Mo_Books: Review - Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman

Sky Jumpers (Sky Jumpers #1)
by Peggy Eddleman
Release date - September 24th 2013
Published by Random House Children's Books
Arc, 288 pages
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Description (from Goodreads)

What happens when you can’t do the one thing that matters most?

12-year-old Hope lives in White Rock, a town struggling to recover from the green bombs of World War III. The bombs destroyed almost everything that came before, so the skill that matters most in White Rock—sometimes it feels like the only thing that matters—is the ability to invent so that the world can regain some of what it’s lost.

But Hope is terrible at inventing and would much rather sneak off to cliff dive into the Bomb’s Breath—the deadly band of air that covers the crater the town lives in—than fail at yet another invention.

When bandits discover that White Rock has invented priceless antibiotics, they invade. The town must choose whether to hand over the medicine and die from disease in the coming months or to die fighting the bandits now. Hope and her friends, Aaren and Brock, might be the only ones who can escape through the Bomb’s Breath and make the dangerous trek over the snow-covered mountain to get help.

For once, inventing isn’t the answer, but the daring and risk-taking that usually gets Hope into trouble might just save them all

My Review
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

When world war three unleashed green bombs that ultimately changed the world as we currently know it, Hope and her towns people have found a safe and intelligent way to survive. Being able to invent was highly praised in White Rock. Since everything was destroyed in the war Hope's people craved the things that make life easier and for the better. But Hope had a problem. No matter how hard she tried inventing was not her strong point. Still, her parents thought she was special. That she was a leader. That she would one day do something great.

What a pleasant surprise this debut novel by Peggy Eddleman was. I very much enjoyed this middle grade, post apocalyptic story and it was very nice to read about a 12 year old that actually thought and acted like a 12 year old. Hope has authentic adolescent feelings and even if she was incredibly brave I believe that her actions would be possible due to the way of life she endured since birth.

I loved the setting. It was well described and I could easily picture Hope's mountain village. I was completely interested in the story the entire time. I enjoyed Hopes character and I felt that I got to know her pretty when. I definitely felt for her when it came to her inventing skills. Since she lived in a town that highly valued good inventions she felt completely inadequate of her own personal value because Hope wasn't very good at it.

This story doesn't have any romance and is purely a tale about friendship and surviving in the post war world that Hope calls home. I did have some lasting questions concerning Brock's role in the story and wished I could have found my answers. Maybe in the next book?

I give Sky Jumpers a 4 out of 5 stars.