Review | The Sky Jumpers Series by Peggy Eddleman

Sky Jumpers (Sky Jumpers #1) by Peggy Eddleman

What happens when you can’t do the one thing that matters most?

12-year-old Hope lives in White Rock, a town struggling to recover from the green bombs of World War III. The bombs destroyed almost everything that came before, so the skill that matters most in White Rock—sometimes it feels like the only thing that matters—is the ability to invent so that the world can regain some of what it’s lost.

But Hope is terrible at inventing and would much rather sneak off to cliff dive into the Bomb’s Breath—the deadly band of air that covers the crater the town lives in—than fail at yet another invention.

When bandits discover that White Rock has invented priceless antibiotics, they invade. The town must choose whether to hand over the medicine and die from disease in the coming months or to die fighting the bandits now. Hope and her friends, Aaren and Brock, might be the only ones who can escape through the Bomb’s Breath and make the dangerous trek over the snow-covered mountain to get help.

For once, inventing isn’t the answer, but the daring and risk-taking that usually gets Hope into trouble might just save them all.

Why did I read Sky Jumpers?

Those badass kids on the cover are cliff diving into a deadly band of air. I needed to find out more.

I've been excited about Sky Jumpers since before it was released, but I've continued to put it aside for other things. I came across the second book in this series on Overdrive, and I decided it was time to catch up.

The Strengths

The kids and the cliff diving completely lived up to the cover and my expectations.

Post-apocalypse. This is a middle grade post-apocalyptic. I have never read a post-apocalyptic book intended for such a young audience. For some reason I thought this would target kids a bit older, but my elementary kids could read this one. That's pretty exciting.

Friendships. Friendships are a big part of why I enjoy reading younger books. Everything doesn't dissolve into a romance. I like these kids.

Entertaining. Sky Jumpers was a fun read.

Stand alone. Sky Jumpers is the first in a series, but it is a full story that can stand on its own.

The Weaknesses

I'm too old to believe the science of Sky Jumpers. That's OK - it's still great fun, but sometimes it's easier to just "go with it" when you are still filled with the childhood magic that I no longer possess.

Would I recommend Sky Jumpers to others?

Absolutely, but more so to the younger readers in my life and adults who already partake in middle grade reads.

8/10: Great Read

Review copy provided by publisher

The Forbidden Flats (Sky Jumpers #2) by Peggy Eddleman

Escape one danger. Jump into another. . . .

Twelve-year-old Hope has always felt a little different from everyone else who lives in White Rock. She tries hard, but she doesn’t always think before she acts. She takes big risks. Sometimes her risks pay off, but sometimes they fail. Sometimes she fails.

Hope knows that the most dangerous thing about living in White Rock is that it’s so close to the deadly Bomb’s Breath—the invisible, fifteen-foot-thick band of compressed air that’s hovered over the earth since the Green Bombs of World War III. The citizens of White Rock live in fear of the Bomb’s Breath. Only Hope has figured out a way to go through it—and lived to tell the tale.

But when a massivetremor rips across the earth, the Bomb’s Breath begins to lower over White Rock. It’s up to Hope and her friends Brock and Aaren to make the dangerous journey far from home across the bandit-ridden Forbidden Flats to the wilds of the Rocky MMountainsobtain the one thing that may be able to stop it—before the Bomb’s Breath sinks too far and destroys them all. This time, Hope can’t fail.

I had a great time reading Sky Jumpers so I went straight into reading The Forbidden Flats.

This was a great followup. The Bomb's Breath - the deadly air that the kids were cliff diving into in Sky Jumpers - is now lowering over their town. The kids have to figure out how to stop it. It's a brilliant premise.

I didn't love The Forbidden Flats as much as Sky Jumpers, but I had a great time with this series.

7/10: Recommended Read