What happens when you can’t do the one thing that matters most?
Twelve-year-old Hope Toriella lives in White Rock, a town of inventors struggling to recover from the green bombs of World War III. But Hope is terrible at inventing and would much rather sneak off to cliff dive into the Bomb’s Breath—the deadly band of compressed air that covers the crater left by the bombs—than fail at yet another invention.
When bandits discover that White Rock has priceless antibiotics, they invade. With a two-day deadline to finish making this year’s batch and no ingredients to make more, the town is left to choose whether to hand over the medicine and die from the disease that’s run rampant since the bombs, or die fighting the bandits now.
Help lies in a neighboring town, but the bandits count everyone fourteen and older each hour. Hope and her friends—Aaron and Brock—might be the only ones who can escape to make the dangerous trek through the Bomb’s Breath and over the snow-covered mountain. Inventing won’t help her make it through alive, but with Aaron and Brock’s help, the daring and recklessness that usually gets her into trouble might just save them all.
Title: Sky Jumpers
Author: Peggy Eddleman
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 24, 2013
ISBN: 978-0307981271
Formats: 288 pages,hardcover; e-book
Genre: Middle Grade Dystopian
I listened to the audiobook of this middle-grade dystopian. First of all, I loved that the parents in the story were kind, protective, trusted adults who had healthy relationships with their children (so often missing in so many stories!). I also thought the setting of the story was unique and thought that the main character learned some great lessons about herself and her capabilities.