Rush Paperback – June 10, 2010

"He could burn. She could die. Anything for the rush." A pretty apt ten word description for the new book Rush by Jonathan Friesen, award-winning author of Jerk, California. 18-year-old Jake King is the kind of teen who gives parents gray hairs. Never still for a minute, Jake's idea of a perfect afternoon begins with skipping school, continues with free-style rock climbing up a sheer walled canyon in a thunderstorm, followed by a near-death rescue of a kid stuck in a small space half-way up the canyon wall. Then instead of a bedtime story, Jake scales the local water tower for a late night dangle.To say he's an adrenalin junkie, possibly with AD/HD, is putting it mildly.But there is more to Jake than just action. His best friend Salome Lee knows a side of Jake that no one else is permitted to see. Ever since they were 8 years old and he climbed the rope ladder at school to rescue her locket, his tender friendship and loyalty have been calling to Salome's heart, causing her to overlook most of Jake's crazy stunts. Their relationship is complicated further by Jake's fear that if he lets Salome get too close he'll only break her heart.Just when it seems Jake has worn out his welcome at school and his father's patience at home an opportunity comes up that seems perfect for Jake's unique skill set. The local crew of hotshot forest firefighters has an opening. These are the guys who rappel into wildfires, smokejumpers who parachute into the belly of the beast to pull out its fiery teeth. Jake can just see himself in one of those leather jackets with "The Immortals" stitched on the back. Never mind that these guys have a habit of dying young.But there is more to "The Immortals" than Jake knows. "According to legend, each year at least one member of the underground firefighters' brotherhood must die." But dead firemen never speak and the living "Immortals" are just as tight-lipped. All of which appeals to Jake even more.RUSH is a fast paced story with a full serving of action and a side dish of mystery seasoned sweetly with romance. The plot and characters are well-written and interesting, getting into your head and keeping you turning pages long past bedtime.If you like your action with a little lovin' or your romance with a touch of danger, RUSH your pre-order to Amazon. Available June 10, 2010Check out the book trailer at: [...]

I read this book after thoroughly enjoying Friesen's other book, "Jerk California". I wasn't sure what to expect, as I read his first book because it dealt with a topic that is very personal for my family, Tourette Syndrome. What became stunningly clear to me while reading "Rush" is that Friesen has a wonderful understanding of how the mind of an adolescent with any disability works. Whether it is Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, or any other disability, self doubt and constant fear that one does not deserve to be loved are common themes. Both "Rush" and "Jerk California" deal honestly, humorously, and tenderly with these feelings. I would highly recommend this book for any teen or pre-teen who has navigated (or is about to navigate) the sometimes brutal teen years with a disability. This book would also make an excellent classroom reading and discussion book, as it might help others to understand the feelings of their peers with disabilities. Great job, Jonathan Friesen! I can't wait for your next book.

This book took me out of my seat into the story. I can't say enough about this book. It made me so interested that I couldn't stop reading! I read it practically for a day straight and read it all in like a day and a half--which is something that I rarely do. This was absolutely amazing and I wish Friesen would write more books. I'm going out to get "Jerk, California" in half an hour because im still going crazy over how amazing Rush was. Such a perfect book.

Gold Star Award Winner!Adrenaline junkie and daredevil, Jake's stunts have caused others to get hurt, get himself expelled from school, and earn himself the title of the town's pariah.When the opportunity presents itself to join an elite team of forest firefighters who call themselves the Immortals, he jumps at the chance - despite the fact that these men who rappel into forest fires tend to die young. As he goes through the group leader's dangerous training and unorthodox ways of initiation, he begins to realize that there's more to life than the next adrenaline high.Will Jake continue to be a firefighter, or will his sense of right and wrong change his mind?A great, fast-paced book that will give you an adrenaline rush just by reading it. The characters are well-developed, the plot is gripping, and the stakes in the book are high. Readers who are adrenaline junkies themselves or who like adventure and survival stories will enjoy reading RUSH.Reviewed by: Kira M

Riveting -- Couldn't put it down.

Great buy and great condition. Daughter has not read yet it’s a Birthday present she wanted.

This was a fast-paced read, which had me turning the pages at a speedy rate. It's a nice mix of action, mystery and a tiny bit of romance.Jake comes across as an adrenaline junkie, and he is, but I also suspect there is a touch of ADHD in the character as well, although I don't remember if this was explicitly mentioned. He seems to do dangerous things without really knowing why other than the fact that the rush he gets helps to clear his head. So, the fact he gets the chance to become a rappelling firefighter is perfect for him, he's getting paid to be an adrenaline junkie. Unfortunately, the scenes which should have been the best, i.e. the adrenaline inducing parts, kind of fell flat as they were described quickly and sort of overlooked, which is a shame as it could have almost been a perfect book otherwise.The mystery aspect comes in when he is asked to become a member of "The Immortals", sort of like a secret extreme firefighting club with ridiculous dares, complete with leather jackets (it's been a while since I read this, don't mock my description). The thing is though, members of The Immortals die every year and no one knows why. Jake's brother was once a member of The Immortals before he quit. Now no one in town will talk to him and Jake is also further ostracised. By joining The Immortals, Jake intends to uncover their secrets. The mystery was well handled, although I did want to shake Jake for being so oblivious to what was under his nose. However, there was some great tension building in these particular sections which helped to add to the fast pace of the book. A minor niggle is the fact that, like mentioned above, the firefighting training scenes were also under developed, they were over with too quickly.Finally, the romance. Romance in YA is often poorly handled. All YA reader have their pet peeves regarding this aspect of a story. My own pet peeve is why there has to always be romance. It's often poorly written and tacked on as an afterthought. I'm glad to say this was not the case in this novel. It felt natural because Jake and Salome had been friends for so long.It's not perfect, it had a few issues with just jumping into back story as if the reader knew what had happened in the past and the aforementioned poorly described action scenes, but it was a good read.