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tallyhotel's review against another edition
4.0
Pleasantly surprised! When I saw it was only 7 hours on audio, I thought it wouldn't have much heft to it. This was well fleshed out, as told from the point of view from a young boy. It's not written like a GRRM book, skipping several years at a time in some points. However, the story is well done, skimming the bits that can't be explained, since the main character just doesn't know the answers. I like the premise, and the characters. The narrator on this, [a:MacLeod Andrews|7711592|MacLeod Andrews|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1450724238p2/7711592.jpg], did an excellent job of creating accents and gender without being patronizing.
ivamaybe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
readinen's review against another edition
3.0
This book is probably best seen as a companion to the Jumper movie, and anyone who found that movie enjoyable will probably find something to enjoy in Griffin's Story.
Griffin's character certainly takes on a much more developed and intricate background than even the movie's main character, David Rice. In fact, that's what really pulled me into the story more than anything else. I get the feeling that Gould was eager to explore the world he was given from the movie and set out to see just exactly how varied and diverse he could get with setting up Griffin's background.
The narration in the audio version is performed well, but the actor's version of different accents seemed too transparent for my tastes. I think what really nagged at me throughout was that the character's inner monologue was spoken in a solid American English accent, yet his voice wasn't.
Minor criticisms aside, I was hoping to get more after I finished up the book. It'll be interesting to see if Steven Gould can bring in more new and original story lines to the Jumper universe; I'll be keeping an eye out for them if he does!
Griffin's character certainly takes on a much more developed and intricate background than even the movie's main character, David Rice. In fact, that's what really pulled me into the story more than anything else. I get the feeling that Gould was eager to explore the world he was given from the movie and set out to see just exactly how varied and diverse he could get with setting up Griffin's background.
The narration in the audio version is performed well, but the actor's version of different accents seemed too transparent for my tastes. I think what really nagged at me throughout was that the character's inner monologue was spoken in a solid American English accent, yet his voice wasn't.
Minor criticisms aside, I was hoping to get more after I finished up the book. It'll be interesting to see if Steven Gould can bring in more new and original story lines to the Jumper universe; I'll be keeping an eye out for them if he does!
moreyceyer's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
willac's review against another edition
4.0
I read the original "Jumper" a long time ago, and only recently discovered that there was a sequel (Reflex), and this book, Griffin's Story, which is the movie tie-in. I didn't see the movie, but I loved Jumper when I read it, so I checked this out of the library. I enjoyed it a lot. I was very drawn in to Griffin's story, and like another reviewer, liked the fact that when characters spoke a different language (albeit briefly), sometimes Griffin translated the words, and sometimes he didn't. I thought that lent an air of authenticity to the foreign lands he traveled through. The one problem I had with the book was that I felt Griffin was written as much older than he was supposed to be in the book. The story is told in first person, and Griffin is 9 at the beginning of the book. He had been homeschooled by educated parents, so I'm sure he would have been a bit more educated and well-read than the average 9 year old, but if I hadn't been given his age at the beginning I would have assumed him to be around 15, maybe. People he met were always being surprised by his young age, but I just thought it would have made more sense if he had started out as, say 12, instead of 9. Small point, though. The book was great.
rebelrider's review against another edition
2.0
This book wasn’t poorly written or anything but a lot of the content annoyed me. The main character, who is on the run, steals stuff, even when he doesn’t need it for his survival or has other ways to get it. He and his girlfriend do things behind her parents’ backs, and do things that should wait until after marriage. There swearing, though not too common, is pretty bad when it does pop up. The ending leaves a lot of questions unanswered too.
This isn’t a book I’d recommend.
This isn’t a book I’d recommend.
somewheregirl7's review against another edition
3.0
Griffin is a jumper, he can teleport from one place to another. It's a handy trick, but also a dangerous one. Griffin's family is in hiding from a mysterious cohort of bad guys intent on killing him.
I picked this book up based off a recommendation on one of the YA book boards. The recommendation should have come with preface - this is NOT a stand-alone book. You see, way back in the 80's Steven Gould published a book called Jumper: A Novel. It was followed several years later by a sequel, Reflex. I haven't read either of those books. I want to read them now, but it would have been nice to have done so before diving into this book.
Griffin's Story assumes you have the background of the first two books and, unlike series such as Harry Potter, it doesn't bother to give any background or even a quick summary of what happened previously. You're just supposed to know or you don't. By the end of the book I was still very unclear on exactly WHO is chasing Griffin, WHY they want to kill jumpers, HOW jumping works and HOW someone is sensitive to a jump or not. Those are a lot of unanswered questions.
Beyond that missing background info, this is a pretty good book. It has a good pace, action and the character development is good.
One issue I do have that is strictly related to this book is that it doesn't have any sort of resolution. It feels unfinished. In a good book there is definite resolution, one or two questions may remain but the big ones are answered, the characters may step off-stage but the reader at least has a sense of how things will turn out. That's not the case here. Perhaps Gould is setting this up for a sequel but if so I haven't found anything online to suggest it. What I have found is that Griffin's Story was created specifically as a companion to a movie to be released this year. Ahh. Perhaps that answers it. Books created specifically for movies, in my experience, often fall a little short of their non-movie induced bretheren - they're more rushed, less attention is paid to plot, character and cohesiveness. Maybe Griffin's Story is suffering from that.
It's a shame too because this was a good story! It had potential - the writing is tight, the premise intrigueing and the characters interesting. The follow through just isn't there, however.
I picked this book up based off a recommendation on one of the YA book boards. The recommendation should have come with preface - this is NOT a stand-alone book. You see, way back in the 80's Steven Gould published a book called Jumper: A Novel. It was followed several years later by a sequel, Reflex. I haven't read either of those books. I want to read them now, but it would have been nice to have done so before diving into this book.
Griffin's Story assumes you have the background of the first two books and, unlike series such as Harry Potter, it doesn't bother to give any background or even a quick summary of what happened previously. You're just supposed to know or you don't. By the end of the book I was still very unclear on exactly WHO is chasing Griffin, WHY they want to kill jumpers, HOW jumping works and HOW someone is sensitive to a jump or not. Those are a lot of unanswered questions.
Beyond that missing background info, this is a pretty good book. It has a good pace, action and the character development is good.
One issue I do have that is strictly related to this book is that it doesn't have any sort of resolution. It feels unfinished. In a good book there is definite resolution, one or two questions may remain but the big ones are answered, the characters may step off-stage but the reader at least has a sense of how things will turn out. That's not the case here. Perhaps Gould is setting this up for a sequel but if so I haven't found anything online to suggest it. What I have found is that Griffin's Story was created specifically as a companion to a movie to be released this year. Ahh. Perhaps that answers it. Books created specifically for movies, in my experience, often fall a little short of their non-movie induced bretheren - they're more rushed, less attention is paid to plot, character and cohesiveness. Maybe Griffin's Story is suffering from that.
It's a shame too because this was a good story! It had potential - the writing is tight, the premise intrigueing and the characters interesting. The follow through just isn't there, however.