Jumped

As most people probably know, there are few books that I really despise.  I can say, with all honesty, that I hate most works by Charles Dickens (except A Christmas Carol).  I didn’t like Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, I would rather cut grass than read It by Stephen King, and I find most westerns to be mind-numbingly boring.  Well, now I can add another book to the list of those which make me cringe:  Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia.

When I read the reviews and flap-copy for Jumped, I was interested in the premise:  Three girls with intertwined stories, and how one small action can balloon to impact lives forever.  The story revolves around an upcoming girl fight and whether or not one of the main characters should say anything to stop it.  When I actually sat down to read the book, however, I was less than interested.  It took me forever to get through it.  The book is only 168 pages, but it took me weeks to actually find the will to finish it.

None of the three main characters have redeeming qualities.  None of them learned anything from the eventual outcome of the book.  I found myself asking, “What’s the point?” several times throughout this book.  Now, some may think I’m being overly harsh, but Jumped definitely didn’t meet my standards for quality young adult fiction.

Burn

In Suzanne Phillips’ Burn, Cameron Grady endures the torture that is high school.  He is a freshman and small for his age.  This makes him a target for Rich Patterson and his henchmen.  Cameron endures vicious bullying, and no one steps in to stop anything.  He feels like he can’t talk to anyone about it.  He is angry all the time, and the only thing that gives him a moment’s peace is fire.

After a particularly violent attack by Rich and his friend, where pictures of a naked Cameron end up on the Internet, Cameron snaps.   He does things that he knows are wrong, but he can’t seem to stop himself.  All he wants is a world where Rich is not there, and none of the bad things from the past year ever happened.  Will Cameron get his second chance, or will his actions burn his future to cinders?  Read Burn to find out.

If you haven’t figured it out already, this is not a happy book.  It’s dark, scary, and thought-provoking.  As someone who was bullied in middle and high school, I really related to the character of Cameron, and that in itself was difficult for me.  I know what it’s like to be scared to go to school or angry at the people who bullied me and others who stood by and let it happen.  I didn’t go to the lengths Cameron did, but I could have if I had not had the love and support of my family.  Burn is a great book for starting conversations about the consequences of bullying.  It happens more than people think, and everyone has to take steps to stop it.