Jump

Jump by Elisa Carbone is an adventure story with a kick and a message.

P.K. is about to be sent to boarding school. She is not a bad kid, but she gets bad grades. She would much rather focus on rock climbing than learning to take standardized tests.

Before she can be sent to the new school, she decides to run away and climb. Her friends won't go with her but a new guy at the gym volunteers.

Critter would love to go on a climbing adventure. He has been climbing for years and has nowhere else to be. He just escaped from a psych ward.

Together they will travel across the US toward some of the best climbing rock. Along the way, Critter will teach P.K. to live in the moment.

This book rocks! It is a well-written, action-filled look at rock climbing but also points out that it is okay to take risks - fear is in the future which does not yet exist. It packs a punch like Speak or Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson but doesn't leave readers in tears.

Carbone, Elise. (2010). Jump. New York: Viking.