Jennifer M. (Kaydence) reviewed Sky Jumpers: Through the Bomb's Breath: Book 1 on + 380 more book reviews
Summary:
In the aftermath of World War III, a small community of people have set up a town called White Rock. This community specializes in inventions. Since the War brought about the end of most of our modern conveniences, White Rock's inhabitants are trying to make life easier. Everyone is proud of their inventions except for Hope. Hope is terrible at inventing. Nothing seems to go right and she has no interest in it. Hope's interest is in cliff diving. There is nothing better than jumping off a cliff into the thick vapors of the Bomb's Breath (a side effect from a terrible "Green Bomb" that basically wiped out the world). While the Bomb's Breath is toxic, it is also thick enough that it slows down a bodies fall and gives the sense of flying instead of plummeting. No one knows about Hope's adventures through the Bomb's Breath (which is good because others have died from it). Unfortunately for White Rock, a band of thieves finds out about their inventions and plans to rob them of their antibiotics. This leaves the town trying to fight but desperately needing the help of a neighboring town. Hope is the only one that can make it through the Bomb's Breath to get to the neighboring town to help before her town is lost.
My thoughts:
I've apparently been reading a lot of younger children's adventure stories lately. This one is done very well. Hope is a heroine that both boys and girls will be able to rally behind. She is a tough cookie that doesn't let people push her around. She isn't afraid of taking risks, but she still is a little unsure of herself because of her lack of inventing skills. This makes her vulnerable and strong, which is an altogether likeable combination. Along with an adorable heroine, the world building in this story is done very well. Eddleman allows the reader to know a great deal about this post War time and the Green Bomb that destroyed everything. There is enough that I can imagine everything, but not too much where the story absolutely stops. Finally, once the adventure starts going, it does not stop. Once I was about a quarter of the way through the book, I no longer wanted to put it down. I was on the edge of my seat attempting to help Hope save the day. Since there is a constant reminder of the "time running out" theme of the book, the pages fly by. I would recommend for a high level 3rd grade reader and up. As an adult, I clearly enjoyed the novel, so there definitely isn't an age cap on this one. There really isn't a ton of violence, no sex, and no bad language.
In the aftermath of World War III, a small community of people have set up a town called White Rock. This community specializes in inventions. Since the War brought about the end of most of our modern conveniences, White Rock's inhabitants are trying to make life easier. Everyone is proud of their inventions except for Hope. Hope is terrible at inventing. Nothing seems to go right and she has no interest in it. Hope's interest is in cliff diving. There is nothing better than jumping off a cliff into the thick vapors of the Bomb's Breath (a side effect from a terrible "Green Bomb" that basically wiped out the world). While the Bomb's Breath is toxic, it is also thick enough that it slows down a bodies fall and gives the sense of flying instead of plummeting. No one knows about Hope's adventures through the Bomb's Breath (which is good because others have died from it). Unfortunately for White Rock, a band of thieves finds out about their inventions and plans to rob them of their antibiotics. This leaves the town trying to fight but desperately needing the help of a neighboring town. Hope is the only one that can make it through the Bomb's Breath to get to the neighboring town to help before her town is lost.
My thoughts:
I've apparently been reading a lot of younger children's adventure stories lately. This one is done very well. Hope is a heroine that both boys and girls will be able to rally behind. She is a tough cookie that doesn't let people push her around. She isn't afraid of taking risks, but she still is a little unsure of herself because of her lack of inventing skills. This makes her vulnerable and strong, which is an altogether likeable combination. Along with an adorable heroine, the world building in this story is done very well. Eddleman allows the reader to know a great deal about this post War time and the Green Bomb that destroyed everything. There is enough that I can imagine everything, but not too much where the story absolutely stops. Finally, once the adventure starts going, it does not stop. Once I was about a quarter of the way through the book, I no longer wanted to put it down. I was on the edge of my seat attempting to help Hope save the day. Since there is a constant reminder of the "time running out" theme of the book, the pages fly by. I would recommend for a high level 3rd grade reader and up. As an adult, I clearly enjoyed the novel, so there definitely isn't an age cap on this one. There really isn't a ton of violence, no sex, and no bad language.
Karissa E. (ophelia99) reviewed Sky Jumpers: Through the Bomb's Breath: Book 1 on + 2527 more book reviews
I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. It was a well done middle grade adventure/dystopia and I enjoyed it.
Twelve year old Hope lives in White Rock. Most of the world was destroyed by Green Bombs of World War III. Humanity is struggling to rebuild itself and because of this nothing is valued more in the city of White Rock than the ability to invent. Hope is horrible at inventing and would much rather dive through the deadly green clouds left over from the Green Bombs. However, when bandits threaten White Rock and their supply of precious antibiotic, Hopes skill to be daring and resourceful ends up coming in very handy.
This is a well done middle grade adventure/dystopia read. I enjoyed reading it, there is some creative world building here and the characters are easy to engage with. It's a pretty short story and the writing style is a bit more simple and basic than some middle grade reads out there. It also takes the story a bit to get going.
Hope is a good character, but similar to many middle grade characters out there. She doesnt fit in and has trouble doing what is expected of her, she is daring and has excellent leadership skills, but cant invent things. Basically the story is about Hope finding a way to use her strengths for the benefit of society and about Hope learning to accept who she is.
The side characters are very much side characters. They were pretty simple and pretty stereotypical. Hopes best friend, Aaron, is an inventing genius. Her other friend, Brock, is a bit of a mysterious outcast. The side characters were done well enough but fairly forgettable.
The plot is also very typical of dystopian books. Hope and her community have a good thing going on, that is until the evil outsiders come and ruin their lives. There are issues with lack of resources, illness, and humanity struggling to gain back the knowledge it lost when most humans were killed in World War III.
Probably the strongest aspect of this book is the unique world. The idea of Green Bombs, bombs that were supposed to destroy people but not nature, is very interesting. The deadly green gas that lingers and provides a natural barrier against humans for the town of White Rock is a neat idea. The whole explanation as to what triggered World War III is a bit nebulous and the kids in the book obviously take their way of life for granted. That is to say they ask some questions about the green gas and the war, but not many because they are kids and kind of live in the present.
Overall it was a decent middle grade post-apocalyptic dystopia novel. Nothing was outstanding but everything was well done. The characters are pretty stereotypical as is the plot. The idea of a world plagued by the residual of a Green Bomb is a very unique and interesting one and is what really makes this book worth reading. I would recommend as a good entry into the dystopian genre for younger readers. Those who have read tons and tons of dystopian fiction, like myself, probably wont find much food for thought or really anything to get all that excited about.
Twelve year old Hope lives in White Rock. Most of the world was destroyed by Green Bombs of World War III. Humanity is struggling to rebuild itself and because of this nothing is valued more in the city of White Rock than the ability to invent. Hope is horrible at inventing and would much rather dive through the deadly green clouds left over from the Green Bombs. However, when bandits threaten White Rock and their supply of precious antibiotic, Hopes skill to be daring and resourceful ends up coming in very handy.
This is a well done middle grade adventure/dystopia read. I enjoyed reading it, there is some creative world building here and the characters are easy to engage with. It's a pretty short story and the writing style is a bit more simple and basic than some middle grade reads out there. It also takes the story a bit to get going.
Hope is a good character, but similar to many middle grade characters out there. She doesnt fit in and has trouble doing what is expected of her, she is daring and has excellent leadership skills, but cant invent things. Basically the story is about Hope finding a way to use her strengths for the benefit of society and about Hope learning to accept who she is.
The side characters are very much side characters. They were pretty simple and pretty stereotypical. Hopes best friend, Aaron, is an inventing genius. Her other friend, Brock, is a bit of a mysterious outcast. The side characters were done well enough but fairly forgettable.
The plot is also very typical of dystopian books. Hope and her community have a good thing going on, that is until the evil outsiders come and ruin their lives. There are issues with lack of resources, illness, and humanity struggling to gain back the knowledge it lost when most humans were killed in World War III.
Probably the strongest aspect of this book is the unique world. The idea of Green Bombs, bombs that were supposed to destroy people but not nature, is very interesting. The deadly green gas that lingers and provides a natural barrier against humans for the town of White Rock is a neat idea. The whole explanation as to what triggered World War III is a bit nebulous and the kids in the book obviously take their way of life for granted. That is to say they ask some questions about the green gas and the war, but not many because they are kids and kind of live in the present.
Overall it was a decent middle grade post-apocalyptic dystopia novel. Nothing was outstanding but everything was well done. The characters are pretty stereotypical as is the plot. The idea of a world plagued by the residual of a Green Bomb is a very unique and interesting one and is what really makes this book worth reading. I would recommend as a good entry into the dystopian genre for younger readers. Those who have read tons and tons of dystopian fiction, like myself, probably wont find much food for thought or really anything to get all that excited about.
