Belzhar

by Meg Wolitzer

 Jam Gallahue has just been enrolled at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont. Why? Jam has struggled emotionally since the death of her British bf, Reeve. The Wooden Barn is a chance for her to heal.

Her recovery begins in her English class: Special Topics in English. For the semester, Jam and her classmates will study the work of one writer, Sylvia Plath. Of course, they will read The Bell Jar, as well as Plath’s poetry.

As part of the class, the students will also write in their journals, special journals issued to them by their teacher, Mrs. Quenell. The thing is, these journals are more than just journals. When the students write in them, they are transported to the troubling situations that led them to The Wooden Barn. Each student will revisit the pain in their lives and find answers to their own questions.

But what will Jam find?

I really liked this novel, until I learned the truth about Jam, which I suspected from the start. I won’t reveal any more, but I would like to say that clichéd plot twists aren’t really surprising. They are just annoying.

8/17/14