I like when authors share their tales of inspiration. It’s something I wonder about a lot — just how did someone get it in their head to write about a certain topic? When I write, it’s because I have an idea in my head and I want to play with it on paper to make sense of it. I think this is how many others are, and Jo Knowles explains that that was her inspiration for writing Jumping Off Swings.

Jumping Off Swings (2009) explores one teen’s pregnancy from four perspectives. There’s Ellie, the girl who is pregnant; Josh, the soon-to-be father; Caleb, the boy who’s always had a sweet spot for Ellie; and Corinne, Ellie’s best friend.

The book begins with Josh and Ellie having one night together. It was a game for Josh, who’s keeping tabs with his jerk friends, and for Ellie, it was a way to be accepted. Unfortunately, Ellie discovers three months later she’s going to be living with the consequences for many years to come. And Josh? When he finds out, he unravels emotionally to the point of needing to take his life in an entirely different direction than he planned on.

Corinne is the ever-present and strong friend for Ellie — she is there for her from day one, defending Ellie. And Caleb is also the best friend either of them can have, as is his mother, who becomes a very valuable and trustworthy adult for these teens during this tumultuous year. As the story progresses, it’s interesting to see how all of the relationships grow and change.

The use of multiple perspectives often makes me nervous. It’s very difficult to capture multiple voices well, but Knowles does a masterful job of making very individual characters. We get to see and understand each character’s perspective well enough to really feel for them, but we don’t find out too much that the topic gets dried out. With the deluge of teen pregnancy books out there, I think this one stands out for this reason.

This was a very quick read. Jumping Off Swings is sparse on details, focusing more on the cerebral elements and development of each character. It’s one that will resonate with so many readers because it does give insight into more than just the “girl with the problem.” Teens will find themselves as the Corinne who has to be the friend for someone in trouble, Caleb who has to come to grips with his feelings toward Ellie and toward his friend Josh, and Josh who has to come to grips with what it’s like to make a mistake and then be unable find a suitable resolution. It doesn’t matter this is a book about teen pregnancy. This is one to hand to teens who find themselves in any number of difficult situations.