The Book Jumper by Mechthild GläserMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sixteen-year-old Amy Lennox and her mother escape their troubles with school and romance in Germany and return to the family homestead on the island of Stormsay off the coast of Scotland. There Amy learns from her grandmother that she comes from a long line of book jumpers, people who are able to leap into a story, explore its settings, and interact with the characters.
Amy is amazed by her extraordinary power, but quickly learns that someone is stealing ideas from the books she jumps into. When a famous character turns up dead, she and her new friend Will, who is also a book jumper, decide to solve the mystery. However, her recent incursions into the book world have made Amy one of the prime suspects to other book jumpers, and now she must stop the perpetrator in order to clear her name.
Recommended by a true book lover, my YA niece Theresa, it comes as no surprise that this is a book lover’s book. Several books within a book, (The Jungle Book, Oliver Twist, and Alice in Wonderland to name a few) The Book Jumper is all about stories and their fascinating characters and plot devices. Award-winning Gläser has a talent for invention and plot twists and handles the literary device of stories within a story with aplomb.
The only minus to this excellent novel is that it may suffer from loss in translation: the language isn’t as engaging as the story. Nevertheless, The Book Jumper is an enchanting read, and it underscores the importance of reading the classics of children’s literature and the delight and critical faculties that a well-rounded literacy brings to young readers.
All the best, Chris Brandon Whitaker
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What a great idea for a story. If only I could read German--the translation will have to do!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Wendy, and this is an amazing story. I'm sure translating is a tough challenge, but the characters, plot and sheer imagination still shine through in this version.
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