MJ is having a bad year. It’s her first year at middle school, which is difficult enough, but her dad not being around anymore is the worst. And she didn’t want to be on the gymnastics team this year, not since she was bullied and felt excluded, despite being one of the best gymnasts on the team. And since her dad left, MJ and her mother had to move out of their house, and now her mother has to work two jobs and take online classes.
MJ doesn’t have any friends, so she spends her lunch time watching wrestling videos of luchadores, Mexican wrestlers who wear masks and wrestle with an entertaining, energetic style. Without friends or afterschool activities, she just sits alone in her room after school flying her drone. It had been a gift from her father before he’d left. But when it crashes into a neighbor’s yard, MJ decides to go after it and discovers an old wrestling ring in her neighbor’s yard. It turns out her neighbor used to be a lucha wrestler, and now he owns a training school for wrestlers.
MJ wants to join her neighbor’s wrestling school more than anything, and after wearing her mother down, the two strike a deal. MJ has to keep her grades up, and if she gets seriously hurt then she’ll have to stop, but her mother agrees to let her wrestle. Since she’s only 12, it takes her some convincing to get her neighbor to let her in the school, but she wears him down too and gets ready to start training as a wrestler.
At first, she’s paired with an older girl to learn the basics of wrestling—how to interact with another wrestler in the ring and how to fall down without getting hurt. As the weeks of training go on, she learns more about what it takes to have a match. She builds her endurance and expands her in-ring skills. She even gets to try out some simple matches before a small audience in their weekly wrestling shows.
But when an investigator with the State Athletic Commission comes to do his inspection, MJ gets a bad feeling, like the inspector has a problem with her neighbor and is trying extra hard to shut down the wrestling school. This is the first thing in months that has made MJ happy, and she doesn’t want to lose that. But will she be able to help save the school that means so much to her?
Bump by former professional wrestler Matt Wallace is a heart-warming story of healing and self-discovery told in the world of lucha wrestling. Filled with lots of heart, some sadness, some courage, lots of bumps and bruises, and a respect for professional wresting, this novel for young girls will encourage and inspire them to follow their dreams no matter what. As MJ learns, it doesn’t matter how much you get knocked down. What matters is how often you get back up.
I loved Bump. It has a sweetness that can’t be denied. I admit I’m a later-in-life fan of professional wrestling. I didn’t pay much attention to it until I met my current boyfriend, who as been a lifelong fan. But I have come to respect the hard work and athleticism it takes to be a good wrestler and to admire the stories these athletes tell through their actions. MJ is a fantastic character, and her journey is one that I’m glad to have witnessed. She has a lot of heart and a lot of spunk, and I think she sets a wonderful example to readers of all ages who read about her experiences in and out of the ring. I only wish I could have read this when I was a kid. Her courage would have inspired me to be stronger against the bullies and mean girls I knew through the years.
Egalleys for Bump were provided by HarperCollins Children’s Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.
