Jelly Roll
Jelly Roll
Hardly anyone calls me Jenny. Not since I got my nickname when I was eleven. And all because of that jerk Austin Parks.
We were in the same science class, and we got put together for a project. I was wearing a new sweater. It had brown, red and white stripes.
Austin had looked me up and down. Then he'd grinned and pointed at my stomach. "I think your parents gave you the wrong name. Jenny Royce? You look more like a Jelly Roll to me."
His friends had thought it was hilarious. I never wore that sweater again. But the new nickname stuck. Before that moment, Austin had never paid me much attention. After he'd invented the name, he made sure he used it more than anyone else.
Jelly Roll is the story of 14-year-old Jenny Royce. Looking for a challenge, Jenny has signed up for a week-long March Break leadership camp. Unfortunately, so has the biggest bully in her school, Austin Parks. To matter matters worse, they are put into the same four person group to complete the camp's main assignment which is too run a stall at the farmer's market. In addition to making Jenny's stay as miserable as he possibly can, Austin also wants to sabotage their group project.
This novel is about more than simply bullies and being bullied. It is also about friendship and family. Joyce presents Jenny as a victim struggling to survive. Throughout the week, it is only when the main character Jenny sees herself in her roommate Katrina that she finds her inner strength and voice. This is a realistic portrayal and development of character. Even near the end when Austin wrecks all of the team's efforts, Joyce still has the victim Jenny see who Austin truly is and his vulnerability. In the end, everything works out, and the bully recognizes what he has been doing. Jelly Roll is a good read with a happy ending.
Christina Pike is the Principal of Macdonad Drive Junior High in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.