Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman (2013) – “Escape One Danger. Jump into Another.”
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As we were moving across the island earlier this month, we needed a book from Libby to keep us entertained. I don’t recall what terms I searched that made this book pop up, but I’m glad it did! This book is an imaginative, post-apocalyptic tale about children who use their skills and smarts to save their community.
A Brief Summary of Sky Jumpers
In the centuries following a nuclear holocaust, 13-year-old Hope Griffin’s community thrives as best it can in peace and relative safety. Rarely do they venture outside their valley to the other isolated settlements beyond, due to the poisoned layer of air that rests above them. The “Bomb’s Breath,” the result of the former war’s Green Bombs, is a cloud which kills anyone who breathes it or otherwise infects with an accelerated cancer.
When we meet Hope, she’s already learned that she can climb the mountain above their settlement and jump through the cloud, a forbidden skill she hones and shares with her friends. Meanwhile, she finds that she’s completely ungifted in what the community prizes most highly, the skill of invention, a pursuit which they hope will return them to a technological civilization.
When trouble arrives within their gates, it’s up to Hope and friends to seek help on the outside. The story becomes a desperate chase for survival, and it kept us engaged throughout.
Why We So Enjoyed It
I’ve got many compliments to give this book, but I’ll limit it to the first five that pop into my head.
1) Dystopian Themes – I’m always a fan of post-apocalyptic and otherwise dystopian tales, so I was interested to see how Peggy Eddleman would handle it. She takes us readers into an incredibly imaginative future that’s unique from other books I’ve read.
2) Unique Elements – The isolated communities of survivors is a common trope for such tales, as are the occasional friendly relations between them and the fear of raiders that keeps them self-contained and guarded. But the inclusion of this poison cloud—and the children who play in it—is totally unique, interesting, and (as I read it) believable. For me, this aspect turned the entire story into a mystery whose twists and turns I couldn’t possibly anticipate.
3) Reluctant Hero – Of course, I knew that Hope would become a hero, but I love how it happens—not through open rebellion or some special skill, but through necessity. She’s literally the only one who can save the day, and she does so reluctantly!
4) Natural Skills – No magic is needed in this futuristic world, either, which was another big plus for me. Hope has a brain, whether she realizes it or not, and she has the potential for courage, if only she’d be willing to access it.
5) Solid Adventure – I felt this book lacked the melodrama that’s so common in this genre, and it’s likely due to Hope’s age: a middle-schooler who’s super imaginative and adventurous (just like my own 13yo daughter) not yet encumbered with teenage emotions, hormones, and distractions. This makes for a good old-fashioned adventure that even Dad enjoyed.
Conclusion
I could go on: this book is entirely bereft of coarse language; there’s absolutely no Woke nonsense (like we saw in Greenwild). It’s a high-stakes adventure, including non-gratuitous violence which kept the story realistic and engaging.
In looking for a book cover, I noticed that there is a follow-up book, Sky Jumpers: The Forbidden Flats, which is awesome. Can’t wait for my daughter and I to seek that one out too! This was a great book that I’d recommend to any middle-school reader.
©2025 E.T.