Jumped
Beloved author Rita Williams-Garcia intertwines the lives of three very different teens in this fast-paced, gritty narrative about choices and the impact that even the most seemingly insignificant ones can have. A National Book Award finalist. Jumped is the story of one day in the life of three very different girls at a huge high school in New York City. There’s Trinia, a pretty, self-involved artist who’s sure she’s bringing beauty and color to the lives of everyone around her, regardless of what they really think. There’s Leticia, who skates by on minimal effort; she’s more interested in her cell phone, her nails, and gossip than school. And there’s Dominque, an angry basketball player who’s been benched for low grades. When Trinia unknowingly offends Dominique, Dominique declares that she’s going to jump Trinia—and Leticia is the only witness. Will Leticia warn Trinia? Will she let the beatdown happen? Weaving in and out of the girls' perspectives, readers will find themselves with three different voices and sides to one story. Share this with readers who enjoy such books as Jason Reynolds's Long Way Down and Renée Watson's Piecing Me Together.
Reviews
Mahasin S Ameen@fivefootsmall
Want to read a book about three annoying teenagers all with a lack of a moral compass? Really interested in a book where bad things happen and no lessons are learned? Then Jumped might be the book for you. I actually liked that no lessons were learned by any of the girls in question, except maybe Trina, but I think Trina's "lesson" is really more of a forced change in priorities and perspective. To be perfectly honest, I found all of the girls to be quite insufferable, and not in the way that typical teenage girls are. I gave it two stars because it is well written and the ending is what I like in a book, but I couldn't give it more than that because I really didn't care what happened to any of these girls.