Jumping Off Swings

Jumping Off Swings is a relatively short book written by Jo Knowles. Despite its shortness, however, it was an intriguing read, the story of how one teen pregnancy can bring these four people and their families together. And by four people, I mean the four narrators that the author switches between to tell the story. I'll list 'em and their basic info, and you'll see how they all tie in.

Ellie- the girl who gets pregnant at a party. Sure, she's slept around a bit in her life with a few different guys, but this time she has the lasting result of it. She doesn't know how she's going to deal with it, especially because she feels like nobody loves her. That's how she wound up in the situation in the first place.
Caleb- the boy who has loved Ellie like a sister since third grade. He doesn't think he loves her than any more than that, though, and when he finds out about Ellie's predicament her does the best he can to help. His mother, Liz, is also a key part in this story, helping Ellie through her pregnancy every step of the way.
Corinne- Ellie's best friend who has been there for her since they were little. She's never has quite as much experience as Ellie so she's a bit naive and has trouble undertsanding Ellie sometimes, but her sister had an abortion so she's good at planning out what needs to be done for Ellie. She also starts to see how nice Caleb is, and thinks there may be some sparks there, but she feels guilty for being in love when her best friend feels so alone and desolate.
Josh- lastly, the father of the baby. He slept with Ellie at the party and now she's pregnant. He's even more hurt because she didn't want to tell him, she didn't want him involved in any way. Somehow, though, he feels he has to see his baby before they give it up when it's born. Josh is also dealing with an alcoholic father and a mother who is never home. Then he finds out something that changes his life, that makes it seem like history is repeating.

Four teens, one hopeful story. And one love story.
It was interesting how the story played out with so many different perspectives in the book, but it was well-written and it was good it was the length it was; it made it a perfectly sized quick read with a really touching story. And there's a hopeful message to be read out of this book, but you'll have to find it for yourself.
The other cool thing in this book was how these kids are all dealing with adult problems like pregnancy and alcoholism, but every time things get tough they do something completely childish that people really need to do more often to rediscover the magic in life. Like they'll make snow angels or even *hint hint* jump off swings, just to feel like a kid that has hope for the future again. It made the book really sincere and it was a neat, nostalgic effect because we all remember those days, back when you could lose yourself on a playground and swing life away.
Now I gotta give this book back to Holly; it's hers and she hasn't read it yet, I'm so disappointed in her for missing this great book! ♠♠♠♠