Belzhar

by Meg Wolitzer

[Kelly]

4.5 Stars
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/09/belzhar-by-meg-wolitzer.html
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 She's withdrawn and her peers, parents and former teachers cannot cope with her sullen mood, and believe the best place for her to come to terms with her loss is the The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.