Shelly's Book Blog

Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta, is the Printz Award winner for 2009. I found this novel confusing for at least the first half. I believe the author deliberately created this confusion, though, and I found that sticking with the story really paid off. The difficulty I had was with keeping the characters' names and relationships clear in my mind so that I could follow the story. There are two story lines, one from the novel's past and the second is the novel's present. The reader is able to tell which is which because the story from the past is always in italic type. However, the main character and narrator, Taylor Markham, is very confused about her past, and the author forces the reader to share that confusion with her. Like a blurry image that fades slowly into focus, though, the past and present gradually coalesce into a coherent whole as Taylor discovers important events and relationships that have shaped her into the young woman she is. This is a novel about identity, love, and loyalty, and these themes emerge within the context of an inventive and challenging narrative structure. I liked this book a lot and I can see why the Printz committee chose it as this year's winner.