mrs_mander_reads
Written on Jun 19, 2019
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 exciting 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.
- ISBN13 9781250144232
- Publish Date 2 January 2018 (first published 3 January 2017)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 5 April 2024
- Publish Country US
- Imprint St Martin's Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 400
- Language English
Reviews
Briana @ Pages Unbound
Written on May 23, 2017
lizarodz
Written on Jan 8, 2017
Amy and her mom Alexis are taking a “holiday” from their life in Germany by going by to the home that Alexis left years ago and never thought to return to. The small Scottish island of Stormsay is home of the Lennox and Macalister clans who are Book Jumpers and guards of the word of literature. Of course, Amy did not know any of this until the very last minute, which is quite a shock for her. However, she takes to is like a fish to the water and turns out to be a very gifted Book Jumper. Amy very smart, but she’s had problems with bullying which’s left her very self conscious and with a bit of self esteem issues. She’s brave, loyal and friendly.
Will Macalister is a fellow Book Jumper that has been training for much longer than Amy. He’s go through the crisis of loosing his friend Sherlock right as Amy arrives to the island. He’s more reserves, pragmatic, and was left behind by his parents who did not want the Macalister heritage anymore.
Is there romance? Yes, as you might imagine Amy and Will do indeed fall in love as they work together to figure out what is unraveling some of the stories in the literary world.
Other characters take a backdrop to Amy, but it is nice to see family involvement in young adult lives.
There are two things that I loved the most about the story. The first it’s the plot itself, which is to say, all the jumping around from one story to another: Sleeping Beauty, The Odyssey, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Midsummer’s Night Dream…. It’s fascinating! There are even crossroads with signs from one story to the next, a Margin, where characters hang out and even a way to go forward to skip pages. That is to say that the world building is quite awesome.
My second favorite thing is Gläser’s the writing. It is quite gorgeous, lyrical, and enthralling. The pace is action packed and fluid. The story is told in the first person from Amy’s POV and on the third person from Will’s POV, which allows us a bit more insight of what is going on while Amy is not there.
Overall, The Book Jumper is a bittersweet story that brings the power that words (and literature, more specifically) have to shape our world, our perceptions, and our memories.
shannonmiz
Written on Dec 1, 2016
This is such a hard book to review, because there were parts of it that I really liked and parts that I really wish had been more developed. So... let's just give it a shot. Definitely doing a good versus not so-good for this one because it was really split for me.
The Good:
- It is a book about jumping into other books. That is fabulous! Who wouldn't want to pop into their favorite stories?! Yes, please, sign me up! I loved reading about Amy's adventures through her favorite stories, meeting characters in "the Margin", it was so fun and clever!
- I loved the characters from the books. Even those I wasn't familiar with were so fun to read about. We got to see them out of the context of their original stories at times too, and it was entertaining.
- I liked the romance. Even if it was a little too quick for my taste (don't worry, we'll get to that), it was so adorable. I liked Amy and Will, actually, I think I liked Will more than I liked Amy, so I was rooting for them for sure.
- The three generations of women was great! It was almost Gilmore Girls-esque, with the snobby grandmother, the sometimes flighty teen mom mother, and Amy, the quiet one who enjoys reading. Anyway, I liked their dynamic, and their interactions with each other.
- The atmosphere of Stormsay was perfect for the story. It was quaint, and old, and even a bit drab, but it worked in the context. I would have liked to know more of its history, but what we did see worked quite well.
The Not-So-Good:
- This is a wee bit spoilery, so... beware. The ending was wholly unfulfilling. This is absolutely my major qualm with the book. Now this next part will be definitely spoilery so again..caution, friends. I won't fully spoil the ending, but there are characters who are completely unaccounted for, TONS of ends not tied up or even hinted at conclusions for. It was almost like there should be another book but I don't think one is planned? I would re-think my rating and revise my review if there WILL be a second book, but for now, the ending wasn't just displeasing, it was like "wait, why did I even bother, I have NO IDEA what happened to anyone or anything".
- The romance was so insta-love. Like, I guess since they are the only teens on this island not related to each other it makes sense but... they have one kiss and she's declaring her love. Really? I know she is young but... calm down, sister.
- The world-building was lacking. I needed more answers to my questions. How did any of the book-jumping things work? What about the outside world, why were they so cut off? And I had lots more questions, but they're all quite full of spoilers so I will just say that I wanted to know stuff and I didn't. I needed rules, and I had none. Obviously this is magical and such, but there still should be a rule system within that, yes? Also, I would have liked a bit more background on Amy in general to connect to her better.
Bottom Line: It's imaginative and often charming. I enjoyed reading it, but I was also left frustrated by some major things. All in all, I liked it, but I do wish some things had been explained and fleshed out more. And maybe a sequel.
*Copy provided for review