Book #7 of 2016. 
 "We're talking about the novel, right? But maybe we're not. We're talking about ourselves. And I guess that's what can start to happen when you talk about a book" (49). 
 "It's also the way the students are with one another . . . the way they talk about books and authors and themselves. Not just their problems, but their passions too. The way they form a little society and discuss whatever matters to them. Books light the fire-- whether it's a book that's already written, or an empty journal that needs to be filled in" (250). 
 "It doesn't just matter what you say. It matters who does the saying" (256). 
 With lines like the ones above, how could an English teacher dislike Belzhar? After all, it is about an English class that changes the students' lives, but with a somewhat sci-fi twist. It is interesting to read about the different traumas of each student because each one is so unique, yet each one is valued as changing the student's life. The twist is good, and while I knew a twist was coming, I didn't quite expect what happened. 
 That's not to say Belzhar is perfect. Slightly cliche at points, Wolitzer knows that her audience is teens. It's a reminder to adult readers that these moments of drama in the characters' lives feel much bigger than we consider them to be with distance.