BOOK REVIEW: The Book Jumper

*****/5

Have you ever loved a story so much that you wished you could disappear into its world, meet the characters, eat their food, and become their friend?

Mechtild Gläser created a visual interpretation of that daydream with The Book Jumper. Originally written in 2015 in her native German, it was translated into English in 2017 by Romy Fursland. This translation is amazing and there were only a few random sentences where it seemed apparent the book had not originally been written in English. Five stars for the translation alone! (I wish I could read German so I could read Gläser's original publication and see how similar the two are.)

I had never heard of this book when I first picked it up at the bookstore. Initially, I thought, "What a beautiful cover!" As I always do with books, I flipped it over to read the synopsis on the back. "It turns out that Amy is a book jumper, able to leap into a story and interact with the world inside." *gasp* *activate childhood memories of daydreaming I was a part of my favorite stories* "This is mine."

After all, who wouldn't want to read a book that is a literal rendering of one of their biggest bookish dreams?

The Plot: (mild spoilers)

The Book Jumper features a relatively small cast of characters, less than a dozen. Only about 6 or so are featured frequently, which helps move the story along without creating complications of remembering lots of names. The story begins with our main character, 15 year old Amy Lennox, and her mother Alexis running away from heartbreak and trauma at home in Germany to her mother's home in Scotland on the island of Stormsay. After arriving, The majority of the book is written in first person from Amy's point of view, not only are we given a closer glimpse into her mind and her soul, but we are given a believable narrative strung out much like a teenage mind thinks. Amy is informed of her gift as a Lennox: the ability to jump into stories. Already an avid reader, Amy is beyond ecstatic at this revelation and a little frustrated she wasn't informed about this earlier in her life. After all, Jumpers only have the ability from ages 5 to 25.

The two families on the island are the only known Book Jumpers, and they are tasked with protecting literature by jumping into a chosen story and ensuring everything goes as planned. If they interfere with the plot or fail to protect it, the changes are made apparent in every printed copy. *gulp*

When Amy first book jumps, she discovers that the characters of the story are akin to actors: they are very aware of the story that is unfolding and know their entrances and the responsibility they have for the continuity of the story. As she travels through the book, she can reach "the edge" of the book where there are pathways to other works of literature and what Gläser dubbed "The Margin", where the pub The Inkpot rests as well as a variety of little shops: a chemist's shop advertising "a cure for weak verbs" to name one. Here come characters from several different works of literature, from well-known children's stories and Greek epics and Shakespearian tragedies.

The conflict of the book takes a few chapters to really rear its head, but the vibrancy of the characters and the beauty of the book jumping keep you entranced, waiting with baited breath for the other shoe to drop. And when it does, it keeps you gripping the pages because not only is it affecting the outside world, but the grand world of story that we readers love and cherish so much. Gläser builds the conflict, raising the stakes and the mystery, and leads it up to the final conflict where she finally reveals her hand...and breaks your heart.

The book holds my number 1 pick for favorite first kiss at the moment. "Will's reply was soft and warm. It brushed my lips as gently as a butterfly's wing." Forgive me a minute while I swoon and catch my breath after it whooshes out of me again.

This novel isn't talked about enough. I love that the characters and literature mentioned span a variety of reading experiences: from Pride and Prejudice to The Jungle Book and The Sorrows of Young Werther. It feature's a sweet romance between two of the characters that is very PG and sweet in nature, but still made my heartstrings flutter and brought tears to my eyes as the novel ended. (That's not a spoiler, because you can cry for many reasons.) It's truly unique with twists and turns that you expect, and many that catch you off guard.

Gläser does a spell-binding job of describing the page turning of a book jumper while they are in a story, giving you a visual image of flipping through a book from the insider's perspective. It was slightly dizzying to think about, but intoxicating to envision.

My only major complaint is from the last few pages of the book, after the final conflict has been resolved, the resolution of the rest of the book feels almost a little too much like "to sum up everything". The author didn't tie every single question off with a nice little bow, or conclude every storyline with finality, but it seemed a strange way to bring such a magical story to an end. However, regardless of that, I still wholeheartedly give this book 5 stars!

Would I let my daughter read this? ABSOLUTELY! As with every book, I would just be paying attention to her emotional maturity. I was a very sensitive child until I was late in my teens, and hated any story where a character died, bad guy or not. I did not do well with mistreatment of children (Jane Eyre STILL triggers my intense rage) and I had a very hard time with character embarrassment and grotesque imagery. However, this is 100% a book I would led my daughter read as a young teen. It is very clean and very sweet, while still feeling extremely original and masterful.

Parental Guidance (major spoilers):

Do not read ahead if you do not want spoilers.

This book deals with some teen trauma of having their naked body being photographed and posted on social media. This is half of what drives the characters to escape to Scotland. However, this experience is relived in dreams and memory, not in real time in the book.

This book also deals with character death, permanent or otherwise. One of the major plot points of the book that drives the initial investigation into the world of story is the fact that Sherlock Holmes made it into the real world, and was stabbed. One of the main characters, Will, sacrifices himself at the end of the book in order to save the world of stories, and Amy.