
Finnikin of the Rock ISBN 9780763643614
*Students can find on a map the location of Syndey, Yass, and other Australian cities mentioned in the book. In addition, they can find out demographic information for each city.
*This book deals with some heavy topics. Students can be encouraged to keep a journal of feelings or secrets that relate to any of the subject matter explored in this novel.
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