Trampoline

Trampoline is an illustrated novel written by Robert Gipe. Ohio University Press published the novel in 2015. The story takes place in the fictional Canard County, located in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. The narrator, Dawn Jewell, tells the story of the holiday season when she was 15 years old. Dawn is intelligent, creative, and thoughtful. She lives with her grandmother, whom she calls Mamaw, because her own mother, Momma, is too addicted to drugs and alcohol to care for her. Her father passed away years ago when Dawn was a little girl. Mamaw is a passionate anti-coal activist and a loving guardian.

Plot Summary

Early in the novel, Dawn discovers her love of punk music, and she shares her Mamaw’s passion for activism. She attends meetings with Mamaw, and at one hearing, she becomes so embroiled in the fight that she stands up and spews a passionate argument back at an angry crowd. A man in the crowd turns out to be the Kenny Bilson, the brother of Willett Bilson who is the DJ who plays the punk music that Dawn likes. He interviews Dawn for his radio show, and over the next few weeks, Dawn hears her voice over and over whenever she tunes in. Dawn and Willett start emailing each other, and they eventually start dating.

Dawn’s dysfunctional family is the source of her anger, and as the novel progresses, she repeatedly becomes involved in their problems. One night, Dawn and her Uncle Hubert, whom she dislikes, are involved in a car accident that kills Keith Kelly, a coal mine employee and the man Momma is having an affair with.

Dawn escapes to her Aunt June’s house in Kingsport, Tennessee, where finds solace and peace in Aunt June’s cozy home amongst her hippie friends. She contemplates staying permanently in Kingsport, as it is also the home of Willett Bilson. However, despite what seems an obvious improvement over Dawn’s home in Kentucky, she feels pulled back to Canard where she feels she is needed to help save Blue Bear, as well as her family.

After months of fighting to protect the mountain, the governor announces on Christmas Day his intention to turn Blue Bear into a nature preserve, which would protect the mountain from destructive mines.

Meanwhile, Momma has stopped drinking and returned to church, where she is baptized. At the baptism, Hubert joins her, shortly before he returns to serve his prison sentence for his role in Keith’s death. Dawn stays in Canard with Mamaw, but she continues to date Willett in Tennessee, leaving both her feet firmly planted in the two worlds.