Review: On the Jellicoe Road Audiobook by Melina Marchetta

Title: On the Jellicoe Road
Author: Melina Marchetta
Narrator: Rebecca Macauley 
Goodreads .  Amazon
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A revelation.

That’s what this audiobook was to me. Even after many, many years of reading the book again and again. I used to think I had it memorized even, but then it's like you hear someone else’s voice, saying all those sentences that bring so many great and incapacitating new emotions that it was almost like lighting stroke my heart.  

I am pretty sure there are quite a few poor souls out there that have not come across this book, or audiobook, yet. So I’m going to review it again, in the hopes to make you pick it up and make this world better.

On The Jellicoe Road goes beyond any realm or genre in literature. It surpasses boundaries and defines a whole new category of incredible, tremendous, fantastic and wonderful. It’s one of the wildest emotional rides your heart can take. The story is so deep, so clever, so thoughtful and perfect that it’s life changing. It certainly was for me.

One of the most common complains I come across when I recommend this book is people not getting it. At first it is confusing, but not because it’s bad narrative, because it’s mysterious. You will want to figure this book, but you won’t be able to at first, because like I told you before, it’s clever. It’s intelligent and it knows deep and dark things you will only get to know as you read along.

What is magical in all of this, though, is that you don’t even have to know what is going on to be pulled in. To get engrossed. To become obsessed. Because this is one rich story, and Melina Marchetta is probably one of the most powerful story tellers of our time.

The audiobook, like I suspected, is amazing too. The narrator did a wonderful job at conveying the emotions we needed. She did a great job of representing the turmoil inside Taylor Markham, her confusion and pain, her annoyance and her spirit. And it is not even one of those high budget audiobooks that seem to be the regularity now. No, it’s simple but engaging. And to hear a story like this, a story I hold so dear to my heart, in the voice of someone else but me was so gut-wrenching that I spend half the time crying my eyes out.

And in the aftermath I can’t recommend it enough. For the people that have never read this book, to the ones that will be introduced to it for the first time, for everyone. This is it.

Cover Reveal: Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta

So I bet that by now y'all have already tried at least one Marchetta's book, because she is so incredibly talented and her books are one of the most amazing thing you've read in your life, it's now time for you to try her fantasy series:

 

The Lumatere Chronicles.

 

Finnikin of the Rock.

 

Froi of the Exiles.

 

 

and finally we have the cover for the highly anticipated conclusion to the trilogy...

 

Quintana of Charyn.

 

"The climactic conclusion of Printz Award winner Melina Marchetta’s epic fantasy trilogy!

 
Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi and his companions travel through Charyn searching for Quintana and building an army that will secure her unborn child’s right to rule. While in the valley between two kingdoms, Quintana of Charyn and Isaboe of Lumatere come face-to-face in a showdown that will result in heartbreak for one and power for the other. The complex tangle of bloodlines, politics, and love introduced in Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exiles coalesce into an engrossing climax in this final volume."

 

Isn't it cool? love the intensity of her eyes and that pointy, dangerous looking arrow head, but what I love the most is that the book is finally coming out! so make sure you know these facts:

 

Release Date: March 12, 2013
Publisher: Candlewick
Pre-order: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Book Depository

 

Now let's get excited together!

 

Review: Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

Title: Looking for Alibrandi

Author: Melina Marchetta

Published December 18th 2007 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Goodreads | Amazon
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I am so in love with Melina Marchetta’s On The Jellicoe Road, which is perfect; and Saving Francesca, which is not perfect but it’s as amazing. So I was super excited to start Looking for Alibrandi, it started off great, from the first line I was like “yes, this girl could be me” and then she surprises me by being way more awesome than me, and I can’t stop laughing because Josephine Alibrandi is one heck of an amazing teenager. This book turned out to be so great that it’s a bit difficult to believe it is as old as me, that’s right, it was first published in 1992, making it 19 YEARS OLD!, but it doesn’t read old at all, it’s very timeless.

Looking for Alibrandi has more of a serious undertone than her other books, even though Jellicoe had a super sad old story and Francesca was about major depression, Alibrandi was about a world’s old conflict, lack of respect and tolerance between races, discrimination. I never thought such a thing existed in Australia, where I live, in the American country, everyone from all of Latin America wants to go and try to live the American dream at the US, but some people there don’t seem like it very much. We look different, we sound different, we believe in different things therefore we should not be trusted, or at least that’s how their mind works.

Josephine suffers discrimination, for being an Italian girl, an “ethnic” as they call them there. She can’t understand why people can’t give her a chance, even though she’s pretty and super smart and popular, no matter how hard she tries people would always expect her to fail, she would be nothing more than an ethnic. And she hates it, she fights it, and she would never accept it.

And if it’s not enough to be an Italian in the Australian land, she also doesn’t have a dad, she is what mean people would refer to as a “bastard”. So Italians doesn’t like her either, so what’s a girl to do but hang out with the town’s outcasts.

they couldn't have picked an uglier dude to play Jacob in the movie :/

But this is the year of change for Josephine. She meets her dad, who she thought she hated but it’s so good to have a dad, especially one who is a respected lawyer. She gets to know her grandmother to a deeper level, and discovers shocking secrets about her family. She falls in love for the first time, and with an Australian boy nonetheless, Jacob Coote, who drives a motorcycle and goes to the “hick” school in town, Jacob Coote who is the smartest and most passionate guy she’s ever met.

And let's not forget about John Barton, the other part of the "love triangle", whose story made me cry like a baby, and I still cry when I watch the scene in the movie, it's so heartbreaking.

For being Marchetta’s debut book, I was truly impressed. It was funny and intense, fast-paced and full of wit with likable characters. And although I didn’t love it as much as the other ones, I still love it. I was amazed at the mature and classy way Marchetta’s took on suchs difficult topics. And I am so glad she has the guts to do it, it’s a breath of fresh air to read about important stuff and not only the boy on the football team or the hot guy next door.

Review: On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Title: On the Jellicoe Road
Author: Melina Marchetta

Paperback, 300 pages

Published August 28th 2006 by Penguin Australia

Goodreads | Amazon: Jellicoe Road

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On the Jellicoe Road is one of the most amazing books I have ever read in my life. The story is so touching and the writing so captivating that you cannot help but fall in love with it. And it's also a book you have to experience, even if you've read all the reviews this book has, you will never ever begin to imagine how amazing it is.

The book is actually composed of two stories, one about a group of kids that are brought together by the biggest tragedy that has ever happened on the Jellicoe Road. The other one is the story of Taylor, a broken, asmathic girl with a mysterious past life; mysterious even for her.

I particularly love Taylor. I think she's super amazeballs. She has more guts than anyone I have ever know and the best word to describe her is kick-ass. All through the book we see her trying to unravel the mistery that is her past. She seems to have no one, her father is dead, her mother abandoned her at a 7-eleven when she was 11 years old, and since then she's been living in the Jellicoe School, were she was just got chosen leader. For the war.

Because you see, there's this territory war that has been going on for ages, between the "townies" and the "cadets" and the kids at Jellicoe School. And this war is taken seriously, each "team" has a leader. The townies have Santangelo, the Jellicoe S. kids have Taylor and the cadets have Jonah Griggs. <3

Taylor is the first girl to have been chosen since, like, ever. And the most probable reason is because she is ballsy. But don't worry the war is very mature (well, sometimes), the leaders meet at times to talk about their options and to trade locations and you know, negotiate. And as that happens, a real friendship and some other relationships start to blossom.

Every character from this book is absolutely kick-ass. I wish I had a quarter of the coolness these kids have. All of them are incredible despite the sad sad stories some of them have in their backgrounds. But the real tragedy is the other story, the one about the kids that were involved in/with the car accident. That story is so so heartbreaking, like nothing I've read before.

Despite I'm making it sound like a sad read, it is not. I am not a person who wears her heart on her sleeve but when I read this book it's like I'm a tornado of emotions. I cry and laugh and shout and swoon and smile and sob, and I get so emotional, it's not even funny. And a book that can evoke that kind of passion in me is a real keeper. And a forever favorite.

I've already said that I love the characters from this book, but I haven't really stated that this book contains one of my favorite favorite characters ever. Jonah Griggs. If there's a male character more perfect than he is then please point him out to me, and even then, I won't believe it. Because it simply does not get better than that. My dear Jonah is the one everybody else gets measured with, even though no one ever gets close to the amazingness he is.



Imagine Channing Tatum at 17, that's Jonah for me :)



I might have made it sound complicated but it is not. You just have to give this book a chance because it's not for nothing it won all those awards. It has mistery, and tragedy and friendship and romances and amazing quotes, and amazing characters and it is just unbelievably intense. It's a book difficult to forget and one that can be re-read an infinite amount of times without getting tired of it. This book is perfect.

My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die.

I counted.

It happened on the Jellicoe Road. The prettiest road I'd ever seen, where trees made breezy canopies like a tunnel to Shangri-la.

epic.

Review: Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta



Oh, I loooooooove this cover!

 Title: Saving Francesca
Author: Melina Marchetta

Paperback, 243 pages

Published May 9th 2006 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Goodreads | Amazon

I don't know what to say. I am spechlees.

It's my first time reading Melina Marchetta, and I must confess was a bit reluctant at first...
I did not know what expect, but I can tell you this: never in a million years did I think I was gonna love this as much as I did!

This book starts off with Francesca, a 16 year old Australian-born-Italian-raised girl, complaining about her mother, who is that kind of person that has  so much life inside her + an excellent personality that is only annoying because we all wish we could be like them. Only Francesca doesn't realize that she's just like that, but she's been restraining herself for most of her life.

Francesca also likes to complain about her new school, a school with 700+ boys and ONLY 30 GIRLS! So the fact that there are so few girls there forces Francesca to hang out with girls she never wanted to before. The nerd, the slut and the protester.
Slowly, Francesca (or Frankie) starts to realize that things have never been as simple as she thought they were. You can't just put labels on people without knowing them, without giving yourself the chance to know them.

I loved the character's growth all through the book. Most of this people have know eachother for many, many years yet they are practically strangers, but when tragedy strickes Francesca's household, she starts seeing the world with new eyes and although she's hurting, she's also discovering what a great world this one can be if only you have the right people supporting you and loving you.

I've always said that a sign of a good book is that you can connect with its voice.
I loved Francesca since the beggining, she's relatable even though I've never been in a situation like the one she's having. It's a good sign when you care more about the main character's actions than the ones done by the hot, cute guy that's after her.

Because lately all everyone seem to remember these days is how hot and smart the guy was and they don't even know the name of the girl. I like when I get so absorbed in the main girl's head that I don't even realize I'm falling for the secondary characters aswell.

The other characters in this book were also fabulous! from Frankie's 3 girl best friends who were much more deep than what meets the eye, to the hard-on-the-outside-sweet-on-the-inside guys: Jimmy who was so incredibly kind and understending with Frankie's mom, to Will the nerdy pacifier everybody loves, to Thomas, oh Thomas he was the kind of guy that would hang this sign outside his door...

... but then he'd be the first to befriend the girls and help them while in need. He was awesome! <3

*sigh* 

Sadly, I can't express how much I loved this story of growing up and learning to cope with unexpected situations that can shake our world but can also bring a new meaning to our lives. I laughed my head off, cried like a baby, shout at the pages, died of embarrasment and practically kissed this book full in the mouth (wherever that is), and that is all I can ask for whenever I read a book.

From now on I'm in love with Aussie books! <3