Jump into the Sky

Fourteen-year-old Chicagoan Levi Battle, who was abandoned by his mother as a baby and raised by his aunt, is sent to live with his father in North Carolina. His dad was a rarity during WWII, a black paratrooper. Narrator J.B. Adkins skillfully recounts how Levi's urban background and na•veté poorly prepare him for the Jim Crow South. Since his dad is no longer in North Carolina, Levi is befriended by a military couple, Calvin and Peaches. They make a home for him until he's reunited with his father. Adkins particularly shines as Calvin and Peaches, black Georgians who help the boy navigate the cruel and confusing South. Levi grows up, and along with him listeners learn about war, 1940s America, and how to jump from an airplane. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

July 2, 2012
Pearsall’s impressively detailed and voice-driven piece of historical fiction is set in the unstable year of 1945. Thirteen-year-old Levi Battle knows about abandonment: his mother left him on the seat of a car before skipping town when he was an infant, and his father, a paratrooper, left him with his Aunt Odella in Chicago after joining the military a few years ago. Now, out of nowhere, Aunt Odella has decided to send Levi by train to North Carolina, where his father is stationed. Levi has led a sheltered life, and the discrimination and violence he faces as an African-American in the South come as a shock. Unaware of Levi’s trip, his father is long gone when Levi arrives, so Cal, an injured soldier, and his pregnant wife, Peaches, take Levi in. Soon, the trio heads west to Oregon where Levi is reunited with his father. Pearsall (All Shook Up) constructs a tense and authentic portrait of WWII-era segregation and prejudice. The well-drawn setting, dynamic cast of characters, and Levi’s moral musings will command readers’ attention. Ages 10–up. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.