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Spotlight On Fandoms: Jumper
PREMISE
Jumper is one of those novels that you pick up accidentally while browsing the science fiction isle in hopes of a new favorite series or while hoping someone's erroneously stocked the next book in your favorite series early or because you see the spine and say 'Hey, wasn't Hayden Christensen in an action-packed yet terrible movie with this title?' That last one? Totally me.
So anyway, you're without a novel one day and then you find yourself picking up Jumper and tossing it in your bag. You discover that once you've read the first few pages it's near impossible to stop, but that's okay since it's a fast, easy read. Granted, it's a book published in 1992 that really shows its age in the terrible clothing descriptions of the women, but it's also a book that really epitomizes my favorite type of science fiction: Take a normal reality and change one person in a remarkable way. In Jumper's case, the change is that David Rice discovers he can teleport but instead of focusing on the impossible science behind that, the book focuses on developing David as a character first. Now, there are three books - Jumper, Reflex, and Griffin's Story. Because I enjoy the books and I refuse to be that girl who spoils things, I'm going to give you back cover summaries and a bit of character information to try and tempt you just a little. I will note, however, that all three novels are written in first person narrative which I normally find jarring, but in these books I feel it keeps the pace much better than third person would.
BACK COVERS
CHARACTERS
DAVID RICE is a weepy, whiny, idiot teenager. Yes, Hayden seems to have a type. His mom ditched out on him when he was five, leaving him in the hands of his abusive alcoholic father. Mmm, issues. It's when Davy's dad takes his belt buckle to him for forgetting his chores in favor of reading that Davy first jumps away and ends up in the Stanville Public Library. The book follows Davy as he flees to New York City and learns to cope with having a special ability while feeling a desperate need to help others and cry on Millie's shoulder. (Oh, and his name totally changes spelling, I go with Reflex's use of Davy.)
MILLIE is Davy's love interest. I won't get into what it says when a college girl is interested in a seventeen year old who cries at the drop of a hat and gets snot on her blouse. Millie is along for the majority of the ride, despite the gaggle of girlfriends I imagine told her to stay the hell away. Davy picks her up at a play while she's vacationing in NYC and he can't help but stalk her home. When you can teleport, I suppose it's extra tempting. Anyway, she's all supportive of Davy and the variety of issues that crop up (which I'm not spoiling, though they are sort of obvious IMO). And it's OMG TRUE LOVE. Okay, and I really only mention Millie because: 1) She is NOT the bartender from the movie. She's a freaking psychology major who psychoanalyzes Davy really well. 2) The second book Reflex is mostly her story, no matter what the cover says. Yes, the story of Millie and her blazers and blouses that make me imagine she should be one of the Golden Girls. At least she's witty and borders on being a badass by the end.
GRIFFIN O'CONNER is a character from the film Jumper and his novel was written to be consistent with the movie, the worlds of the first books and the movie being drastically different. So, Griffin is a boy with no real place in the world. A lie of omission causes his parent's deaths when he's nine. Dental work for two cavities at age twelve flushes him from the home he's made in Mexico. He says it himself that 'there is something very wrong when being in an underground cavern with no exit is the safest place to be.' Eventually, he dips his toes back into society, picking karate back up and making a few friends only to have it all torn away because he's sixteen and an idiot. And then again, when he's seventeen, which is really vague because it totally surprised me when it happened in the book, and I was in Panera reading as fast as I could to figure out how it was getting fixed and yeah, so there. So the novel is more how Griffin got to be the video-game playing, desert-dwelling, paladin-hunting badass with a flamethrower from the movie. As it turns out, the story of how he gets to that point is sort of sad.
WHY DO I CARE?
Because I said so. Also, because I made my sister read the books (she read them in publication order, I did not) and then she saw the movie and was completely o.O at it. Now, I'd seen the movie in theaters long ago because I am a sucker for explosions and Hayden, but I am also completely able to enjoy the film for its own sake (and wee!Ben Skywalker who is young David) if not for it being all that accurate about the characters the books made me fall for. And because you have to read something on lunch break. And because someone needs to tell me why all the girls in these books are the same.
WHERE CAN I GET IT?
Oh boy, are you in luck! Amazon.com will sell you all three mass market paperback books for $23.97! Seriously, they're your typical $7.99 at any normal bookstore in the Science Fiction section under Gould, Steven. Also, Amazon.com offers all three for Kindle.
Jumper is one of those novels that you pick up accidentally while browsing the science fiction isle in hopes of a new favorite series or while hoping someone's erroneously stocked the next book in your favorite series early or because you see the spine and say 'Hey, wasn't Hayden Christensen in an action-packed yet terrible movie with this title?' That last one? Totally me.
So anyway, you're without a novel one day and then you find yourself picking up Jumper and tossing it in your bag. You discover that once you've read the first few pages it's near impossible to stop, but that's okay since it's a fast, easy read. Granted, it's a book published in 1992 that really shows its age in the terrible clothing descriptions of the women, but it's also a book that really epitomizes my favorite type of science fiction: Take a normal reality and change one person in a remarkable way. In Jumper's case, the change is that David Rice discovers he can teleport but instead of focusing on the impossible science behind that, the book focuses on developing David as a character first. Now, there are three books - Jumper, Reflex, and Griffin's Story. Because I enjoy the books and I refuse to be that girl who spoils things, I'm going to give you back cover summaries and a bit of character information to try and tempt you just a little. I will note, however, that all three novels are written in first person narrative which I normally find jarring, but in these books I feel it keeps the pace much better than third person would.
BACK COVERS
JUMPER
Davey lives alone with his father. But the truth is, it isn't much of a home. When things get so bad that Davey decides he has to run away, his big question is Where? And how will he live?
The magical answer: anywhere Davey wants!
Davey discovers he has the power to 'jump' from one place to another. Not just a few feet, but hundreds, even thousands of miles! And as Davey explores his new power he learns that the world is literally his for the taking. But there are consequences, too, as Davey will learn.
REFLEX
A mysterious group of people has taken Davy captive. They don't want to hire him, and they don't have any hope of appealing to him for help. What they want is to own him. They want to use his abilities for their own purpose, whether Davy agrees to it or not. And so they set about brainwashing and conditioning him. They have found a way to keep a teleporter captive.
But there's one thing that they don't know. No one knows it, not even Davy. And it might save his life...
GRIFFIN'S STORY
Griffin O'Conner has been hunted for a s long as he can remember, first with his family, then on his own. His only hope is to stay alive--until he can turn the tables on the warriors sworn to kill him...and all Jumpers.
CHARACTERS
DAVID RICE is a weepy, whiny, idiot teenager. Yes, Hayden seems to have a type. His mom ditched out on him when he was five, leaving him in the hands of his abusive alcoholic father. Mmm, issues. It's when Davy's dad takes his belt buckle to him for forgetting his chores in favor of reading that Davy first jumps away and ends up in the Stanville Public Library. The book follows Davy as he flees to New York City and learns to cope with having a special ability while feeling a desperate need to help others and cry on Millie's shoulder. (Oh, and his name totally changes spelling, I go with Reflex's use of Davy.)
MILLIE is Davy's love interest. I won't get into what it says when a college girl is interested in a seventeen year old who cries at the drop of a hat and gets snot on her blouse. Millie is along for the majority of the ride, despite the gaggle of girlfriends I imagine told her to stay the hell away. Davy picks her up at a play while she's vacationing in NYC and he can't help but stalk her home. When you can teleport, I suppose it's extra tempting. Anyway, she's all supportive of Davy and the variety of issues that crop up (which I'm not spoiling, though they are sort of obvious IMO). And it's OMG TRUE LOVE. Okay, and I really only mention Millie because: 1) She is NOT the bartender from the movie. She's a freaking psychology major who psychoanalyzes Davy really well. 2) The second book Reflex is mostly her story, no matter what the cover says. Yes, the story of Millie and her blazers and blouses that make me imagine she should be one of the Golden Girls. At least she's witty and borders on being a badass by the end.
GRIFFIN O'CONNER is a character from the film Jumper and his novel was written to be consistent with the movie, the worlds of the first books and the movie being drastically different. So, Griffin is a boy with no real place in the world. A lie of omission causes his parent's deaths when he's nine. Dental work for two cavities at age twelve flushes him from the home he's made in Mexico. He says it himself that 'there is something very wrong when being in an underground cavern with no exit is the safest place to be.' Eventually, he dips his toes back into society, picking karate back up and making a few friends only to have it all torn away because he's sixteen and an idiot. And then again, when he's seventeen, which is really vague because it totally surprised me when it happened in the book, and I was in Panera reading as fast as I could to figure out how it was getting fixed and yeah, so there. So the novel is more how Griffin got to be the video-game playing, desert-dwelling, paladin-hunting badass with a flamethrower from the movie. As it turns out, the story of how he gets to that point is sort of sad.
WHY DO I CARE?
Because I said so. Also, because I made my sister read the books (she read them in publication order, I did not) and then she saw the movie and was completely o.O at it. Now, I'd seen the movie in theaters long ago because I am a sucker for explosions and Hayden, but I am also completely able to enjoy the film for its own sake (and wee!Ben Skywalker who is young David) if not for it being all that accurate about the characters the books made me fall for. And because you have to read something on lunch break. And because someone needs to tell me why all the girls in these books are the same.
WHERE CAN I GET IT?
Oh boy, are you in luck! Amazon.com will sell you all three mass market paperback books for $23.97! Seriously, they're your typical $7.99 at any normal bookstore in the Science Fiction section under Gould, Steven. Also, Amazon.com offers all three for Kindle.
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*speaks from experience*
But they're fun!
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On one hand, I am trying very hard to save money.
On the other, I really do need something to read on lunch...
SEE THE CHOICES YOU MAKE ME MAKE?
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Not that I just placed a hold on copies at mine or anything. *whistles*
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Um. *cough*
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And fourth one's out at the end of August. So you have plenty of time before then to read 'em.
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But I'm glad you're intrigued! It makes me glee.
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