Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Amazon: Taylor Markham isn’t just one of the new student leaders of her boarding school, she’s also the heir to the Underground Community, one of three battling school factions in her small Australian community (the others being the Cadets and the Townies). For a generation, these three camps have fought “the territory wars,” a deadly serious negotiation of land and property rife with surprise attacks, diplomatic immunities, and physical violence. Only this year, it’s complicated: Taylor might just have a thing for Cadet leader Jonah, and Jonah might just be the key to unlocking the secret identity of Taylor’s mother, who abandoned her when she was 11. In fact, nearly every relationship in Taylor’s life has unexpected ties to her past, and the continual series of revelations is both the book’s strength and weakness; the melodrama can be trying, but when Marchetta isn’t forcing epiphanies, she has a knack for nuanced characterizations and punchy dialogue. The complexity of the backstory will be offputting to younger readers, but those who stick it out will find rewards in the heartbreaking twists of Marchetta’s saga.
First of all, this book is incredibly sad. It's extremely poignant and filled with could have been and bitter sweet moments (especially the epilogue). It is laced with italicized parts from twenty years in the past about a group of kids who started the wars and didn't all meet the happiest of ends. If you don't know what the italicized parts are, though, the beginning is incredibly confusing. Once we get past the confusing introduction and the main "war" explanation parts it gets better. Especially once all three leaders get a bit closer (and eventually become friends). The revelation closer to the end about the Brigadier is a bit obvious (I realized the truth about 150 pages before Taylor did), but overall the book is pretty good. It'd give it a B-. Good book, but not really my cup of tea.
-Unusual