Jumped

Trina doesn't care what anyone thinks of her. She knows she's "all that" and she's not afraid to flaunt it around school. But maybe she should be. Or so Dominique thinks. In fact, Dominique has had just about enough of Trina and her girly arrogance. So when Trina brushes past Dominique one day, grazing her shoulder without bothering to apologize, Dominique decides to take her down, once and for all, after school that day. Leticia knows all about Dominique's plan. She also knows just how dangerous Dominique is--she's seen her anger in action before. But Leticia doesn't want to get involved, even if tipping Trina off could mean saving her life. Jumped follows the mind-set of these three teenage girls in an inner-city school setting, with the pending event of the after-school "jumping" as the central theme. Written in three points of view, it begs us to look at the rise of girl-violence and bullying in schools, and keeps us wondering just what decision Leticia will come to. Williams-Garcia never ceases to provide her reader with a gritty, insightful look at the lives of inner-city teens, and their mindsets. Jumped is an awesome read, for anyone who wants a fast-paced, heart-racing page turner. -- Reviewed by Jill MacKenzie

From the book: "Girl fights aren't hardly about showing off skills. Girl fights are ugly. Girl fights are personal." This authentic story centers around three inner-city teens: Trina, Dominique, Leticia. From each girl's point of view, a school day unfolds into a climactic fight. Each has her own baggage, giving the characters added dimension. Even though I didn't find the book overly graphic, it was brimming with realism. This would be ideal for classroom discussion where teen violence is a concern.

Rita Williams-Garcia has done an absolutely magnificent job of capturing the voices of three teenagers in one day in a crowded high school. She captures the angst, the frustration, the loneliness. She captures the world that teenagers create around themselves, the bubble that surrounds them, their needs and wants, and is short-sighted. After finishing the book, I had to go back and re-read the last three chapters. I was sitting with my mouth hanging open. I will remember this book for years and will definitely share it with adults and youth. It is one of those books that begs to be talked about and will garner very interesting discussions in various directions. I love Richie's review of the book, but I must say that I do fault Leticia in many ways. Of the three girls, she was the most selfish/misguided/lazy---I could go on. And, no. It had nothing to do with her circumstances. She was just horrible. Dominique--she has circumstances. Leticia? No. There is no excuse for Leticia not speaking to someone in authority. And, that is part of the reason that I sat open-mouthed upon finishing the book. Her response in the last chapter is appropriate, in character. Any other response would not have suited Leticia. But, my biggest fear is that there are really girls like her out there....girls who simply don't care and don't understand why they should. An amazing, thought-provoking book. Read it people!

For generations there have been drama and bullying and violence in middle schools and high schools. What is the big deal? Hormones clash; problems at home fester and percolate; and prejudices -- whether innate, or picked up from parents and friends -- are acted upon. The weak get preyed on by the powerful, the minority are put in their place by the majority. It's nothing that doesn't happen in the rest of the real world every day, so why should middle school or high school be any different? Sure, sometimes there is some big ugly deal like a school shooting. That is regrettable, but what can you do? Even if school district budgets were all magically increased in order to try and "solve" the problems leading up to such incidents, there would still be an occasional kid who goes wacko. If we forgo spending hundreds of billions of dollars in such a manner when there is only a one-in-ten-thousand chance that my child's school will be involved or a one-in-a-million chance that my kid will get shot (or be a shooter), then isn't that money well saved...even if it means accepting the occasional tragedy in somebody else's school district? ...Or are schools actually the place to invest more money in order to help create the sort of adults who can turn the world around in unimaginably wonderful ways? A number of years ago, the school board for our K-8 district decided to stop funding a Vice Principal position (a.k.a. The Enforcer) at our middle school and, instead, fund a full-time school counseling position. Here are bits of our Counselor's profile page: "Children in school today are arriving with a full array of troubled lives. Many children need the support of a mentor adult to be able to focus on school... "I am available daily to students and parents. My goal is to call each student by name and get to know them academically, socially, and personally while they are [here]. The end of the school year is always bittersweet for me as I have grown quite fond of the graduating class and it is painful to send them on their way... "I am out on the yard daily at lunch and in and out of classrooms all day. I want to be visible and easily accessible to students. I am available to help sort out the big issues in life as well as the little things that can really get a person down on any given day. The role of school counselor is to guide through the little things and know when students need more help. If and when that time comes, I talk to the child about more help and gain his or her permission to talk with a parent about professional counseling. We are also fortunate to have ten hours a week of time from [a professional MFT] so children with limited resources can receive counseling services on campus." I think about this, because it is so frustrating to follow Dominique, Leticia, and Trina through the single day in which JUMPED takes place. There is no inherently "bad guy" amongst this trio. But their school -- like so many US schools --

Trina is a beautiful, bouncy girl who is proud of herself and is sure that everyone envies her looks and personality. When she is delivering some of her artwork to a teacher for a project, she walks too close to Dominique... "cuts into" her space... and Dominique, who is a tough basketball athlete, takes exception to that. She slams her fist into her other hand, and announces to her friends that Trina is as good as "jumped." Leticia understands the implications of the threat, but she doesn't want to get involved...and well, she's not sure that she actually saw what she thinks she saw. JUMPED is a frightening look at teen angst and bullying. This story tells how the lives of three very different teens connect with each other and how the choices they make can have dire consequences. These are very compelling characters, some likable, and some that are not. The suspense builds with nail-biting intensity to an unexpected climax. Ms. Williams-Garcia has the ability to capture the interactions of tough, inner-city teens better than any other writer today. Their problems really come to life in this fast-paced story that I couldn't put down. Reviewed by: Grandma Bev