Jump by Michel Sauret is a sensitive and thought-provoking work of Christian fiction that chronicles one boy’s journey into young adulthood while struggling to find his path emotionally and spiritually.

Christopher Dove is a young child of five when he’s first initiated by his fundamentalist Christian parents to measure his faith in God by jumping from an oak tree in his backyard which, from that point on, becomes an annual tradition. It’s the same year that his sister, Arminelle (“Nelle”) is born. The differences between Christopher and his sister are soon apparent to everyone as his father takes him to the pet store when his sister is a year-and-a-half old to buy her a shock collar used on dogs in order to control her destructive behavior. At nine, Christopher breaks his leg jumping from the tree and his father rationalizes his broken leg by stating that he had jumped without faith. Even the pastor of their church, The Disciples of God, appears to be questioning the strength of Christopher’s belief in God. As he becomes older, Christopher’s parents continue to dominate and control every facet of his development, with his every move being assessed as measures of his faith in God. His father even goes so far as to map out his future, telling Christopher that he will soon be putting in an offer on the grocery store that he currently manages and once Christopher is finished with Bible college, he will go work for his father as manager of the grocery store. Christopher begins to chafe under his domination and this eventually turns to distrust and distance when he inadvertently discovers his father hiding a pornographic magazine in his locker at work, which begins his own obsession with pornography and questions about his sexuality. Christopher finally rebels against his parents’ wishes when he applies to Pitt, a non-Christian university, and is accepted, resulting in his parents cutting him off financially.

Jump is divided into three sections which represent three segments in Christopher’s life; his developing years where he spends his entire youth trying to prove his faith in God to his father, his short stint at university where disillusionment about faith and life set in, and his journey and experiences in Selma, Alabama where Christopher alternates between despair, desperation and destruction. Despite the fact that this is Christian fiction, Sauret isn’t afraid to delve into some disturbing subject matter involving pornography, sexuality identity and hedonism. However, he does it in such a way that the issues of spirituality and faith are never far from the forefront. Disillusionment, spiritual love and acceptance are effectively counter-balanced by the concept of mega-ministries, cults and grass roots churches.

Sauret’s main protagonist, Christopher Dove, has a lot of emotional and spiritual baggage which makes for a compelling character. Jump is a story with heart and spirit – even when the spirits of its characters seem to be at their lowest points. The book also raises several questions: can a person be complete without faith and, more importantly, how far should one go in search of one’s faith? There don’t seem to be any ready answers to these questions nor does Sauret try to give us any. He merely puts them out there for our consideration – the rest is up to us.

Jump by Michael Sauret is an interesting story that echoes the title itself in a metaphoric way. Unlike other children, on each birthday Christopher had to prove his faith to his parents and himself by climbing up in a tree and jumping down into his father's arms. To his parents, the jump itself was a show of faith. Each birthday he had to climb a little higher and repeat the act. The story continues as Christopher shares his journey and development in faith — branching out in the areas of life, church, and school. The days of his youth became a distant memory, a time in which his faith was pure and untainted. Now, life has taken him through an unpredictable phase in which his faith seemed like a fading cloud. When a drastic event happened in his family, his outlook on faith changed drastically.

I enjoyed the style in which the story was written. The author’s technique of delivering a heartfelt story is evident from page one until the end. You could feel Christopher’s emotional relationship with his family and friends, as if you knew them personally. I could relate to the story in an indirect way, which pushed me to read more. Christopher’s protective instinct and persistence brought the character to life. His development was gradual, but poignant. This is one of those stories that will touch you deeply and emotionally. There are so many messages wrapped up in the heartfelt story that you can take away with you after the last page is turned.