The Jump by Brittney Morris is contemporary YA fiction featuring a cryptology scavenger hunt (4/5 stars)

The Jump by Brittney Morris is contemporary YA fiction featuring a cryptology scavenger hunt.

I did a blended read by following along in the book while listening to the full-cast audiobook, narrated by Zeno Robinson, Ali Andre Ali, Soneela Nankani, and Sagan Chen. They all did a wonderful job.

The plot is fast-paced and full of action. It follows the perspectives of the four teens who make up Team Jericho–the best scavenger-hunting team in Seattle–Jax, Yas, Spider, and Han. I loved the multi-POV, especially for the diversity within this friend group. The author thanked multiple sensitivity readers in her Acknowledgements, which you love to see.

I already mentioned that the diversity in this book is phenomenal. Three of the four main characters are people of color. Jax is black, vegan, and has a nonbinary parent. Yas is a queer Pakistani Muslim who wears a hijab. Spider is transgender and Korean. Han is neurodiverse and occasionally nonverbal. The diversity extends to different family structures, which I think is very important to include in YA literature.

The book says it’s for ages 12 and up. There’s a lot of heavy topics explored here, including but not limited to gentrification, racism, classism, transphobia, gender discrimination, environmental racism, and unconscious and hidden bias. So keep that in mind before diving in if any of those may be triggers for you.

It ends on a teensy cliffhanger, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this would become a series. I’d definitely continue reading!

I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to BookSparks and Simon & Schuster for the complimentary paperback copy. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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