Elle is a loner. She doesn't need people. Which is a good thing, because now she has to move out of her apartment so her mother's boyfriend won't have to deal with her.

Then she meets Frank, the guy who lives next door to her new place. Being with him is impossible: he's a grown-up and has a girlfriend.  Still, Elle can't stop thinking about him.  Frank isn't like anyone Elle has ever met. He listens to her. He's gentle. And Elle is falling for him, hard.

Then Elle discovers that Frank is different in a way that Elle was never prepared for: he's transgender. Elle's head and her heart explode; her world is turned upside down.  But when an accident nearly takes Frank's life, Elle must search inside herself to find not only the true meaning of friendship but her own role in jumpstarting the world.

Tender, honest, and compassionate, Jumpstart the World is a stunning story to make you laugh, cry, and honor the power of love.
Catherine Ryan Hyde, an acclaimed novelist and award-winning short-story writer, is the author of the story collection Earthquake Weather and of the novels Love in the Present Tense, Walter's Purple Heart, Funerals for Horses, Electric God, and Pay It Forward, which was named an ALA Book of the Year and made into a feature film. She lives in Cambria, California. Her website is cryanhyde.com. View titles by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Discussion Guide for Jumpstart the World

Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

  • NOMINEE
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE
    Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE
    Young Adult Services Division, School Library Journal Author Award
  • NOMINEE | 2011
    ALA Best Books for Young Adults
  • NOMINEE | 2011
    Lambda Literary Award
  • FINALIST | 2011
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award

About

Elle is a loner. She doesn't need people. Which is a good thing, because now she has to move out of her apartment so her mother's boyfriend won't have to deal with her.

Then she meets Frank, the guy who lives next door to her new place. Being with him is impossible: he's a grown-up and has a girlfriend.  Still, Elle can't stop thinking about him.  Frank isn't like anyone Elle has ever met. He listens to her. He's gentle. And Elle is falling for him, hard.

Then Elle discovers that Frank is different in a way that Elle was never prepared for: he's transgender. Elle's head and her heart explode; her world is turned upside down.  But when an accident nearly takes Frank's life, Elle must search inside herself to find not only the true meaning of friendship but her own role in jumpstarting the world.

Tender, honest, and compassionate, Jumpstart the World is a stunning story to make you laugh, cry, and honor the power of love.

Author

Catherine Ryan Hyde, an acclaimed novelist and award-winning short-story writer, is the author of the story collection Earthquake Weather and of the novels Love in the Present Tense, Walter's Purple Heart, Funerals for Horses, Electric God, and Pay It Forward, which was named an ALA Book of the Year and made into a feature film. She lives in Cambria, California. Her website is cryanhyde.com. View titles by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Guides

Discussion Guide for Jumpstart the World

Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Awards

  • NOMINEE
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE
    Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE
    Young Adult Services Division, School Library Journal Author Award
  • NOMINEE | 2011
    ALA Best Books for Young Adults
  • NOMINEE | 2011
    Lambda Literary Award
  • FINALIST | 2011
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award

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