Belzhar

Fifteen-year-old Jam’s boyfriend has died, and she’s been sent to the Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school. Assigned to a selective class called Special Topics in English, Jam and the other struggling students discover that a journal-writing assignment transports them to a place where past trauma seems to be undone and the dead are returned to the ones they love. But as Jam spends more and more time in a static version of her boyfriend’s afterlife, she must figure out if she should hold on to what she once had or reach for something else. Belzhar is twisty tale of… show more.

The intense, sometimes obsessive nature of teenage friendship is brought vividly to life when Jamaica (Jam) Gallahue is sent to a therapeutic boarding school because she is unable to get over the death of her boyfriend. Along with four other students, she’s assigned to a special English class that will only study the work of Sylvia Plath. They are expected to read, keep a journal, and “look out for one another.” The five quickly become close, meeting to talk about their traumatic experiences in a safe, imaginary space they call Belzhar. As their stories unfold, the book barrels toward an… show more.