Wow. I absolutely love this series! The Sixteen is the second book in the Soul Jumpers Series. I highly recommend reading them in order. The Sixteen definitely picks up the pace and the action. We learn more of what Soul Jumpers are and discover something surprising about Iris. We meet new characters as the fight between good and evil continues. The author continues to stress the love and loyalty of family and expands family to those we choose as well as those we are born to. The Soul Jumpers are a family that Iris is now a part of. I love how the author has the soul age differ from the physical age and was very happy to read why that is. It was something I thought a lot about after reading Iris Brave. Be prepared...this book ends with another cliffhanger. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

The Soul Jumpers Series is written for middle graders but I am greatly enjoying it. I believe this is a wonderful series to read with your children, either aloud or just everybody on their own with family book discussions. Actually, since the author is a teacher, I think it would be awesome to see a discussion guide come out for the series. This author really is in tune with what children enjoy reading. I think a discussion guide would be a bonus for busy parents as well as something librarians could use for a middle grade book club. I would recommend this book/series to all who enjoy sci-fi fantasy.

I received a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my honest thoughts after reading it. ( )

Twelve-year-old Iris Brave has left home and family behind as the Sixteen begins. The novel tells the second part of Ali B.’s Soul Jumpers story, continuing on from a first book where the middle-grader discovered her father’s not dead; his soul has just moved to the body of teenager Kyle. Readers might want to start with book one, but with Iris’s dad a prisoner of the Council, and Iris hiding out among sixteen rebels, the story’s easy to pick up and ready to start at breakneck speed as the Sixteen begins.

A plot is hatched to rescue Iris’s father, the Iris finds herself, like many middle-graders, kept in the dark, never told the whole of any plan. Her tale is given in first person, and Iris’s frustrations and rebellions feel very real; she makes a very convincing 12-year-old, and she asks all the right questions to help readers both follow and catch up, even if they missed book one. School memories include references to classics – Emily Dickinson, Stephen Covey, and more – giving a feel of depth and intelligence to character and tale, and there’s a convincingly thoughtful contemporary feel to it all.

The action’s fast and furious. The character is convincingly middle-grade. The mysteries of soul jumping are nicely portrayed (and nothing nearly so simple as reincarnation). But Lewis, with his “big silly grin,” steals the show for me. He is truly delightful, adding humor and food for thought; I’m eager to see how his tale will progress.

The story ends with one wave of action over and another yet to start. Readers who like series will love it. Readers who record all their episodes off the TV to watch in one go might prefer to wait. But Soul Jumpers has plenty going for it and I’d certainly like to read more, even if some of the details do stretch my all-too-grown-up credulity.

Disclosure: I was given a free copy when I hosted the author on my blog, and I offer my honest review. ( )

The Sixteen by Ali B. is the second book in The Soul Jumper Series. It is for ages 8-12 but I think that it can be read by older children and adults. I don't usually read middle grade books so I was not sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised though as the story moved right along at a good pace and kept me interested. At times though I felt that Iris Brave seemed older than what she really was or rather she was very mature for her age.
Iris is trying to find her father Micah, who is a soul jumper. While she is taken prisoner by The Sixteen, a group of soul jumpers, she does find her father where she is held. Now she needs to figure out how to rescue him and get them both out of their prison. Can she succeed?

The story was told in the first person, Iris Brave, and a very imaginative speculation of people jumping into other people's bodys to prolong their life. I don't know as I would care to do that though, especially for instance if you were to jump into the body of a very young person or I suppose the very old. Still all in all an interesting concept. Iris is a very brave girl and she undertakes a journey that could be the end of all she holds dear. ( )