Ok… you know the drill. This is not the Belzhar review.. this is the spoiler page. That means anything can be said on this page as it is for those who have already read the book only.
Consider yourself warned.
That said…
I LOVED this book so much! I find much to discuss within this book and think it would make a wonderful book club discussion.
What did you think of the story line? Did you like the journals?
Were you surprised by Jam’s final time in Belzhar? Did you find that a fitting ending to her and Reeve? Personally I was a bit disappointed I thought it was going to be more powerful. Here are some of the things I thought might happen in Jam’s final session in the journal:
Idea 1. We find out that Jam is actually the person who killed Reeve.
Idea 2. The whole time Jam is actually the one who died and Reeve lived and Jam is just in denial and it is actually her dream world making up the school, class, and journals as she can not believe she is dead.
Idea 3. We find out how Reeve died… Jam struggles to leg him go but realizes that their relationship can go no further and makes the break and said her final good-bye.
Any of these, IMO, would have been better than the fact that there was no relationship, she made it up and was so traumatized by the fact that he never loved her that she was put in a special school to recover.
Again…. even though I did not like that part, I adored the book so much that even the crazy final journal trip is forgivable and I will still gush up this book and recommend it.
Did you like the Plath references and connections? I love connections to literacy!
What did you think of Griffin?
Did you find the story believable? Intriguing? Do you think we all have a Belzhar… a place where we go to be with our thoughts and memories of something or someone of the past? I love that concept.
Share! I really want to hear from you!
Book Journey 
Q: Did I like the story line?
A: Initially the story line was very compelling. I constantly found myself wanting to know more about the characters and their stories. Why were these people at a school for fragile teens? What happen to Reeve? These are all things that initially got my interested in the novel. However as it progressed my expectations for the lives of the characters were not met.
Q: Did I like the journals?
A:The first time Jam wrote in her journal I was over joyed. I felt for her, and eventually all the students in Special Topics English. However I wanted them to stop living in the past, except Casey and Sierra.
Q:Were you surprised by Jam’s final time in Belzhar?
A: Yes, I was really surprised by this. I was imagining some type of fatal ending for Reeve. I know Dana Sapol and Jam didn’t get along but I hadn’t had that in mind. From the way Jam told her love story in the beginning of the novel Reeve seemed like a sweetheart. I thought the two were interpretable.
Q:Did you find that a fitting ending to her and Reeve?
A: No, I felt there was something missing or that not enough information about the two were given. Although I can admit I was relived when Jam didn’t imitate Sierra by staying in Belzhar. I want Griffin and Jam to prosper in their relationship because they are both “fragile teenagers” and Jam deserves someone who will lover her back.
Q: Do you think we all have a Belzhar… a place where we go to be with our thoughts and memories of something or someone of the past?
A: Yes, I think each and every person has a belzhar in them. This Belzhar is our happiness, our dreams, or our fantasies. Despite this we need to learn acceptance in order to move on. This is because Belzhar is just a figment of imagination, there is no real action, no real results. It is up to us to be at peace with ourselves, pasts, and mistakes.