From the Jump Book Club Discussion

Thanks to Carrie for bringing our virtual book club into fall with this From the Jump book club discussion!

I am shocked to my core that it’s September! Am I the only one experiencing summer regret? I was going to go to the beach and read 20 books and organize the kids’ college stuff and swim every day and … well, you get it. The good news? Fall is coming!! Jeans and flip-flops are my jam and I can’t wait for cooler weather! I’ll try to keep my “to-do” list for Fall manageable!

From the Jump Book Club Discussion

From the Jump was the absolute perfect book for the close of summer! I loved Lacie Waldon’s first novel, The Layover (see our The Layover book club discussion!) I will never get over reading the scene where Jack walks down the airplane aisle closing all the overhead bins … yes, I’m deeply weird. So, I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on her latest. 

We start with Liv, who has imposed all kinds of rules and regulations on herself in order to protect herself. She is a classic perfectionist and from the get-go you are rooting for her to let loose a little. She has a great group of friends from college who still meet monthly for dinner. They also do a lot of traveling, but Liv has always refrained from going with them. After an epiphany at her workplace, Liv goes rogue and decides to join her friends in South Africa. 

From the Jump Book Club Discussion Questions

Have you ever been to South Africa? Waldon does a great job immersing you in this beautiful, unique setting. 

One of the guys in the friend group, Deiss, picks Liv up from the airport and they have a 3-hour road trip to get back to the hotel. This is where we start to see the chemistry build up between the two. Friends-to-lovers always has that element of the fear that the friendship will be ruined if they attempt to have something more and From the Jump is no exception. 

Liv’s friends are extremely important to her. Phoebe, Mac, Deiss, and Simone are well-developed characters, and each move the story along in different ways. Do you have old high school/college friends that you still get together with? I often wonder how common this is. And, as a side question, can men and women just be friends? (The whole When Harry Met Sally debate)

I loved that Waldon included this fun group of characters and that they weren’t one-dimensional. We see the turmoil that is Phoebe and Mac and we also see Simone’s jealousy. I appreciated the fact that Waldon included these nuances instead of making everyone seem perfect. 

Friendship and openness were huge themes throughout the book, as well as rules. When is it ok to break the rules? What if it affects some of the friendships you have? 

We discussed how Liv has all kinds of rules regarding herself, but the group of friends also has rules. The biggest one being they don’t date one another – even though Phoebe and Mac have a past relationship. Liv has to decide which rules to break and which rules to keep, knowing that it could affect the very dear friendships she has, especially with Phoebe.

Liv loses everything when she returns home from her vacation, including her cat. How do you think she handled it and how would you handle it?

I was surprised at how well Liv does manage everything she’s created falling apart. That being said, it was a great catalyst for moving her toward Deiss. It was also great to see her discovering herself and her own strengths and abilities outside of her perfectionistic rules.

Deiss and Liv both have pretty heavy issues from their childhoods. How did they both work through their problems to arrive at a healthier place?

I liked that Deiss was able to finally accept that his childhood couldn’t or wouldn’t remain a secret forever. Of course, the biggest character arc is Liv, who learns to let go of a lot of the regimentation she’s put on her life.

Are you looking forward to Waldon’s next book?

Duh. Of course you are! 

Thanks for joining our From the Jump book club discussion, friends!

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Meredith and I are super excited about our next pick (and a Book of the Month Club pick!) by Alice Feeney called Daisy Darker! Read on for a description of this psychological thriller.

And as always, we are giving away a copy for free! Leave a comment on this blog post or the Instagram post by 7am ET, 9/9/22, and as long as you are 18 or older and live in the continental United States, you are eligible to win!

The NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR of Rock Paper Scissors returns with a locked-room mystery when a family reunion leads to murder in a delightfully twisty and atmospheric thriller, as seen on the TODAY show.

“A dysfunctional family meets Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None with a truly gasp-inducing twist. This is the book you’ve been looking for.” —Catherine Ryan Howard, bestselling author of 56 Days

Daisy Darker was born with a broken heart. Now after years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in her crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. When the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.

But at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows…

Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide goes out and all is revealed. As seen on the TODAY show and picked by Book of the Month, Daisy Darker’s family secrets and Alice Feeney’s trademark shocking twists will keep readers riveted.

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Thanks so much for joining our From the Jump book club discussion! As always, we love hearing your thoughts and opinions! Keep them coming!!

***Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing copies of From the Jump for review and giveaway. All opinions remain 100% our own.***

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Meredith

Meredith blogs at The Mom of the Year, where she dedicatedly earns her title one epic parenting fail at a time, offering quick, relatable laughs for fellow parents and all their empathizers. She has been part of several best-selling anthologies, featured on prominent sites such as Huffington Post, In the Powder Room and BlogHer, and loves her role as the Executive VP/Operations Manager of The BlogU Conference. When she's not breaking up fights over Legos and juice boxes, she remains fully committed to sharing a less serious look at the world of parenting.

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