Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia

At the end of one school day, one girl threatens to beat-up another girl, and a third girl overhears. Will she speak up?

What You Should Know about this Book:
1. National Book Award nominee.
2. Intense, realistic, powerfully written.
3. Ultimately about girl bullies, teenage girl friendships and relationships, and the "laws" of high school.
4. Told from three different perspectives; three different high school girls who are each very different from the other.
5. Think of it like an episode of 24. The entire book takes places in one day at school.

3 questions to think about as you read this book.
1. The Shakespeareish question: to tell or not to tell? Leticia overhears one girl announce she is going to jump another girl.
2. The age-old question: Can a teenager be an individual? Adults always say yes, but what happens when the individuality of one girl intimidates or irritates or confuses others? Trina is herself but ultimately is punished for trying to be herself.
3. The geometry question: Do different perspectives, different angles, change the reality of a situation? Is what is obvious to one person impossible for another person with a different view to understand?

A few other things I loved about this book:
1. Readers will somehow understand the bully and almost empathize.
2. The African-American teenage girl voice is lyrical, melodic, and can be heard in the readers' minds as they read.
3. The identifiable roles the teachers and school staff play is almost over-the-top, but ultimately recognizable to anyone who has ever been in high school.

I would recommend Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia to 8th graders and older. It's a mature book, but one that shouldn't be missed!

Keep reading, everyone.
-stenson

p.s. image taken from Readingrants.org