Forty years after World War III decimated the world’s population with its Green Bombs and catastrophically altered the Earth's landscape, a young girls leaps off a mountain without a parachute. Thus begins Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman. As a result of the Green Bombs, metals formed different properties, new plants grew and electricity has been wiped out. Twelve-year-old Hope Toriella lives in a community formed in the crater of a bomb blast high in the mountains. Her small town focuses on re-inventing the lost technology of the bygone era. Her teacher shows them relics of cell phones, flashlights and cameras. New inventions range from a slotted spoon to medicines that combat new diseases. The bombs also created bands of air called the Bomb’s Breath, so dense a person will suffocate with just one inhalation. Miserably inept at inventing, Hope takes solace in the thrill of diving off a cliff through the Bomb’s Breath. The dense air slows her descent; she just has to remember to hold her breath. When word gets out that Hope’s town has medicine that combats the dreaded new Shadel’s Sickness, bandits take the town hostage until all of the medicine is turned over. To save her town, Hope and her friends must traverse dangerous terrains through the worst blizzard conditions since the war to seek help, all the while avoiding both bandits and the Bomb’s Breath.
This fast-paced adventure reads like a cross between a Wild West novel and a Mad Max movie. The author crafts an engaging, nail-biting story with strong characters and a great finish. Descriptions of the new earth are seamlessly woven into the plot, offering the reader a clear understanding of this altered world without sacrificing its storyline. Sky Jumpers is the first book in an anticipated series, with book two expected to be published in fall 2014. Young fans of science fiction and action adventure books will love Sky Jumpers.
(Release date 9/24/13)