Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com
LEAVING JETTY ROAD was a good read. I enjoyed the book and the different characters. Nat, the main narrator, is a calm B personality, Lise is the intense, very shy A personality, and Sofia just walks to another drummer.
In their twelfth grade year in Australia they make a New Year's resolution to become vegetarians. This leads the three of them on different life paths. Sofia finds her true love, Nat finds her first love, and, for Lise, being a vegetarian is the magic bullet for weight loss. Unfortunately, that same magic bullet also leads Lise to intense exercise and makes her panic attacks become wickedly more frequent.
I liked the way the author got into the heads of Lise and Nat and gave them a very realistic voice. The reasons that Lise has for becoming anorexic are valid and real. She feels inferior within her family, school, and tight social circle. Nat, going through the throes of first love, made me think of that time in my life as well. The way that the relationships changed throughout the course of the book was amazing and also very realistic. I had to laugh, though, because periodically throughout the book I had to remind myself that the setting is in Australia. Summer heat in December? School beginning in January? Being cold in June? Oh yeah, Australia!
All in all, LEAVING JETTY ROAD is a memorable book and one that I think most girls will identify with.
LEAVING JETTY ROAD was a good read. I enjoyed the book and the different characters. Nat, the main narrator, is a calm B personality, Lise is the intense, very shy A personality, and Sofia just walks to another drummer.
In their twelfth grade year in Australia they make a New Year's resolution to become vegetarians. This leads the three of them on different life paths. Sofia finds her true love, Nat finds her first love, and, for Lise, being a vegetarian is the magic bullet for weight loss. Unfortunately, that same magic bullet also leads Lise to intense exercise and makes her panic attacks become wickedly more frequent.
I liked the way the author got into the heads of Lise and Nat and gave them a very realistic voice. The reasons that Lise has for becoming anorexic are valid and real. She feels inferior within her family, school, and tight social circle. Nat, going through the throes of first love, made me think of that time in my life as well. The way that the relationships changed throughout the course of the book was amazing and also very realistic. I had to laugh, though, because periodically throughout the book I had to remind myself that the setting is in Australia. Summer heat in December? School beginning in January? Being cold in June? Oh yeah, Australia!
All in all, LEAVING JETTY ROAD is a memorable book and one that I think most girls will identify with.
