Leaving Jetty Road [Mass Market Paperback]

Rebecca Burton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 2008

Nat, Lise, and Sofia are best friends. This year, their last year of high school, none of them foresees the changes that will occur in their lives.

This is the year that Nat—the go-between, the peacemaker—gets a job and meets a drop-dead gorgeous chef named Josh.

This is the year that Lise—quiet, shy, and solitary Lise—decides to take control of her life by taking control of her weight.

This is the year that Sofia—the ultimate guy magnet—gets her nose pierced and falls seriously in love for the first time in her life.

This is the year that will change each of them forever.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Three Australian teens grow up and out of their friendship. Nat's voice, smoothly narrated and paced, tells part of the tale, with all the right soft warning chimes ringing at readers between her lines as she tells of her obsession with her older boyfriend, of her faith in her mother's perfection, and of her friend Lise's strange, reticent behavior. Interspersed throughout is Lise's narrative: a painfully honest confessional of the insecurities and self-loathing leading her into serious anorexia nervosa. The third friend, Sofia, does not narrate, but the other two tell of her; her more mature life nicely balances out the drama of the other two. While the structure is a little choppy and the ending disproportionately weighty, the strength of the characters–particularly Lise's voice–carries readers satisfyingly through. Avoid the temptation of classifying this simply as an anorexia book; it's much more.–Rhona Campbell, Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library, Washington, DC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. In their final year of high school, best friends Lise, Nat, and Sofia make a New Year's resolution to become vegetarians. For Nat, the decision results in a part-time job at the Wild Carrot Cafe and her first love; for Sofia, it reflects a serious relationship that rounds out her freewheeling personality; and for Lise, it signals anorexia. As they prepare for the next steps in their lives, the girls become so wrapped up in themselves that they fail to see how their friends are growing, changing, and--especially in Lise's case--hurting. Burton does an effective job of weaving the symptoms and personality characteristics of anorexia into an absorbing story about the tug and pull of old friendships as a teen's world expands. Each girl is seeking to control her life, explore her options, and grow up and away from home. It's a natural progression, made more poignant by Lise's struggle and Nat's joy and eventual pain. An afterword about anorexia concludes this well-written, never-didactic novel. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (March 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553495054
• ISBN-13: 978-0553495058
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,028,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, January 8, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaving Jetty Road (Hardcover)

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.

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Leaving and Returning, January 16, 2007

By 

Little Willow (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaving Jetty Road (Hardcover)

Three best friends experience the trials and tribulations of Year 12. Nat gets her first job and first serious boyfriend while Lise struggles with painful secrets and personal issues. The third buddy, Sofe, is more Nat's friend than Lise's, but Lise has learned to tolerate her for Nat's sake.

The story is told from two points of view, with Nat and Lise alternating chapters. Sofe's POV is never presented, and while her wild ways never quite force the other two girls apart, they do serve as a means to reveal their different personalities.

Though the girls' tribulations are vastly different, with one having boy troubles and the other having body issues, the core of the story relies on their friendship and tests of loyalty. Over the course of a year, Nat and Lise grow up and grow apart, but ultimately realize what has happened and try to come back together.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leaving Jetty Road, November 21, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Leaving Jetty Road (Library Binding)

Leaving Jetty Road is one of the best books that I have ever read. I never wanted to put it down. It kept me wondering what was going to happen next. Three girls in their senior year at an all girl school could present a few problems. One of the girls gets really involved with bring a vegetarian and starts to develop an eating disorder. Another one of the girls gets a boyfriend and she swears that she is going to spend the rest of her life with him and the third girl is just a rebel. I give this book five stars. There are so many different things going on and it seemed to flow very nicely together. This book isn't necessarily a cliff-hangar but makes you think of so many possible endings to the story.