Meg Wolitzer "Belzhar"
Dutton Juvenile | English | September 30, 2014 | ISBN: 0525423052 | 272 pages | azw, epub, lrf, mobi | 3,9 mb
This is a beautifully written little book about a group of teens who are dealing with tragedy and loss. Although each has had a vastly different loss experience, they end up together at a school for kids who have issues. A small group of them are put into a special English class where they are to study just one author, Sylvia Plath. But the class is something far from ordinary and their lives will never be the same again.
I've been lucky in my life. I've never dealt with depression or loss the way the kids in this book do. As a result, I don't know if this would ring true for someone dealing with these issues. I can only say that it felt very authentic.
I did wonder, however, if I had a child who struggled with depression would I want her/him to read this book? The answer is: probably not. It's a very sad book, and the teens deal with their depression by rather magical means. Under the surface are some real life ways to deal with loss, but it's offset by the fairy godmother aspect of it all.
There is a bit of a surprise in the book, but it was one that saddened me immensely. Kudos to the author for pulling it off so seamlessly, but I ended the book feeling a bit blue.
A very sad, beautifully written book.
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