A great teacher, a mystical journal, and friends are what it takes to heal Jam Gallahue. Since the loss of her boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield, Jam has not been able to cope. She has sunken into a depression that even her psychiatrist can not penetrate. Finally, her parents send her to a boarding school of "emotionally fragile" teens in rural Vermont, the Wooden Barn.
Jam gradually begins to make friends at the school, become involved in activities, and recover, but she cannot let go of Reeve. She is assigned to a special English class with the legendary Mrs. Quenell. This is to be Mrs. Q's last class before retirement, and she has hand selected the five students who will participate in a semester-long study of Sylvia Plath. She gives each student an ancient red leather journal and tells them they must turn the journals in on the last day of class.
The first time Jam writes in her journal, something miraculous happens. She is transported to the playing fields near her old school, and Reeve is waiting for her. They are able to spend time together, and Jam believes that this has saved her life. She soon finds that everyone in her class is being transported to the place in their past just before the traumatic event occurred which landed them in the Wooden Barn. This secret bonds them together.
Jam eventually finds herself attracted to a boy from Special Topics, Griffin. She must decide whether to hang on to Reeve in the mysterious world the group has named Belzhar or fall in love with Griffin who is alive and very interested in her. What will happen when they run out of pages in their journals? Each member of the group has to make decisions about what they will do with their lives.
The resolution is a little less than satisfying. Each character in the class shared the traumatic and tragic events that led them to the school, but Jam withholds her own story. When we finally learn it, it seems a bit of a letdown; however, it demonstrates the emotional fragility of adolescents.
I would recommend this book to young adult readers. I think girls would like it more than boys due to the female narrator and the focus on romance.
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