Book overview
Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award * ALA Best Book for Young Adults * Kirkus Best Book
Jellicoe Road is a dazzling tale that is part love story, part family drama, and part coming-of-age novel. Described by Kirkus as "a beautifully rendered mystery" and by VOYA as "a great choice for more sophisticated readers and those teens who like multifaceted stories and characters."
Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeen, is finally being confronted with her past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn't a lot of time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs, the boy who might be the key to unlocking the secrets for Taylor's past, is back in town, moody stares and all.
In this absorbing story by Melina Marchetta, nothing is as it seems and every clue leads to more questions as Taylor tries to work out the connection between her mother dumping her; Hannah finding her; Hannah's sudden departure; a mysterious stranger who once whispered something in her ear; a boy in her dreams; five kids who lived on Jellicoe Road eighteen years ago; and the maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs, who knows her better than she thinks he does.
If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she just might be able to change her future.
A reluctant leader. A decades-old tragedy. A boy she can't forget.
- Dual Timeline Mystery: Eighteen years ago, a tragedy connected five teenagers on Jellicoe Road. Today, the secrets of their story are the only key to Taylor's future.
- Boarding School Drama: As the reluctant leader of her house, Taylor must navigate the annual territory wars between the school students, the Townies, and the visiting Cadets.
- Enemies to Lovers: The maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs is back. He might hold the answers to her past, but trusting him could be the biggest battle of all.
- Lyrical and Emotional: A Printz Award-winning novel celebrated for its beautiful, heartbreaking prose and a complex story that will stay with you long after the final page.
