Walking on Trampolines

by Frances Whiting

"Tallulah de Longland," she said slowly, letting all the Ls in my name loll about lazily in her mouth before passing judgment. "That," she announced, "is a serious glamorgeous name."

From the day Annabelle Andrews sashays into her classroom, Tallulah 'Lulu' de Longland is bewitched: by Annabelle, by her family, and by their sprawling, crumbling house tumbling down to the river.

Their unlikely friendship intensifies through a secret language where they share confidences about their unusual mothers, first loves, and growing up in the small coastal town of Juniper Bay. But the euphoria of youth rarely lasts, and the implosion that destroys their friendship leaves lasting scars and a legacy of self-doubt that haunts Lulu into adulthood.

Years later, Lulu is presented with a choice: remain the perpetual good girl who misses out, or finally step out from the shadows and do something extraordinary. And possibly unforgivable…

It's not how far you fall, but how high you bounce.

• ISBN10: 1476780013
• ISBN13: 9781476780016
• Publish Date: 3 February 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 April 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[meowstina]

I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book is less of a tale of friendship and more of the story of Tallulah’s personal growth and journey in life. For some reason I was surprised at how real and lively and, well, not-boring the narrative voice reads. Lulu’s personality really shines through, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective.

The book is split into three parts, each section focusing on a different part of Lulu’s life and relating it back to the present, where she has done something shocking and must deal with the consequences. Her reasoning for committing this act doesn’t really make sense to me, but I decided to suspend my disbelief and see where it lead. While the first two parts of the book mostly discuss Lulu and Annabelle’s past friendship, they also explore Lulu’s life after their fallout. Her relationship with her boss is just as compelling as her relationship with Annabelle, and a bit kinder too. Annabelle is outgoing and somewhat damaged from her unusual home life, so when they were children and teenagers Lulu tended to be more reserved, and more willing to go along with Annabelle’s antics. This is also true of Lulu’s relationship with her high school boyfriend (who I didn’t fall for from the start). You can see this reflected in her current life as well, because even after time has passed, she’s still almost obsessive about Annabelle and allows it to affect her presently. It sounds like an annoying scenario when I think back on it, but while reading I wasn’t very annoyed, which is probably a testament to the writing and characterization. I often questioned and didn’t understand Lulu’s motives, but it didn’t turn into full blown anger and frustration.

I don’t quite see the full purpose of the third part of the book. It’s there to allow for Lulu’s character development, but it’s kind of drawn out. I don’t think it needs to be quite as long and full as it is, and it’s not as engaging as the rest of the book. I also don’t see the point of an event near the end of the book (plus a few before that), but alas.

For the most part this is an interesting novel about a girl’s journey of finding her voice and purpose. I like the liveliness of Lulu’s narrative voice, even though it could be somewhat frustrating when she doesn’t use it with other characters. Not everything in the third part of the book seems entirely necessary, but I enjoyed reading the rest of the book.

[Cocktails and Books]

4.5 Cocktails

This "review" will basically be a love letter to Frances Whiting. I just loved Walking on Trampolines. Whiting's writing is witty and thoughtful. I have not enjoyed a coming-of-age story like this since She's Come Undone (one of my all-time favorites).

While the friendship of Lulu and Annabelle from young girls into adulthood is an intergral part of this book, Whiting managed to seamlessly weave other storylines in as well. The entire book is full of complex relationships and interactions. The characters are so well-developed, readers will feel as if they know the people of Juniper Bay personally--for better or for worse. My favorite character by far was Duncan. He was hysterical--even from the grave (read the book!).

Whiting delves into complicated family relationships, romantic relationships and of course, the ever complex- female friendships. She has the ability to show us the ugly side of these relationships without us hating the characters doing the hurting. You will wonder if poor Lulu will ever catch a break. Readers will identify with insecurities and short-comings as well as her triumphs and successes.

I could go on gushing and never do this book justice. My recommendation is to READ it, I don't think you will regret it!

Reviewed by Joelle for Cocktails and Books

[Lianne]

I received an ARC of this novel courtesy of the publishers in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2015/02/02/review-walking-on-trampolines/

Walking on Trampolines was an interesting read, following Lulu de Longland over the course of her teenage years and early adulthood. For a while it does leave the reader wondering where the story is headed if it wasn’t for the opening sequence and the chronological order that the novel follows afterwards. What led Lulu to that opening sequence? How did this “nice” girl end up doing what she did? The first half of the novel more or less looks at the events leading up to that decision, and the fallout of that decision in the latter half.

Because the novel covers such a large span of time, there were some slow moments reading the book, but I really enjoyed the charcter of Duncan. He injected some life in the story during Lulu’s transition after high school and later again after the incident. He’s a total cad, but he’s also quite charming and endearing, and I really enjoyed his interaction with Lulu; he had some of the best lines in the book.

The latter half of the novel should read much slower because of where Lulu ends up, but for me it was the most endearing because of all of the people who come in and out of Lulu’s life, helping her out or hanging out with her. Her struggle to come to terms with everything that had happened and with the decisions she had made was really interesting to read (compelling now that I think back on it), and there are a lot of interesting little moments along the way that keeps the story going.

Overall, while Walking on Trampolines wasn’t as heartfelt as I thought it was going to be, it was a very interesting read and over time I think it did leave quite an impression on me.

Rating: 3.5/5

[violetpeanut]

This book tackles a lot of different issues. At it's heart, it's about betrayal, forgiveness and friendships. It also deals with mental illness, first loves and crippling self-doubt. These issues are all dealt with in very real and sometimes poignant ways. The characters are all well-drawn and complex. I didn't particularly like any of them, but I understood their feelings and motivations even if I didn't always agree with them.

In terms of plot, I found a lot of the book to be predictable. I almost always knew what was about to happen and what decisions Lulu would make. It seemed that despite the betrayal that haunts her, Lulu is actually a pretty lucky girl. Great opportunities seem to pretty much fall in her lap. That didn't sit well with me. This book is much more focused on the characters and their development than the plot. For many readers this will be just fine, but I found it a little lacking.

Overall, while I enjoyed the read, this is not a book that will stick with me long-term. I didn't really connect with any of the characters and I didn't feel fulfilled by the plot or the resolutions to the storylines. However, I think the themes explored and these characters will resonate with many other readers and this is definitely worth a read if this is a genre you like or if you're a fan of books exploring female friendships.

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