The Jump by Doug Johnstone

Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Thriller

Pages: 292

Published August 9th 2016 by Faber & Faber

Struggling to come to terms with the suicide of her teenage son, Ellie lives in the shadows of the Forth Road Bridge, lingering on its footpaths and swimming in the waters below. One day she talks down another suicidal teenager, Sam, and sees for herself a shot at redemption, the chance to atone for her son’s death.

But even with the best intentions, she can’t foresee the situation she’s falling headlong into – a troubled family, with some very dark secrets of their own.

crownfullrating

“But how could you pay attention to the world when you were barely in it?”

This book touches on a horrifically difficult topic, which is suicide. A difficult thing in and of itself, but add into the equation that this novel is about a 15-year-old boy named Logan who previously had exhibited no signs of depression or any ‘cries of help,’ he leaped off a bridge and left his parents in the devastating wake.

Ellie and Ben are the struggling parents of Logan. It’s been six months since the jump and while they’re alive it’s clear that they are not living. Both have taken on neurotic habits, Ellie especially, but it’s due to her neurotic routine that she is able to rescue Sam, a desperate 17-year-old, from the same demise as her son. Suicide.

Ellie sees something in Sam, something she wants to save and maybe she has to. But she isn’t prepared for the tangled mess that encompasses Sam or his family and that this second chance is going to be far more difficult than she had anticipated.

This is the first piece of work I’ve read from Johnstone and I have to say he made this an emotionally driven read, you could feel all of their pain. Add in the twists and turns that this tale takes it surprises you until the very end. I didn’t see the near ending coming at all!

I truly enjoyed the ending, too. I felt like that was a huge positive shift in the mood.

Hope. Life. Change for good.