Jumped

Rita Williams-Garcia's Newbery Honor Book, One Crazy Summer, was a winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award, a National Book Award finalist, the recipient of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and a New York Times bestseller. The two sequels, P.S. Be Eleven and Gone Crazy in Alabama, were both Coretta Scott King Author Award winners and ALA Notable Children’s Books. She is also the author of the NAACP Image Award–winning and National Book Award finalist Clayton Byrd Goes Underground; A Sitting in St. James, a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner and Los Angeles Times Book Award winner; Like Sisters on the Homefront, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book; Blue Tights; and four ALA Best Books for Young Adults: Jumped, a National Book Award finalist; No Laughter Here; Every Time a Rainbow Dies, a Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book; and Fast Talk on a Slow Track. Rita Williams-Garcia lives in Jamaica, New York, with her husband and has two adult daughters. You can visit her online at ritawg.com.

“So well-observed that the characters seem to leap off the page, the novel leaves a strong and lingering impact.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Williams-Garcia deftly creates portraits of each of the girls as the narration moves from one to another, with the triangulation of view resulting in some fascinatingly complex characterization.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books“Williams-Garcia makes the drama feel not only immediate but suffocatingly tense, as each tick of the clock speeds the three girls toward collision. Most impressive is how the use of voice allows readers to fully experience the complicated politics of high school; you can sense the thousand mini–dramas percolating within each crowded classroom.” — ALA Booklist (starred review)“With a realistic look at girl–on–girl violence and gripping characterization, Williams-Garcia masterfully builds tension to the momentous ending.” — Kirkus Reviews“The latest novel from Williams-Garcia offers a piercing snapshot of three girls in an urban high school, their daily struggle to realize their hopes and dreams, and the threat of school violence to shatter them all.” — Horn Book Magazine“This nail–biter of a tale, told from the girls’ three viewpoints, has great insight into the lives of teenage girls and how they interpret and perpetrate bullying.” — Chicago Tribune“Teens who live the reality of girl fights and getting jumped every day will surely see themselves and their friends in these girls.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)“Williams-Garcia has given her characters strong, individual voices that ring true to teenage speech. The ethical decision will get readers thinking about the larger issues surrounding community, personal responsibility, and the concept of ‘snitching.’” — School Library Journal