Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F Gla
Collection
Publication
Feiwel & Friends (2017), Edition: 1st, 384 pages
Description
Amy Lennox doesn't know quite what to expect when she and her mother leave Germany for Scotland, heading to Lennox House, her mother's childhood home on the island of Stormsay. Amy's grandmother insists that Amy must read while she resides at Lennox House -- but not in the usual way. Amy learns that she is a book jumper, able to leap into a story and interact with the world inside. As thrilling as her 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.
Original publication date
2017-01-03
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User reviews
LibraryThing member keristars
The American edition of The Book Jumper has gorgeous, frame-worthy cover art, so it is a huge disappointment that the story inside is just as flimsy as the paper-crafted characters in the art.
I should have expected to not be the right reader for this book due to my utter loathing of the similar
The hardcover edition I borrowed from the library (and I am exceedingly grateful that I did not commit myself to owning a copy that I would need to dispose of) is 371 numbered pages. I finally convinced myself to stop hoping for any kind of plot-hole resolution at page 130. By that point, I had deduced that the main character Amy's father is probably a book character, which is why her mom suddenly left the island and family magic at such a young age while pregnant. Part of the reason I read so long was to find confirmation of it, but honestly I don't care that much. It's signposted and gives me a tidy explanation for why Amy's characterization is so tediously annoying (afterall, if she's half-fictional then being Not Like The Other Girls and Hollywood Ugly would be quite natural).
By the time I stopped, though, I had not figured out why the Lennox and Macalister families must "jump" into books to monitor them. Amy is sent to Book Jumping lessons under the Scottish island the two families share, which could have been a great primer for both her and the reader, but at least as far as I can tell, the whole purpose of the jumping to protect the books is to solve problems created because they are jumping into the books.
I also hadn't figured out any of the logic behind the book world. The jumpers can jump into a specific page, which is also a point in time - but a single page can span decades and have multiple scenes. The book world also has a concept of multiple days, but that really doesn't make sense to me, because entire books exist at once and are timeless. Characters can apparently go off and do their own thing when they aren't on the page...except if a book exists all at once and a jumper can go to any page, then aren't they always in the scene?
I tried to think of the book world as being an alternate universe instead of actually going into the books, but I still had trouble suspending my disbelief because the characters talk about the actual books, and books shrinking in size, and so on. It just doesn't make sense.
Another part that I found fairly stupid is that when Amy is told to jump into a safe children's book as her first experience, she chooses The Jungle Book. A of all, that doesn't strike me as a safe children's book unless you're talking specifically of Disney adaptations. For another thing, this is a Scottish family - why wouldn't they send Amy to the Chalet School or the 100 Acre Wood? The answer probably has to do with copyrights, but I can still think of a dozen books that would strike me as a safe children's book over Kipling's jungles.
I suppose if nothing else, the prose is lovely and has nice descriptions, and many of the original ideas in The Book Jumper could have led to an interesting story. (If it were Alternate Universe instead of Literally Books, if Amy weren't so thoroughly Not Like The Other Girls, etc.)
Maybe my questions about the logic of the bookjumping and book-world are answered later in the book, but I did a bit of spot-check skimming and nothing stood out. I'm not willing to put up with the failure to suspend disbelief that should have been helped out long before my quitting point.
I should have expected to not be the right reader for this book due to my utter loathing of the similar
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plot device in The Eyre Affair, but for whatever reason, I either didn't clue into the similarity or I thought it would be different and novel. Sadly, this book has an enormous "Not Like The Other Girls" Hollywood Ugly problem that only exacerbates the giant plotholes and lack of logic that is part-and-parcel with the way Gläser uses the "book jumping" concept.The hardcover edition I borrowed from the library (and I am exceedingly grateful that I did not commit myself to owning a copy that I would need to dispose of) is 371 numbered pages. I finally convinced myself to stop hoping for any kind of plot-hole resolution at page 130. By that point, I had deduced that the main character Amy's father is probably a book character, which is why her mom suddenly left the island and family magic at such a young age while pregnant. Part of the reason I read so long was to find confirmation of it, but honestly I don't care that much. It's signposted and gives me a tidy explanation for why Amy's characterization is so tediously annoying (afterall, if she's half-fictional then being Not Like The Other Girls and Hollywood Ugly would be quite natural).
By the time I stopped, though, I had not figured out why the Lennox and Macalister families must "jump" into books to monitor them. Amy is sent to Book Jumping lessons under the Scottish island the two families share, which could have been a great primer for both her and the reader, but at least as far as I can tell, the whole purpose of the jumping to protect the books is to solve problems created because they are jumping into the books.
I also hadn't figured out any of the logic behind the book world. The jumpers can jump into a specific page, which is also a point in time - but a single page can span decades and have multiple scenes. The book world also has a concept of multiple days, but that really doesn't make sense to me, because entire books exist at once and are timeless. Characters can apparently go off and do their own thing when they aren't on the page...except if a book exists all at once and a jumper can go to any page, then aren't they always in the scene?
I tried to think of the book world as being an alternate universe instead of actually going into the books, but I still had trouble suspending my disbelief because the characters talk about the actual books, and books shrinking in size, and so on. It just doesn't make sense.
Another part that I found fairly stupid is that when Amy is told to jump into a safe children's book as her first experience, she chooses The Jungle Book. A of all, that doesn't strike me as a safe children's book unless you're talking specifically of Disney adaptations. For another thing, this is a Scottish family - why wouldn't they send Amy to the Chalet School or the 100 Acre Wood? The answer probably has to do with copyrights, but I can still think of a dozen books that would strike me as a safe children's book over Kipling's jungles.
I suppose if nothing else, the prose is lovely and has nice descriptions, and many of the original ideas in The Book Jumper could have led to an interesting story. (If it were Alternate Universe instead of Literally Books, if Amy weren't so thoroughly Not Like The Other Girls, etc.)
Maybe my questions about the logic of the bookjumping and book-world are answered later in the book, but I did a bit of spot-check skimming and nothing stood out. I'm not willing to put up with the failure to suspend disbelief that should have been helped out long before my quitting point.
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LibraryThing member JanaRose1
When Amy travels to her mother’s childhood home on an island in Scotland, she is amazed to uncover the family secret. Children and young adults of her lineage can jump into a story and interact with the story. Although this book had an interesting premise it could not keep my interest. None of
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the characters seemed to have any personality. They seemed very stereotypical and bland. I do think teenagers or pre-teens would enjoy the story. For me, it was a bust. Show Less
LibraryThing member ethel55
This was a lot of fun. If Kerstin Gier and Jasper Fforde had a book baby, this would be it! Amy and her mother Alexis, after suffering varying emotional events near the end of the school year, decide to go 'home' for the summer, to Stormsay, in Scotland. No one is expecting them, Alexis had left
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the island when she was young and pregnant. Amy, already a voracious reader, quickly learns of the family gift from her grandmother Mairead. Book jumping classes commence, and it's not long before Amy learns something is wrong in the Book World. With her faithful companion Werther (wonder how many American teens will be googling Goethe?), she starts jumping more and eventually enlists the help of fellow jumper Will, in the outside world too. While the ending was a little rushed for me, I really liked the journey in this unique, young adult book. Show Less
LibraryThing member courtneygiraldo
This weeks book has to be one of my favorite reads in recent memory. In part because it involves a girl who is able to jump inside of books and hang out. Yes, pretty much every bookworms dream come true right? But also for the beautiful way in which Glaser is able to deliver.
Seventeen year old Amy
I'm sure anyone can see why I was drawn to this book from just reading the blurb online. I had it on my Amazon wishlist and my kids picked it out to gift me for Mothers Day this year. I was immediately sucked into Amy's book jumping world with pure fascination and if I'm being honest, a smidgen of jealousy. To actually be able to enter my favorite book world and talk to beloved characters well I can't imagine a much better dream come true. Glaser writes such a uniquely magical story that any book lover will fall in love with. The island of Stormsay itself is a lovely backdrop to the story. Secluded, with beautiful marshes and centuries old castles, it was breathtaking. The book had a nice flow that was paced well with plenty of intrigue and action. The budding relationship between Amy and Will made my heart pitter patter in only that way that a good teen romance can do. There were some things I figured out myself along the way, and many others that I did not see coming. The ending was much different than I had anticipated but was perfect in a way you'll understand once you read it. This book will certainly hold a little piece of my heart and will be one that I will most definitely revisit again.
Seventeen year old Amy
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Lennox lives in Germany with her young mother Alexis. She has never known her father or extended family, only that her mother left young, when she was pregnant with Amy, and has refused to return ever since. When her mother experiences a particularly hard breakup, and Amy battles her own issues with peers in school, the two drop everything to take off to Alexis' childhood home on the island of Stormsay in Scotland. Shortly after arriving at Stormsay, Amy finds out she is from an ancient line of book jumpers. One of two clans tasked with protecting the world of literature by ensuring all stories remain intact, doing so, by actually entering the story itself. But something is happening within the stories, ideas are being stolen from the books, irreparably damaging the plot and thus the stories themselves. With the help of Will, fellow book jumper from the McAlister clan, Amy must find out who is stealing from the stories, and why, before countless classics are damaged forever. I'm sure anyone can see why I was drawn to this book from just reading the blurb online. I had it on my Amazon wishlist and my kids picked it out to gift me for Mothers Day this year. I was immediately sucked into Amy's book jumping world with pure fascination and if I'm being honest, a smidgen of jealousy. To actually be able to enter my favorite book world and talk to beloved characters well I can't imagine a much better dream come true. Glaser writes such a uniquely magical story that any book lover will fall in love with. The island of Stormsay itself is a lovely backdrop to the story. Secluded, with beautiful marshes and centuries old castles, it was breathtaking. The book had a nice flow that was paced well with plenty of intrigue and action. The budding relationship between Amy and Will made my heart pitter patter in only that way that a good teen romance can do. There were some things I figured out myself along the way, and many others that I did not see coming. The ending was much different than I had anticipated but was perfect in a way you'll understand once you read it. This book will certainly hold a little piece of my heart and will be one that I will most definitely revisit again.
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LibraryThing member scatlett
Absolutely beautiful story with characters that will linger with you long after you finish the last page.
LibraryThing member StarlieLC
I found this story interesting, original and yet familiar. I love the idea that the main characters have an ability I'd love, to jump into the books. :) I was slightly confused about the little bits in between the chapters, wondering what they were. The last one confused me...is there a sequel?
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This book is good for a teen mystery with a little bit of magic thrown in. Show Less
LibraryThing member HeatherLINC
I loved the concept of this novel. As a reader, who wouldn't love jumping into books and meeting your favourite characters? However, the storyline didn't live up to expectations. The book jumping episodes were shallow. Amy spent most of the time chasing the ideas thief, but I wanted more about the
There were a number of questions left unanswered at the end of this book, especially about various characters that appeared throughout, and I found the ending anticlimactic. Overall, I was disappointed in "The Book Jumper:, but I loved the front cover which caught my attention from the moment I saw it.
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stories she was visiting, the characters she met and the settings she found herself in. Also, I wanted to see her develop into a strong heroine herself.There were a number of questions left unanswered at the end of this book, especially about various characters that appeared throughout, and I found the ending anticlimactic. Overall, I was disappointed in "The Book Jumper:, but I loved the front cover which caught my attention from the moment I saw it.
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Pages
384