Jump When Ready by David Pandolfe
A Young Adult Speculative Fiction Novel published by Amazon Digital Services LLC (01/09/14)
Summary:
Henry didn’t mean to die. The afterlife is not how he imagined. He can still see the real world, but he can’t interact with anyone alive. Placed with a group of afterlifers, Henry must let go of life in order to move on. Henry might have been able to let go of his past life if he didn’t witness his sister getting kidnapped!
Keywords:
Death, Teenagers, Suicide, Kidnapping, Chase, Punks, Friendship, Family, Letting Go, Moving On, Rescue, Accident, Coming of Age
My Review:
This book was a bit boring in the beginning until Henry’s sister is kidnapped. The action involved in the kidnapping sparks Henry’s storyline as he was floundering in the beginning. The afterlife Henry is part of is a Between Lives state and therefore between any real action and it’s not until his goal is revealed (save his sister!) that his own story becomes exciting.
I enjoyed how Pandolfe described death. Given many names: afterlife, between, death, etc, this state of being and place was interesting and well-described. This semi-fantasy aspect of world building was intricate and with a set of rules that were fascinating to read about.
If this book had started closer to the kidnapping, it would have been a much more exciting, engaging, and higher-rated novel but as it is (if you don’t mind the slow and lengthy buildup), it was a fun and easy read.
This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services LLC on January 9th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 3.50
Links for more information:
Rachel Author Barnard 