Belzhar is a profound novel about trauma and recovery. In this story, Jamaica “Jam” Gallahue, is sent to a therapeutic boarding school for troubled teens who have experienced death or other heavily traumatic events. Jam is no exception: she has lost her boyfriend of 41 days and is inconsolable. Having exhausted all other options, her parents have no choice but to send her to The Wooden Barn.

When Jam first arrives and gets her schedule, she sees she has been placed in a Special Topics in English class. This class is significant because it is only offered once a year to a few select students, as chosen by the teacher. Special Topics teacher, Mrs. Quenell, will pick one literary artist to study the entire semester. This time, as she is teaching her last class before retirement, she has chosen Sylvia Plath. Each student is given a red leather journal to write in daily, and is not told how, but that this class will change their lives forever.

When Jam writes in her journal for the first time, she is changed. She is transported to a new place where her boyfriend is still alive and she can speak to him. Only there are catches to this new time with Reeve. Her time and senses are limited and each visit to see him takes up a certain number of journal pages. Out of curiosity, Jam goes in search of answers with the rest of her classmates also experiencing this phenomenon, and what they find out is startling. Can she continue going to this secret place? Will she?

Wolitzer’s writing is almost dream-like as you float from one reality to the next. She weaves the realms together so magically that you get lost in them so easily that you forget which one you’re reading. The transition is seamless, which is remarkable as you are never jostled out of the story. Her prose is beautiful, yet dark, and the inclusion of Sylvia Plath’s poetry is a delight to find relevantly interspersed amongst the pages!