Jump

Reader: Guananí
Age: 15
Title: Jump
Author: Elisa Carbone
Publisher: Penguin
Pub Date: 5/13/10
Galley: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: It's a rock climbing romance! This concept in itself is quite original and intriguing by itself, and even for not-romance type readers (like me!) it's still interesting because of the character development and adventure aspect.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The way that the author describes the rock climbing experience and passion the characters have for it shows very clearly that she's a rock lover herself, and makes it very compelling. The descriptions of the thrill of climbing and beauty of the landscapes were so vividly described, they made me want to go to Yosemite right away. One of the main characters, Critter, also had some very intriguing psychological, near death experience thought manifestation things going on as well, which was my favorite part of the book and what really got me hooked into the suspense.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: The only disappointment in this book for me was the constant switching of perspectives. I never got enough time with one character to really enjoy their thought process. The every paragraph or sentence switching during the action parts did highten the suspense, but was also a little annoying. I would also have enjoyed more of Critter's philosophy and N.D.E weirdness towards the end of the story as well, because as the romance got more serious it sort of fizzled out. I also don't think Jump is the best title, since even though they did jump a couple times it wasn't as important as other parts of the book.
Comments: This is an exciting, original romance with very intriguing adventure and character development aspects that really kept the pages flipping. I would especially recommend it as a good weekend or road trip read.
Cover: This cover is very clever and appealing. The way the title is written vertically shows the suspense and vertical aspect of the novel, which is about rock climbing and being fugitives. The balance of the two climbers is very nicely done and are close enough to the description of the characters, except the girl doesn't have dreadlocks. The heart subtly outlined by the clouds in the background is probably the point of culminating coolness of this cover: it reflects both that this is a romance, and the special significance of clouds in the story. All in all, a phenomenal cover.
Age Range: 14-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal