Review: Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Image from Goodreads

Title: Belzhar
Author: Meg Wolitzer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: 1 Oct 2014
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads

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, living with a weird roommate, and signed up for an exclusive, mysterious class called Special Topics in English.

But life isn’t fair, and Reeve Maxfield is dead.

Until a journal-writing assignment leads Jam to Belzhar, where the untainted past is restored, and Jam can feel Reeve’s arms around her once again. But there are hidden truths on Jam’s path to reclaim her loss.

From New York Times bestselling author Meg Wolitzer comes a breathtaking and surprising story about first love, deep sorrow, and the power of acceptance.

REVIEW BY AMY – YEAR 9

Belzhar is about a teenager named Jam (Jamaica) who has been sent to a boarding school for emotional fragile teenagers. On arrival she discovers that she has been chosen for Special Topic’s English which is supposedly is extremely hard to get in to and has left previous students with life changing experiences. However when she first enters, the five student classroom it does not seem like any normal lesson who teacher. Each student is emotionally or mentally traumatized in some way but when the teacher (who is mysterious and leaves you with vague hints of what’s to be expected) hands them a journal to write their thoughts and feeling into they discover that all is not normal and we slowly unravel each students story as they help each through this mystery and recovering and moving on in the present and we also go back to bits in jams past to the build-up of the loss of Reeve.

I enjoyed the book, the story started with an early cliff hanger that lead you slowly into unraveling the details behind it. Leaving you with new discovers that both enhanced curiosity while being equally heart wrenching. Information about Reeve was sporadic leaving the reader in the dark about key information. Making the reader work to peel back the layers of her character as well as the details of the plot.

Each student was very different, their problems unrelated but fundamentally rooted in the same place. Each character and problem helped the others to deal with their own issues, empathy and self-reflection key components within the healing process.

Belzhar would best suit older readers due to the content, and ability levels to understand the issues presented within the narrative. There are some very complex psychological issues presented within Belzhar enhancing empathy for people suffering from mental health issues. The message within the story shows how people can’t live in the present if there worrying about the past. It also takes you through Jam’s journey witnessing her recovering and accepting her situation to enable her to move on with her life. The twist within the plot was an eye opener that tied all aspects of the narrative together beautifully.

While I enjoyed bits of this book, it does have a depressing edge being immersed within the grief and depression surrounding the characters. However, I have to say I absolutely, loved the ending and enjoyed unraveling the characters past while building the tools for them to proceed into their individual futures.