Leap by Jodi Lundgren is a startlingly realistic look into fifteen year old Natalie Ferguson’s life. It’s the end of the school year and Natalie is looking forward to working on her dancing and spending time with her friends. Written in diary style we share in the journey Natalie takes as she discovers what growing up really means.
Having just turned fifteen Natalie feels she is now officially grown up and while her mother, who almost never takes her nose out of a book seems to have missed that; Kevin, her best friend Sasha’s brother, hasn’t. When he takes notice of Natalie she’s thrilled. An older boy is paying attention to her – could he really like her? Big problem though – her friend Sasha will not like her having anything to do with her brother at all!
Natalie can’t resist the thrill of having Kevin interested in her though and things quickly become more involved than Natalie is completely comfortable with. To top it off Sasha hates her now and is bad mouthing her all over the place. The only thing going well for Natalie is her dancing. She finds she truly has talent In modern dance and with a teacher who encourages her she becomes more confident in herself. The one things she’s not confident in is Kevin. He leads her into many situations she’s just not comfortable with and the more time she spends with him, the more she realizes he may not be as great as she originally thought.
One of the huge issues Natalie has is the one with her parents. On the one hand she has a mother who acts like more of a friend than a mother and is always reading some book to the point of not paying proper attention to her children. To add insult to injury she finds out her mother has been secretly dating a woman and failed to share that with her. Then there’s her father who left when Natalie was young. He has pretty much been an absent father and Natalie has so much resentment towards him and more building when she finds he plans on remarrying.
This summer is a time of decisions for Natalie. Should she take that drink or try those drugs? Should she have sex and deal with all that it involves? Should she continue to see Kevin? Is it worth losing a best friend for a guy? Or should she just focus on her dancing? And what about her parents – will things change? The only thing Natalie knows for sure is she loves to dance. It takes her to a place where she feels peace and she wants to pass that on to others. Leap is the story of one girl’s coming of age to a time where she takes her own leap of faith into maturity and being a grown up.
Leap by Jodi Lundgren is a terrific story for teen girls and within its pages there are many lessons to be learned. It is told in a frank and straightforward style and that was something I really enjoyed about it and something I also think that teen girls could relate to – someone understanding the multitude of emotions they are going through at that age. Natalie is a great character who at times I wanted to just hug and at others give her a bit of a shake. I loved how she went from not so smart to realizing her worth and going forward.
You can purchase your own copy of Leap by Jodi Lundgren here in the US and here in Canada. Be sure to visit Jodi Lundgren’s website to learn more about her and her work.
© 2010, Darlene of Peeking Between the Pages. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Peeking Between the Pages or Darlene’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
My copy of Leap by Jodi Lundgren was received for review from Second Story Press.
This sounds just the book for all youngsters as well as parents. Such a complicated age.
I love these kind of teen dramas. I like to put htem away for my girls as they hit their pre teens!
I'm going to recommend this to my female students and will probably read it myself. Great review!
I think this sounds like a great book, and like something my daughter would really love. I love that it's not afraid to tackle serious issues and to impart the kind of wisdom that a teen girls needs to know about. Thanks for the great review, Dar!
This looks great! And I love that cover 🙂
Wow, thank heavens Natalie has dance! That sounds like a great book!
Nice review 🙂
Perhaps not for me this time, but it does sound like a book teens should read
I like the way this one sounds and there aren't that many books about girls who dance! Great insightful review!
Hey girl!
I gave you a lovely award!
To go along with the lovely cover on this book!
Stop by my blog and pick it up!
I love the cover of this book Dar.
Not only does it sound like younger readers can relate it sounds like it would be a great discussion book for them too.
This sounds good. Great review 🙂
This sounds really good. I find diary-entry style writing really enjoyable
This sounds like a very worthwhile read particularly for teen girls 🙂 Great review.
Wow, there's a lot going on in that story. Great review, Dar.
I'm finally able to get back online properly after signing up for mobile broadband. It's tough sharing connection with my iPhone so my problem is now solved. 🙂
Hi Darlene,
Thanks so much for the terrific review of my book! I'm so glad you liked it. Is it okay if I repost a couple of paragraphs from your review on my website? Also, I read that you will repost your reviews on Amazon, etc.? That would be much appreciated, if you can find the time.
In case you're interested in comparing notes, a 12 year old girl wrote a short review of Leap in the National Post–so sweet! http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/03/18/book-review-leap-by-jodi-lundgren/
Thanks again, and happy reading. 🙂