A disturbing and thought-provoking book that narrates a single schoolday from the perspective of three different girls. Dominique is already upset about not having the grades to play basketball when perky, stuck-up Trina unknowingly cuts her off in the hallway. Dominique threatens to "get" Trina after school. Trina doesn't hear this, but bystander Leticia does. The tension mounts as the depth of Dominique's anger is explored, Trina is shown to be someone you might actually want to "take down a peg or two," and Leticia becomes caught between feeling responsible for alerting Trina and minding her own business so as not to get involved. I haven't read a teen book that deals with this issue of responsibility so frankly -- and it's not a happy ending. 
 Some rough topics and language. 
 Favorite quotes: 
 "See, it's those two words, Leticia said, that cause problems. Because what should Leticia have done in the first place? Minded her own business. Half the turmoil brewing happens because so-and-so didn't do what? Mind her business." 
 "When you're the outsider, you should know your situation. Know who you are when you step out. Know what you can do and can't do...Even worse, not only is Trina flunking rules and history, she doesn't have any people. If everyone knows your brothers, sisters, cousins, and the people you're cool with, you have protection. An invisible ring of your people and their people around you. Don't mess with Bea, 'cause she's with Jay. Don't mess with Jay 'cause he can handle himself and he got people. Don't mess with Leticia because she's with Bea. And then Bea with Jay, and there's the invisible ring, and so on. So if you have beef with Leticia, you have to say, do I want to have beef with Jay and his crew? See how this works? Trina don't have people. She thinks she do, but she don't have anyone but Trina and that pink outfit she got on." 
 "Girl fights are something else...Unlike two guys getting down, girls don't try to look pretty. You know what boxing is, right? Two guys dancing and ducking to see who can stay pretty longest." 
 "Coach is wrong. It's not how she says it is. I don't control s**t. I don't control Hershheiser. The grades I get. The classes on my schedule. When I come and go. I don't control none of that. All of that's controlling me. Boxing me in. The only thing I control is the ball." 
 Collected these links for this book's book club meeting: 
 Publisher's web page for the book 
 http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Ju... 
 Interview with the author about Jumped 
 http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.c... 
 Author's web site with reviews and book trailer 
 http://www.ritawg.com/my-books/ 
 Video from the 2009 National Book Awards Finalist Reading 
 http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2009_y... 
 Browse inside the book online 
 http://browseinside.harpercollins.ca/... 
 Author interview by Hofstra College 
 http://www.hofstra.edu/Academics/Coll...