The Book Jumper

Synopsis

Amy Lennox doesn't know quite what to expect when she and her mother pick up and leave Germany for Scotland, heading to her mother's childhood home of Lennox House on the island of Stormsay.

Amy's grandmother, Lady Mairead, insists that Amy must read while she resides at Lennox House- but not in the usual way. It turns out that Amy is a book jumper, able to leap into a story and interact with the world inside. As thrilling as Amy's 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 a fellow book jumper Will, Amy vows to get to the bottom of the thefts- at whatever cost.

Loved

• Book jumping! Hello- this is every bookworm's DREAM. Jump into any story, watch what's happening, and even interact with the characters?! I was so mesmerized with this idea throughout the book and I kept thinking to myself that this is the perfect premise for a book lover. This was such a unique, creative magic and I loved the history and rules that went with it as well.

• References! I absolutely ADORED the references to other books throughout the story. I mean her best friend in the book is Werther- how cool is that? I just about died when Amy stumbles upon the Bennett family on their way to Pemberley, or when she watches Jane Eyre get scooped up on the doorstep by Mr. Rochester. I thought all the references were so fun to find- like having Easter eggs throughout the story to find and munch :)

• Stormsay. Okay how can we not have a good story when it's set in a mysterious castle on a gloomy Scottish island? This was the perfect setting for so many mysteries and so much history. I just relished it and it felt so real.

• The mysteries. This almost had a murder mystery feel to it- we have a murder in the beginning of the story and we spend the rest of the book figuring out who did it, along with other mysterious events that keep happening. I loved the mysteries in this book because there were so many of them and all the events seemed unrelated, which made them harder to guess. The plot had quite a few layers for a standalone novel, and I found myself unable to guess how many of the mysteries would unravel.

• The book world. I loved this magic system and how a whole other "book world" exists where the characters act their scenes and then have their own lives aside from their plots. I loved visiting the Inkpot- the book world bar- and seeing the characters living their lives outside their plots. This is such a fascinating, unique idea that I had never experienced before and I just completely devoured the experience.

• The audio. I listened to this and I highly highly recommend it! It's narrated by a Scottish woman and her accent just made the story come alive. I absolutely loved hearing her pronounce everything and it made me feel all the Scottish vibes as I listened.

Didn't Love

• I absolutely loved this story- but Amy bugged me so much that it took away from the story some. There were so many of those watching-the-main-character-make-the-dumbest-mistake-ever-and-I-can't-do-anything-about-it moments, which drove me crazy. I felt like she was very impulsive and didn't stop to think about how her actions would affect other people- in and out of the book world. There were quite a few times when I wanted to develop book jumping powers myself, jump into the book and shake her for doing such impulsive things.

• The ending. I won't spoil it, but the ending drove me insane! I couldn't believe it was really happening until the audio ended and there weren't any "wait this is the real ending!" tracks or anything. I was super annoyed with it and I felt like there were ways we could've avoided that ending. Don't worry, it ends fairly happily, but it is frustrating and I wish it would've ended differently.

Content

• Language: 
• Quite a few uses of "hell," "damn," and "sh**."

• Sexual content: 
• There are some kisses between the two main characters, but not much described.
• She stays at his house overnight, but she sleeps on the couch and nothing happens.
• A character describes falling in love as a teenager and getting pregnant, so she runs away.

• Violence:
• A dead body is found floating in the water. It is described as bloated with a hole in the chest.
• A character is stabbed and bleeds quite a bit, but does not die.
• A character sees a hand in fog holding a knife coming down at them, and has to avoid being stabbed.
• A fight breaks out in a story, which results in a fire.
• One character stabs themselves in an effort to save everyone else. Described as the dagger going through muscle and arteries to the heart.
• One character unknowingly keeps trying to stab and kill another character.

 Overall Thoughts

I absolutely LOVE the idea of book jumping! This is such a clever, original plot premise. I love the references to different book characters and I just ate them up like candy. I loved the mysteries and deep history, all taking place on an eerie, secret-filled island with all the European vibes. Until about halfway through this book, I remember thinking, "this is the perfect book for all book lovers!" and just loved every single page. But then I started to get really frustrated with Amy, to the point that it took away from the story. I was also very frustrated with the ending. Despite these two things, I think any bookworm would have fun experiencing a world where you can just into stories and meet the characters- it's very worth reading the book just to experience that magic.