The Final Discussion: Jellicoe Road

It's time to finish off the month with new discussion questions, since your perspective can change once finishing a book. This thread of comments may contain spoilers. If you haven't finished Jellicoe Road, please do not click the comments section, assuming you don't want parts of the story revealed to you.

Below are a few questions I thought would be interesting to throw out to the group. Please feel free to add any questions in the comments you would also like to discuss. Also, keep in mind, just reply to a question or someone's answer if you'd like to respond. Keeping the discussion clean and organized is the key to a fun talk!

If you are new to the group, before commenting please review the FAQ and rules.

Don't forget, the poll for June's selection ends May 28th. If you have yet to vote, please do so.

Since I was unable to contact Melina Marchetta for this month's interview, I will have a contest on the blog soon instead!

Final Questions (based on completing the book):

1. After finishing the book, do you think the lesson or meaning of Jellicoe Road changed from start to finish? How?
2. In the first discussion, we discussed Taylor's story and how it was very different from the 5 friends' tale. At the end of the book, both stories were woven together. Did you think that the end conclusion was satisfying for both ends of the story?
   
3. I've heard/read about many people's confusion with the beginning of the book. Did you feel confused, and if so, did it change your view of the book overall?
   
4. What will you take away with you from reading Jellicoe Road?
   
5. Do you think the book is portrayed properly (cover, back cover copy (or jacket flap), etc.) in stores/media?

REMEMBER, COMMENTS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!

The Start of Discussion: Jellicoe Road

Note from Tami: First off, I wanted to warn the readers, Jellicoe Road can be a bit confusing at the beginning. Stick with it, you won't be sorry. When I first picked up the book, I almost put it down after the first few chapters (which is so unlike me). I couldn't keep track of all of the characters and I had trouble keeping the time frame of events straight. PLEASE keep reading. You will be rewarded. Everything becomes clear and hopefully you will be as moved by this book as I was.

Now on to our regularly schedule discussion questions! Since we're seven days into the month and probably started reading Jellicoe Road, I thought I would post a few discussion questions to think about while you're reading. These are just basic questions that we will be discussing for each book. We will get more specific with our discussion later in the month. Please remember, if you have finished Jellicoe Road, do NOT post any spoilers for those who have yet to finish.

If you visit the comments, you'll notice that I've also posted each question there, as well as this post. If you want to join in on the discussion for any of the questions, please just hit the "post reply" option next to the question. That way, we can keep each discussion a separate thread and reply to individuals. Remember, please no spoilers in this discussion. We can talk about the end of the book in the last discussion post of the month.

Also, if you haven't already, please read the FAQ and Rules. They will always be posted in the sidebar if you need to find them at any time.

1. How does the setting figure into the book? Is the setting a character? Does it come to life? Did you feel you were experiencing the time and place in which the book was set?
2. What motivated the story? Was the novel plot-driven or character-driven?
3. What are some of the book's themes? How important were they?
4. How are the book's images symbolically significant? Do the images help to develop the plot, or help to define characters?
5. What was your first impression of the characters?

Please don't be shy. Make sure to join in the discussion. If there is another question you'd like others to consider while reading the book, please feel free to post them in the comments section as a new comment.

If you haven't picked up your copy of Jellicoe Road yet, don't worry. There is still plenty of time. We will be reading and discussing the book throughout the month!

May's Book: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

About Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta:

"What do you want from me?" he asks.

What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him.

More.

Taylor Markham is not a popular choice. She is erratic, has no people skills and never turns up to meetings. Not to mention the incident when she ran off in search of her mother and only got halfway there. But she's lived at Jellicoe School most of her life and as leader of the boarders that's her greatest asset. Especially now the cadets, led by the infamous Jonah Griggs, have arrived. The territory wars between the boarders, townies and cadets are about to recommence.

But Taylor has other things on her mind: a prayer tree, the hermit who whispered in her ear, and a vaguely familiar drawing in the local police station. Taylor wants to understand the mystery of her own past. But Hannah, the woman who found her, has suddenly disappeared, leaving nothing but an unfinished manuscript about five kids whose lives entwined twenty years ago on the Jellicoe Road.

For more information, visit Jellicoe Road website:

The Jellicoe Road website

Online links to buy Jellicoe Road:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Powell's Books

Link to find an Indie bookstore near you:

Indie Bound

Link to find the nearest public library in the US:

US Public Library Search