Release Date: April 2013
Adquired: Ebook provided by author
Goodreads: ADD
Purchase: Amazon/Book Depository
Since he drowned, Henry has remained with the same group of teenagers and he keeps wondering why. After all, what could he possibly have in common with a Mohawk-sporting punker from the 80s, a roller skater from the 70s with a thing for kimonos, and an English "rocker" from the 60s? Add to that, Henry can hear the other groups but he never sees them. Soon, Henry learns that his new friends all possess unique skills for making themselves noticed by the living. Is Henry’s group kept isolated because of their abilities? If so, are they considered gifted or seen only as a potential bad influence?
Before Henry can reach any conclusions, he witnesses his sister being kidnapped. He knows who did it, where she’s being held and what will happen if the kidnappers don’t get what they want. As the police chase false leads, Henry comes to realize that he’s his sister’s only hope. But for Henry to even have a chance, he has to convince a group of teenagers that dead doesn’t mean helpless.
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What a great throwback to the contemporary YA fiction I started off reading a year ago. It also didn't hurt that Jump When Ready had a great paranormal twist added to it. I appreciated the subtlety of it more than anything else, the idea of "ghosts" and "haunting" doesn't play as big a role as trust, self-realization, and essentially, coming-of-age, even if it is after death.
Jump When Ready reminded me of a Five People You Meet in Heaven, but for teens, and with a quick-paced, heart-thumping plot line. The main lead, Henry, has found himself in a place not quite far off from the reality he lived in before his death, but with more questions about his life than he ever had when he was breathing. Missing his family, and devastated for causing them pain, he's determined to get through to them somehow. What he didn't predict, was that he'd become witness to a horrific scene involving his sister being abducted and held against her will. What ensues is a world of rules, bending those rules, and learning from the new group of people around him, all of whom have spent much more time being "dead." How will he help his sister before it's too late? Who is willing to help him do that?...
I loved the almost dual storyline played out in Jump When Ready. Henry struggling to accept his new fate, while desperately trying to prevent his sister from meeting hers. It was the perfect grounds for what I think the author was trying to achieve, a coming-of-age story with elements of the age-old questions: What happens after we die? Is it possible to get another chance? I soaked in every last bit of detail that described Henry's new surroundings, the fact that anything was possible in his new state, every wish, every thought, manifested before your eyes-it made for some beautifully descriptive scenery. Who said the dead don't eat? You want the biggest burger you can fathom? Done. It was those little elements, mixed with such deep, and profound ones, that made Jump When Ready a solid piece of literature.
I've been spoiled with trilogies, sequels, and companion novels, and as much as I want the chance to spend more time with the characters I met in Jump When Ready, I loved (and hope), that this book was/is a standalone. It impacted my thoughts in a serious way, and I will most likely spend the next few days going over it, and over it, in my head.
Recommended for Fans of: YA Contemporary, Paranormal, and Mitch Albom
Jump When Ready reminded me of a Five People You Meet in Heaven, but for teens, and with a quick-paced, heart-thumping plot line. The main lead, Henry, has found himself in a place not quite far off from the reality he lived in before his death, but with more questions about his life than he ever had when he was breathing. Missing his family, and devastated for causing them pain, he's determined to get through to them somehow. What he didn't predict, was that he'd become witness to a horrific scene involving his sister being abducted and held against her will. What ensues is a world of rules, bending those rules, and learning from the new group of people around him, all of whom have spent much more time being "dead." How will he help his sister before it's too late? Who is willing to help him do that?...
I loved the almost dual storyline played out in Jump When Ready. Henry struggling to accept his new fate, while desperately trying to prevent his sister from meeting hers. It was the perfect grounds for what I think the author was trying to achieve, a coming-of-age story with elements of the age-old questions: What happens after we die? Is it possible to get another chance? I soaked in every last bit of detail that described Henry's new surroundings, the fact that anything was possible in his new state, every wish, every thought, manifested before your eyes-it made for some beautifully descriptive scenery. Who said the dead don't eat? You want the biggest burger you can fathom? Done. It was those little elements, mixed with such deep, and profound ones, that made Jump When Ready a solid piece of literature.
I've been spoiled with trilogies, sequels, and companion novels, and as much as I want the chance to spend more time with the characters I met in Jump When Ready, I loved (and hope), that this book was/is a standalone. It impacted my thoughts in a serious way, and I will most likely spend the next few days going over it, and over it, in my head.
Recommended for Fans of: YA Contemporary, Paranormal, and Mitch Albom
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David Pandolfe has been a bartender in Seattle, the front man for an alternative rock band in Los Angeles and a college writing teacher in Richmond (among other things).
One day, it occurred to him that sometimes these experiences felt like completely different lives altogether. Which got him to writing Jump When Ready, a novel about of bunch of teenagers trying to get over their past lives while getting ready to jump into their next.
While he’s still writing about himself in third person, David Pandolfe should probably mention that at one point he received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has had short stories published in Millennium and the Georgetown Review. Jump When Ready is his first YA novel but he’s currently working on another, to be released in the fall of 2013..
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Thank-you to Amber & Jean from Book Nerd Tours for hosting this tour, and to the author sending me an ecopy of the book to review!
CLICK HERE to follow the rest of the tour
quite a great giveaway! and that's a well design book cover, and the blog banner!
ReplyDeletei like it,and i can't wait to read
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