The Book Jumper
By: Mechthild Glaser
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 384
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Summary (Provided by Goodreads):
Amy Lennox doesn't know quite what to expect when she and her mother pick up and leave Germany for Scotland, heading to her mother's childhood home of Lennox House on the island of Stormsay.
Amy's grandmother, Lady Mairead, insists that Amy must read while she resides at Lennox House—but not in the usual way. It turns out that Amy is a book jumper, able to leap into a story and interact with the world inside. As thrilling as Amy's new power is, it also brings danger: someone is stealing from the books she visits, and that person may be after her life. Teaming up with fellow book jumper Will, Amy vows to get to the bottom of the thefts—at whatever cost.
First Impressions
This book is my first 2017 Debut Author's Challenge book. The title is what first caught my eye. What book lover would turn down the ability to jump into their favorite stories? The summary reminded me of the book Between the Lines By Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer, but seemed different enough to be enjoyable.
What I Thought
I think I liked the idea of this book a little more than I liked the execution.
Amy has grown up with her mother Alexis, far from her mother's home. At the age of 15, Amy and her mother decide to go back to Alexis' home island off the coast of Scotland. While there, Amy learns that she comes from a family that has the ability to jump into books. She is not the only one on the island learning this ability either. There are two other teenagers from the rival family on the island who are learning their craft as well. Shortly after she begins learning the rules of book jumping, story ideas start going missing. Amy needs to learn how to fix what's happening before chaos ensues.
I loved the idea of being able to jump into books being a family inherited trait. However, there was something about it just didn't seem like everything was fully thought out. I know that this book was originally written in German, so maybe something literally got lost in translation, but it seemed like there was a lot missing. I would've loved more history on the family. How did they discover this ability? How did they learn about? What would have happened if Amy had never come back to the island? Why does the ability disappear after the age of 20?
I also found parts of the story to be predictable. With only two other teenagers on the island, it unfortunately doesn't leave much room for guessing. Will is the only other boy Amy's age, so it is fairly obvious that he becomes her love interest. There are a few interesting twists, one of which I also wish could have been explored more.
I wonder if the book had been longer if it would've given me what I craved. The idea of being able to jump into books is just so tempting by all book lovers that I think any reader would've loved more than understanding this gift. While I appreciate that this is a stand alone novel in a world of unnecessary trilogies, I think this could've been better executed as a duology. By being two books, the relationship between Amy and her book jumping abilities and the history of the family could've been explored on a deeper level. Instead, the book skims the surface of book jumping, relationships, the book world, and an enemy they all face.
Overall, this book was enjoyable. I read it in about 2 days because I wanted to know what was going to happen. However, I was just left craving more. I wanted more meat to the book and that's where my issue lays. The story itself is fun and I think the idea is great, but it didn't satiate me. If you are looking for a book about book jumpers, I would probably recommend Between the Lines over this one. It's definitely cute though, so if it's on your list I'd still say check it out!
