Jumper

Starred review from May 9, 2022
When white 19-year-old Blair Scott is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, her doctor warns against “overexerting self with strenuous physical activity.” But more than anything, Blair wants to be a smokejumper, a wildland firefighter who parachutes into fire zones. “If I had to pick between dying in my sleep or out on the fire line, I knew my choice,” she says of her prognosis. After enrolling in Montana’s U.S. Forest Service’s newest class of smokejumpers, she hides her condition and swears her fellow trainee and best friend, white 19-year-old Jason, to secrecy. Determined to prove herself among her mostly male colleagues, Blair is quick to take risks, and struggles to balance the
hazardous training with maintaining her health. When her secret endangers lives amid a fast-burning blaze, she must call upon her intense training to survive. Blair is a fierce and dynamic narrator, and Crowder’s (Mazie) immersive prose, crisp dialogue, and haunting descriptions of devastating fires enlivens this pulse-pounding thriller. The author’s experience working with Oregon’s U.S. Forest Service adds authenticity to the worldbuilding, while informative interstitials educate on firefighting terms, tools, and procedures, as well as how fires start. Ages 14–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (June)■

June 1, 2022
Grades 10-12 Jumper follows 19-year-old Blair as she pursues her second year of being a wildland firefighter and dissects the events of a particularly dramatic and dangerous season. Telling the narrative in alternate "Before" and "After" sequences, Crowder, inspired by her own past as a teenage working for the Forest Service and enduring training in firefighting camp, bolsters the narrative with facts and processes that wildland firefighters use, lending credibility and context to Blair's tale. The story itself is gripping in its most intense moments--and also deeply relatable, as this teenage character tries to balance her passion for firefighting with changing friendships and the challenges that come with being a teenager in a world full of adults who don't advocate for you. As a particularly bad fire season rears its head, Blair and her best friend, Jason, must keep each other safe while also proving themselves. Blair is quick thinking, resourceful, and brave--an easy heroine to root for as she tries to protect the land and people she loves.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from April 15, 2022
Blair Scott has the grit and athleticism to become an elite firefighter--and a secret that could end her career before it begins. Blair, 19, spends summers in Montana with Aunt Cate. From volunteering at a fire camp, Blair understands the need to protect forest ecosystems and human communities in a warming climate. Competitive and driven, she's developed the strength and stamina needed for a job some male firefighters doubt she can handle. (Their skepticism has merely strengthened her resolve.) Now Blair and Jason, her longtime BFF, are rookie firefighters. Their friendship's platonic; both are attracted to girls--typically the same ones. Jason has reluctantly agreed to keep secret Blair's Type 1 diabetes, a diagnosis that would have disqualified her from the program, and biomedical engineer Aunt Cate has adapted her medical devices. When the busy fire season turns deadly and a fire crew is lost, the rookies are allowed to train as smokejumpers. Blair manages her hidden condition responsibly--until a training mishap brings major challenges. Rejecting Aunt Cate's and Jason's pleas that she disclose her diabetes, Blair makes a serious miscalculation. Blair's passion for firefighting and her willingness to endure its grueling, vividly described hazards while struggling to manage her condition enrich the narrative. She's a mesmerizing tour guide to the extraordinary challenges of battling hellish heat and blinding smoke in forested wilderness. Firefighting principles are tucked between chapters. Main characters are cued as White. Never less than riveting. (glossary, author's note, sources) (Fiction. 12-18)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.