Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Belzhar
Written by Meg Wolitzer
Contemporary, Magic
Expected Publication October 2014
272 Pages
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Australia
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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.

Reeve Maxfield could have possibly been the love of Jam Gallahue's life, then he died. Now the teen finds herself at The Wooden Barn, cut off from her former life where both teachers and her own parents are at a loss with her grief. The Wooden Barn isn't a hospital, but a boarding school for teens with issues and those dealing with grief and loss. With no phone, no internet, students are cut off from any outside interference to continue their education while healing. All Jam has left of Reeve is her memories of the intense forty one days he spent as an exchange student, and a jar of jam that she holds close to her heart. Now at The Wooden Barn, Jam finds herself selected to join the Special Topics English class, the elite class at the school for wayward teens. Along with four other students, Sierra, Marc, the brooding Griffin and Casey, Jam is about to be introduced to Belzhar.

Soon to retire after the semester ends, Mrs Quenel has hand selected her students and proposes that the class of five are to read Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, a woman who herself faced her own emotional turmoil. In addition to the syllabus, each student is given a red leather bound journal to record their own thoughts on life.
"Everyone," she continues, looking around at all of us, "has something to say. But not everyone can bear to say it. Your job is to find a way."
But the group soon realise that the journals hold the key to far more than their own thoughts, but a gateway to relive either their fondest memories or greatest fears. For Jam, she's transported to her forty one days with Reeve as though he'd never left. But the more time she spends with Reeve, the quicker her journal pages are filling and the group decide to keep their visits to the dream scape they've affectionately called Belzhar, to twice per week. As the end of the semester brings about the end of each journal, the closely bonded group will share their personal grief and learn to support one another. But the biggest revelation will be what they will learn about themselves.

My Thoughts


Belzhar was incredible. A beautiful mix of heartbreaking contemporary, with a touch of magic. It follows the story of Jam, short for Jamaica, who is heartbroken with grief after losing the love of her life Reeve. She's withdrawn and her peers, parents and former teachers cannot cope with her sullen mood, and believe the best place for her to come to terms with her loss is the The Wooden Barn. It's at the teens boarding school where she shares a common interest, her peers also struggle with loss. Jam is seemingly a transparent character, she's incredibly emotional and intense, but also deals with her grief maturely even with feeling a sense that she's been abandoned. My heart broke for her grief experienced at such a young age, and as the stories of her fellow students unraveled, the emotions broke through the pages and I felt myself emotionally invested in the group of teens.

The introduction of the red leather journals brought a sense of magic to the emotional storyline. Each teen within the small hand picked group is provided with a journal, in much the same way as Sylvia Plath documented her life. But it becomes apparent that the journals hold far more than personal thoughts, they take each teen back to the life they lived before experiencing each traumatic event, and in Jam's case, it transports her to when Reeve is still alive. These aren't vivid dreams, but the spiritual plane allows you to relive old memories, but not to create new moments you haven't experienced. Subconsciously, the teens understand that their dreamscape isn't real, but begins to provide Jam with a new perspective on her relationship with Reeve and to unlock her mind. Belzhar being a play on words for their class syllabus, The Bell Jar.

Belzhar is a clever, unique concept and far more than the contemporary I had assumed it was. I was left surprised, emotional and also feeling conflicted about Jam's storyline and what she endured. My only complaint is that I would have enjoyed seeing a conclusion to each character's story, not just Jam. Even still, Meg Wolitzer is a magical storyteller, she lured me in, kept me enthralled and completely surprised me.

14 comments

  1. WOW. This sounds like such a powerful and wonderful story Kelly. The concept sounds so emotion-provoking and powerful and the journal letters sound like they amp that emotion up a hundred times more. Definitely going to give this a try soon. Thanks for sharing and BRILLIANT review! <3

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    1. It was incredibly Zoe. I'm not a fan of fantasy, but if it's mixed in with another genre it tends to soften the overall feel. Mixing magic with contemporary though, it sounds odd but it worked beautifully. It was so incredibly charming and loved it immensely.

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  2. An emotional contemporary story with a magical twist? I'm in! This sounds like a really interesting and engaging read, which a few other bloggers I've seen around have liked as well. After reeding your review Kelly I think I'm definitely going to have to go out and buy a copy!

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    1. Definitely add it to your list Eugenia, it was incredible! Looking forward to seeing what you think of it.

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  3. This definitely looks like a really emotional story. And I have to say that I am very intrigued -- not just about the concept -- but I keep seeing really positive reviews for this one, and although it's not something that I would usually think I'd like, I do plan on reading it. And besides, the cover is absolutely amazing and eye-catching, so how could I possibly resist it?? ;)

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    1. The reviews I've seen so far are pretty split on this one, but I absolutely loved it. It's not one that I'd normally read either, but the premise was so incredibly intriguing and it worked wonderfully well. I really hope you take a chance on Belzhar, it's well worth it.

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  4. I have been seeing this book around a lot these days but your is the first review i read and my GOD it sounds brilliant and the concept with the journal sounds amazing. Definitely buying this when it comes out. Great review.

    Aparajita @Le' Grande Codex

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    1. The journals were just magical, it added this extra element to an already amazing storyline and it also allowed readers to meet Reeve as well. Such a surprising book, it was brilliant.

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  5. Wow, such a wonderful review, Kelly! I've been intrigued by this book ever since I saw it available to request to review from S&SA, but I never really wanted it. Now, after seeing your lovely review and someone elses...I think Jeann's? I need it.

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    1. It was brilliant Ebony, such an incredible mix of magic and contemporary and it was heartbreaking, That ending was shocking as well. Grab a copy, I need to talk to someone about it!

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  6. THIS SOUNDS SO WONDERFUL. And deep and about a emotional topic that will probably stress me out, BUT YOU KNOW that's ok. I will give this a try one day :D

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    1. It's so heartfelt, but it's so easy to read being mostly contemporary. I think you'll really enjoy this one, can't wait to see you grab a copy and see what you think of it. I really adored it.

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  7. This sounds amazing. It's sitting on my shelf and I CANNOT WAIT to dive in. Because contemporary PLUS magic??? Now that is my kind of book. Plus, I read The Bell Jar a couple of years ago and really really loved it. So that element is awesome as well :)

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    1. I haven;t read The Bell Jar yet, still need to catch up on my classics from the years of not reading. Are you thinking of reviewing it? Would love to see your thoughts.

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