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Three Heads Are Better Than One (or Two): Melina Marchetta Edition

3/13/2012

19 Comments

 
Froi of the Exiles US cover
Froi of the Exiles is being released in the US today.

We are not going to review this novel today, however. As you would expect from true Marchetta fanatics, we have already read and reviewed it months ago, when the book first came out in October in Australia. You can read our musings in their variety here - Catie's (accompanied by some great music), Flannery's (with illustrations), and Tatiana's (with old-fashioned gushing).

Whatever our reactions to Froi of the Exiles were (and not all of them were uniformly positive), all three of us are still strong admirers of Melina Marchetta's talent.

What we want to dedicate today's Three Heads Are Better Than One (or Two) post to is talking about how we got to know Melina's works, how they affected our relationships with YA literature and what is that special something that brings us back to her books over and over again.

Readventurer T Signature
Melina Marchetta
The first Marchetta book I read was Jellicoe Road. It was 2010 and this novel had just won Printz and I was entering a stage in my YA reading where I was not just reading any popular YA (it sounds so darn typical but I was brought to the YA community and Goodreads by, you guessed it, Twilight!, so you can imagine what I read immediately after that), but actively seeking out good YA fiction. I knew of Jellicoe Road, but I was not inspired to actually pick it up and read it until I saw a couple of reading progress updates from one of my Goodreads friends. They went something like this:

p. 200 of 420. This is so confusing. I don't understand what the hype is all about

p. 300 of 420. NOW I know what the hype is all about

Jellicoe Road cover
Of course, I HAD to read this mysterious book ASAP.

It was indeed confusing in the beginning, but I loved it. It was so heartfelt and tender and heartbreaking. I cried a lot too. But there was a specific scene that made me forever a Marchetta fan and that is almost imprinted in my mind. It is a sex scene between Taylor and Jonah.

"I sit up in the dark and after a moment I take off my singlet and I hear him taking off his T-shirt and we sit there, holding each other, kissing until our mouths are aching, and then we're pulling off the rest of our clothes and I'm under him and I feel as if I'm imprinted onto his body. Everything hurts, every single thing including the weight of him and I'm crying because it hurts and he's telling me he's sorry over and over again, and I figure that somewhere down the track we'll work out the right way doing this but I don't want to let go, because tonight I'm not looking for anything being part of him. Because being part of him isn't just anything. It's kind of everything."

It gave me goose bumps. It struck me as so honest and so raw and unembellished. Just like all Marchetta's book are.

Readventurer C Signature
Finnikin of the Rock cover
Like so many other wonderful authors, I learned about Melina Marchetta from a friend on Goodreads. Heidi and the lovely people at Young Adult for Adults were one of the very first groups of like-minded book fiends that I ever hung out with on the internet.  (They’re a very welcoming group so stop by and say hello!)  The first book of hers that caught my attention was Finnikin of the Rock.  I’ve always loved young adult fantasy, so that was an easy draw for me. The U.S. cover, combined with an excellent blurb added up to what was essentially Catie Candy.

However, for as much as I've always loved young adult fantasies, I've avoided young adult contemporaries.  For some reason, I had this idea in my head that young adult contemporaries could never be as deep or as dark or as complex as their adult counterparts. But everyone and her sister on Young Adult for Adults was raving about this other book called Jellicoe Road. So, when I went to my library with the express purpose of picking up Finnikin of the Rock and saw Jellicoe Road – a small, shiny volume covered in a huge red poppy – sitting innocently right next to it I thought, “hey why not?”  And I had absolutely no idea what it was about.

I finished Finnikin of the Rock that day and thought…"that’s one of the best fantasies I’ve read in a long time.”  It was great, but it didn't blow my mind.  I gave it four stars.  (spoiler alert: Froi of the Exiles DID in fact blow my mind.)  Jellicoe Road continued to sit on my night stand, untouched, until I had finally renewed it for the last time, hogging it from the library like a jerk. I finally gave in one night right after I put the girls to bed, and unlike just about everyone else who seemed to find the beginning confusing and dense, I was hooked from page one.

“My father took one hundred and thirty two minutes to die.  I counted.”

I still get chills when I read that opening page!  I stayed up well into that night, reading with stunned amazement, as just about every preconceived notion that I had about young adult contemporary novels was shattered.  I read with a sense of doomed sadness as the identities of the characters in the flashbacks started to become clear.  When Jonah revealed his reasons for taking the train that day, I cried.  And when that ending dared to go further into Taylor’s abandonment and grief than I ever expected a young adult book to go, I knew that this book was going to get five stars.  

“I stand up and walk towards her because my days of waiting for more are over. If I want more, I need to go and get it, demand it, take hold of it with all my might, and do the best I can with it.”

It’s the first young adult contemporary novel that I ever gave five stars to, but not the last.  Thanks to Jellicoe Road, I expanded my horizons and found other contemporary young adult authors that I can’t believe I spent years without:  Sara Zarr, Courtney Summers, Kirsty Eagar, Cath Crowley,  and Steve Brezenoff.  Melina Marchetta opened the doors into a world of literary greatness that I'd been missing, and I'll always be thankful for that.

Readventurer F Signature
Saving Francesca cover
Saving Francesca was the first of Melina Marchetta's books that I read, and I read it in November of 2010. At that point, I was just starting to actually fully engage with readers on Goodreads as opposed to just cataloging my books and conversing with my real-life reading buddies. I'd seen the book in my feed once or twice but I can't say what actually made me pick it up. I do remember putting it on hold and taking it home. It had that contact paper on the outside and looked right grubby, actually, which is always a sign of awesomeness for me--it means that  many people had read and enjoyed it before me. I read Saving Francesca from start to finish while I was holed up in my room, and it really started a love affair for me. I'm a huge fan of Marchetta's contemporary young adult novels for so many reasons but the number one reason is probably their emotional depth. In the land of young adult novels, so many books just skim the surface. We learn about what so and so is doing in school, how he or she is having relationship troubles, how they try to deal with what is going on in their present life. Don't misunderstand me, I think there is a large amount of this type of writing that is done well. However, this isn't what Marchetta writes and that is what makes her stand out for me. She writes about why things are happening now. While everyone else is scooping out a handful of dirt to plant a seedling, she is jumping in a 6-foot-deep trench and then filling it in as she goes.  I think that is why my favorite books of hers are The Piper's Son (you must read Saving Francesca beforehand) and Jellicoe Road. (I won't beat a dead horse on that one. See my lovely cobloggers comments.) Each member of the Mackee/Finch family in The Piper's Son  is struggling with something or somethings, and in every case there is more than one reason why they're having trouble with varying aspects of their present lives. It is an interesting avenue to explore--when nearly everyone is emotionally raw, how can they all get it back together?

Looking for Alibrandi cover
While I am usually an upbeat, friendly person, I think I have a huge capacity for sadness. Many of my favorite books are ones that paint an accurate portrait of someone in despair or someone wondering what the purpose of life is. I listened to the audiobook of Looking for Alibrandi (which I absolutely recommend) and while I have so many favorite scenes from each of her books, I think the scene that affected me most was the moment Josie remembered the note John Barton had written during their meeting--and just the idea of her having his thoughts when he was in such a horrible emotional state. I don't even remember what he said, and it doesn't even matter. Just thinking about him makes my throat choke up a bit. I cannot say any more without spoiling something so I better just stop writing. Now I've gone and made myself want to reread all these books again.  

                     _____________________________________________________________
Three Heads Are Better Than One (Or Two) Image

Have YOU discovered Melina Marchetta yet?

Happy US Release Day
, Melina Marchetta!

From three of your biggest fans.

19 Comments
Sam @ Realm of Fiction link
3/13/2012 01:34:47 am

Melina Marchetta is pretty awesome right? Jellicoe Road was the first book of hers I read and I LOVED it. I haven't yet had a chance to get round to Froi even though it was up on NetGalley for ages, but I thoroughly enjoyed Finnikin of the Rock, so I know Froi will be amazing! :)

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Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/13/2012 02:27:22 am

Sam! Get right on that! You need to read Froi of the Exiles ASAP!

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VeganYANerds link
3/13/2012 06:16:45 am

I am loving these three heads are better than one posts, ladies! And I especially love this post because you're talking about books that I love too.

Tatiana, the excerpt you shared OtJR made my stomach flip-flop, it's such a beautiful, tender moment for Taylor and Jonah.

Catie, the first line of OtJR definitely caught my attention too and it was the first YA that really surprised me because it was such fantastic quality.

Flannery - I'm happy you talk more about Saving Francesca and Looking For Alibrandi, I find they often get left out of the Marchetta-love. I know some people didn't enjoy them but Alibrandi was my first Marchetta book, most Aussie teens read it for high school and I too will never forget how sad Josie must have been once she'd read John's note.

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
3/14/2012 02:24:59 pm

Thanks, Mandee! I love the sections that Tatiana and Catie picked to talk about as well. Jellicoe is just so darn quotable.

I am always surprised to know that Aussie kids read Alibrandi in school. I guess this is only because we mostly had to read older books like Across Five Aprils and My Side of the Mountain. I think I would've been much more receptive to more modern stories.

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Heidi link
3/13/2012 09:14:05 am

Hi ladies! You gals are so hip and fab and awesome! Ok don't die when I say I have not read this fantastic author that you three ladies gushed so eloquently over. I am hanging my head in shame...so if you will forgive me and still be my blogging friends, I beseech you ( I don't know why I used that word but hey let's roll with it) to reommend which of this fabulous titles a Marchetta virgin should start with Jellicoe Road?

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Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/13/2012 09:47:27 am

Heidi! I admit that I died a little bit there. :) Jellicoe Road is AMAZING but I know that a lot of people recommend starting with Saving Francesca. It's a very sweet, accesible YA with more depth than most. (Plus then you can just continue on with The Piper's Son, it's companion novel, which is one of her best.)

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Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
3/14/2012 09:52:54 am

Heidi, get rid of this virginity ASAP! Saving Francesca, IMO is the gentlest and safest one to start with:)

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Maggie, Young Adult Anonymous link
3/13/2012 11:39:54 am

First, the Readventurer of snakes: http://dlisted.com/files/caption0312_1.jpg

Second, I love this post! I love hearing how people discovered Marchetta and which one of her books is their favorite. She is the secret handshake into the best YA discussions. When the teen librarian in my book club told me she'd never read a Marchetta book or even heard of her, I immediately told her to leave. Obviously.

Okay, I didn't, but I was thinking it.

I first came across Marchetta last year after seeing Tatiana's Where She Went review. I was just looking for another Adam Wilde-like character, so I clicked on The Piper's Son link and the rest is history. I've read everything but Alibrandi, which I've been saving for a rainy day. Maybe I'll give that a try on audiobook.

Seriously, great post, ladies!

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Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/13/2012 11:05:52 pm

OMG Maggie, that is perfect. That's us, right there. Most definitely.

(Fun fact: when I was drawing that little cartoon for this feature, I was *this close* to drawing us as one girl blogger with three heads. But then I thought...nah...too creepy. I'll just draw us mind-melding and invading each other's thoughts. Much less creepy.)

I can't believe your teen librarian had never even heard of her!! Why don't people realize that our tiny community of bloggers know all there is to know about YA and just stock every book that we suggest? ;)

Looking for Alibrandi is amazing on audio! The narrator is absolutely perfect.

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Maggie, Young Adult Anonymous link
3/14/2012 04:55:06 pm

Ooh, Catie, you drew that?? Book bloggers are so multi-talented. :)

Chachic link
3/13/2012 01:02:12 pm

Such a beautiful post, ladies! I loved everything that you had to say about our favorite author. :P Tatiana quoted one of my favorite sections of Jellicoe and like Catie, I didn't read much of YA contemporaries until I was introduced to Melina Marchetta's writing. After reading Jellicoe, I wanted the same thing that Taylor wanted: more. And Flann, Jellicoe and Piper are my two favorite Marchettas as well. :)

I really need to reread Jellicoe soon!

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Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
3/14/2012 09:55:54 am

Honestly, IDK where I would be if I never read MM. Like, I wouldn't have known about the whole Aussie writers phenomenon, or wouldn't have read my most favorite books. I just can't imagine.

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Maja link
3/13/2012 05:42:03 pm

Is it too weird that Alibrandi is my favorite Marchetta contemporary? I remember that scene you write about so well, Flann. It really hit me hard.
I'll always be a fan of her fantasy novels first, but that doesn't mean that Looking for Alibrandi isn't one of my favorite contemporaries in general.
And I think I need to reread Jellicoe Road soon. I might enjoy it even more the second time, without all the pressure.

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
3/14/2012 02:17:48 pm

I don't think it is weird at all, but I'm sure you knew that. I loved that one. You know we both like sad books and scenes.

I need to reread Jellicoe as well...

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Jasprit link
3/13/2012 06:44:32 pm

I absolutely love this post! I was really slow in joining the Marchetta fan club, Saving Francesca was her first book I read around this time last year, and then I devoured Jellicoe Road and The Piper's Son in quick succession. I think its a tough one to call which is my favourite as both Jellicoe Road and The Piper's Son captured such a big place in my heart. I still have Finnikin and Looking for Alibrandi to pick up (these are actually on my 100+ books list that I'm still writing!). I think I'm just happy with the feeling that I still have some of her books to turn to! Btw that picture of you guys is so adorable! :)

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Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/13/2012 11:09:50 pm

Jasprit I hope that you post your 100 books list soon! And I know what you mean - I like to save books from my favorite authors for a rainy day.

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Rachel B.
3/18/2012 10:13:45 am

I can't tell you how much I love this post. Jellicoe Road was my first Marchetta as well and I pretty much devoured all her other books after that. One thing that I love so much about Melina Marchetta books is that she's able to tell a tale of such profound sadness and still make it hopeful. Then she throws in humor that makes you cry, and snort, you're laughing so much.

I'm so glad I joined GR because I would've never known of these books if it weren't for friends on that site. Thanks again for such a lovely post. :)

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Belle link
3/18/2012 10:28:38 am

Looking for Alibrandi is kinda of an institution here in Australia - a lot of people actually have to read it for school! I first read it when I was about 14, before any of Marchetta's other works came out, and I was completely obsessed. I'm also a big fan of the movie. I reread Alibrandi at least once a year. I've only read the rest of Marchetta's contemporary work recently and of course I adore it all. I just have to read the fantasy now. She's one of my favourite authors.

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Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
3/19/2012 01:40:51 am

Belle, is it true that Marchetta is much less popular in Australia than in US. That's what I heard.

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