Book Review by Aarene Storms: Jumping off Swings

Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles

Every time Ellie hooks up with a new guy, she's sure that there will be more to the encounter than sex, and that she will finally feel loved. But the "one-time thing" with eager virgin Josh gets much more complicated when Ellie gets pregnant.

The nine months after that fateful night in Josh's van is told by four narrators: Ellie and Josh, plus their friends Corinne and Caleb, who live complicated lives of their own. Their voices are mostly realistic, although the situation often seems straight out of an "after school special."

With repetitive writing (I got tired of reading the word "empty") and mostly-predictable characters, this book is no classic, but readers looking for an emotional problem-novel with minimal cussing will find Jumping Off Swings engaging enough.

The "condom slipping off" situation that causes the pregnancy seems vaguely plausible. Sexual situations are described in flashback sentences, without graphic details, and childbirth is treated with similar distance: Ellie repeats the phrase "it hurts so much" frequently until she is sedated for the caesarean-section birth.

Rating

On-page sexual situations, mild cussing, underage drinking and partying. Readers 14 and up.

Aarene Storms, youth services librarian
Richmond Beach Library, KCLS