Review: Jumper by Jeff LaFerney

A huge thank you to Jeff for providing me with a copy of his novel in return for my fair and honest review :)

Jumper by Jeff LaFerney

Dani's Rating: 5 stars 

Format: e-book (PDF)
Pages: 280
Publisher: Tower Publications
Publication Date: April 25, 2013

Goodreads synopsis:

After spending three years in jail and others completely alone, twenty-four-year-old Cole Flint discovers an amazing ability—he can time-travel and teleport. He’s a jumper. So what should the motorcycle-riding, cage-fighting tough guy do? He should protect an innocent eighteen-year-old girl who happens to be in possession of the Staff of Moses. Following the direction of a trio of angels who are determined to shake things up in the Middle East, Cole pairs up with Hannah Carpenter and her pet grizzly while he also tries to change his past and learn the mystery of his birth. Curiously, the King of Jordan knows all about Hannah, and he’s determined to gain possession of the staff. He’ll do anything to possess its power, but is it possible that he’s no more than a pawn, manipulated in time along with Cole and Hannah? Jumper is a mysterious roller coaster of action and a time-traveling adventure that will keep readers guessing right to the very last page.

Dani's review:

Jumper is a well-written, action-filled novel with a healthy portion of biblical history that kept me on the edge of my seat as I anxiously turned the pages. At first, I was skeptical about Jumper. I figured it would be just another typical time travel story, but God was I wrong. 

From the first page, I was enraptured with the world of Jumper. It takes place in the modern day, but with fabricated names for various world leaders. For example, the president of the U.S. is called President Stonewood. 

Jumper kept my mind whirling as I tried to fathom what had just happened. It kept me guessing the entire time. Jumper has everything a teenager or YA loving adult could want in a YA novel:

a fantastic plot, heartwarming characters (including a pet grizzly bear named Teddy), angels, demons, exciting fight scenes, and a unique explanation for the concept of time. Jeff LaFerney's approach to explaining the concept of time fascinated me. Especially because in most time travel novels I've read, the characters going forward and back in time is explained by "magic" or a far-fetched idea. Jeff describes it as "There are no multiple timelines. Time cannot split with people living in parallel universes. The current timeline will be completed and re-established..."

There is really nothing I disliked about Jumper. The foreshadowing was well-done, not too predictable and not too subtle. Everything in the plot connected together like missing puzzle pieces and made sense.  I loved reading about Hannah and Cole transforming into more confident and happy people as they went through each ordeal. I had my doubts, but Jumper has proved to be the best novel I've read so far this summer. Jumper is a must-read for anyone looking for a great story that will leave you thinking about it long after you read it! I'm looking forward to sequels :D

Keep checking A Walk on Words for an interview with Jeff coming soon!