The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California
Publisher
Penguin Group
Publication Year
2007
ISBN
9781595141507
Pages
275 pages
Genre
realism
Format
novel
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
Alastair, a thirteen-year-old who calls himself "Stump" because of his amputated leg, must face a summer at his wealthy but estranged father's beach house in Los Angeles, where he meets his stepmother, falls in love with a teenaged soap opera star, and decides to train for a race with a former Olympic swim coach.
Grade Level
3-5; 6-8
Lexile Measure
600L
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Disability and Health; Divorce; Step parent; Physical disability; Addiction; divorced parents; step mother; acquired limb difference/amputation; missing leg; alcoholism
Main Character
male teenager
Race/Ethnicities
White
Family Formation
divorced mother and father; step mother
Awards
Thumbs Up! Award, 2008, Nominee
Core Collection YA Characters with Special Needs, 2008
Keywords
summer; swimming; Los Angeles, California; father and son; moving on; accident; prosthetic legs
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Hershey, Mary, "The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California" (2007). Diverse Families. 1604.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/1604