Jacob's Ladder

by Brian Keaney

"Simultaneously poignant and puzzling. . . . The climax elegantly answers all questions, making this ghost story more satisfying than most." —  Publishers Weekly  (starred review)

Jacob awakens inexplicably in a gray, grim place called Locus, where people his age live in dormitories, wear identical gray uniforms, and eat spongy, tasteless food. Even worse than the dreary conditions is his realization that others have accepted this fate — something Jacob vows not to do. Setting out with two companions on a perilous journey, Jacob slowly unravels the horrifying truth about the people of Locus. As they journey through fear toward hope, they must choose between a past they cannot remember and a future they cannot predict.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Mystery, Dystopia, Middle Grade, Adventure

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Brian writes novels for adults, young adults and children. HIs latest novel for adults is The Alphabet of Heart's Desire (Holland House Books), based on an incident in the life of the nineteenth century writer and opium addict, Thomas De Quincey

Reviews

[Angelina Tarallo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I have ever read in my life,it is just amazing,it grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go if I could by 1 million copies I would,thank you Brian keaney,thank you!

[Zayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

To Miss Reid
Spoiler alert !!!!!!!!!!
I recommend this book as a good read 3/5

Book review ( MAGS year 9 book 1)
I chose to read it.
I choose this book as the front cover just stood out on the shelf and the fraise on the cover drew me in" There are a million ways to the bottom of Jacobs ladder but only one way to the top." The blurb also hooked me onto the book.

Why I liked it/did not like it.
I liked this book because it was like the movie Borne identity where he has no memory and try's to find out what happened and how, and it slowly starts coming back in glimpse.

What I learnt.
I learnt that there is a possibility that there is a life after this one and it could be the worst so I we got to make the most of this one and live life to the fullest

My favourite part.
Would be when Jacob escapes Moloch(a cannibal), who miss leads Jacob into a cave then traps him, but luckily Jacob escapes while Moloch starts the fire to cook Jacob. Jacob crawls through a small passage and up a tall ladder to a white palace where he meets Aysha and Toby before the meet the ruler of Locus.

By Zayden Bhana

(There are 200 words not including these ones)

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out very intriguing. A boy, Jacob, wakes up in the middle of a field, knowing nothing but his name. He has no idea how he got there, or anything of his life before waking up in the field.

As the book progresses he begins to learn things. Small things about his past, and things about the place he woke up in.

I was very interested up until maybe the last quarter of the book. It felt like the author rushed the ending to make the book shorter, and packed a bunch of stuff into the last couple chapters to wrap everything up.

Overall, a very good book, even tho the ending seemed rushed. A good book for young teens. If you're looking for a book with a good moral to it, then this might be a good book to check out.

Slight spoiler here... Not giving anything away, but I thought some people might want to know...

If you're very religious, you might not want to read this book, but for someone with an open mind it might not be too bothersome. It has some slight controversial themes that might go against some beliefs.

[Lisa]

I thought this was very interesting but however throughout the book, parts made me feel that i didnt want to read it any longer. As I got to about Chapter 5, I found it Very boring and didnt want to keep reading it. I Loved it after that chapter. This book made me feel abit concerned about what would happen to the characters loads. As it got very close to the end I didnt want to finish the book and wanted to know more, however I didnt get the ending, but I do now. I wish there was a second book after it to read more about Jacob's Ladder. I really enjoyed this book.

[Melissa White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found parts of the story very confusing. I founds parts a bit boring, but i enjoyed reading the rest.

[Dove · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book! I haven’t read a good dystopian book in so long so it was super refreshing. Took me back to the middle school days. Jacob wakes up in the middle of a field and is taken to this ghost dorm where him and other people live a routine life- a bus takes them somewhere to pick up stones, they eat rest and repeat. It’s run by ghosts who refuse to talk to him. He has no memories of his past life. Unlike the others, he has not gotten used to it and wants to escape. So he walks out with some of his friends. There’s many adventures and hurdles like wild dogs, old men who try to kidnap him and more. Ultimately he finds the majesties of this strange purgatory who give him an opportunity to choose life or stay dead. I feel like he was in a coma and had a decision to die or go back. Or maybe he was in purgatory and stuff cuz they kept talking about the land of the living. I don’t understand how he felt pain if he was a ghost though, and how he had memories of his parents talking about his death. Maybe it’s like a dream or alternative reality. A bit confusing but still beautiful and I liked that it made me think so much.

[Rami · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most thought-provoking “tween” novels that I’ve ever read. The Maze Runner definitely drew a lot of inspiration from this. Jacob’s Ladder deals with a lot of philosophical concepts by representing them as characters in themselves and having the central protagonists of the story deal with them. The author’s grim, soulless tone perfectly captures the soul of the story making it even more mysterious and leaving you just as clueless and scared as to what’s going on as the central protagonists.


My only gripe with this book is that the final third is very rushed leaving you a little less-than-fulfilled once the book ends. The world of Jacob’s Ladder had infinite possibilities and could have easily been stretched out to 500 pages in place of the measly 200+ we are given.

4.5/5

[Natalia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The storyline is fine but the book is poorly written. It seems to be intended for pretty young audience and written in overly simplistic prose. I struggled reading it as it was kind of robotic and boring. I only persisted as the story itself was intriguing and the book was short. Had it been much longer, I would’ve quit it.

[Niamh · Rating 5 out of 5]

YA fiction.
I re-read this again, first time since I was 17. A friend of mine who has since passed away lent it to me, and it feels more fitting than ever. Really accessible language and a deep meaning that anyone could draw from.
The only thing I had remembered was the white spongy food, no idea why that of all things always stayed with me!

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourites of all time, it hooks you from the very beginning and commands your attention right till the very end, I still find myself wondering about the characters regardless of the fact that I finished it years ago

[Saoirse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was quite young and it has always stuck with me. Probably the first book I read with these kinds of darker themes. I found it really strange but I was so entranced by it. I would definitely recommend this book to a young teen.

[Laura Speller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this back when I was at high school. Very intriguing story. Had me hooked throughout.

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Troszkę dziwna i pogmatwana ale jestem pozytywnie zaskoczona

[Kylie Mutsaers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok for teens who like dystopia.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nostalgia for this book is unmatched (read it in year 5)

[Evan McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been trying to find this book for years but didn't have any luck until now. This thing was an absolute romp for childhood me.

[Alex Thornbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing, chilling and on occasion humorous.

I must say, that this is probably one of the best books I have read in recent years, a mix of fantasy and the supernatural. From the opening page, it was hard to put down. The intrigue begins with the opening line and does not release you until the very end, and then leaves you feeling bereft and wanting more.

It is rather unfortunate that the cover does not convey the essence of the book or the story. Though very professional and catchy, I must say that when I started reading this book, I was rather surprised to find it very different to my initial impressions based on the cover.

Brian is an excellent writer. I would call his prose classical, smooth-flowing and a pleasure to read. His characters leap off the pages, and the main character drew me in immediately.

[Chet Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. Entertaining. But not my kind of book. Read it for the quality of the writing and style, suggested to my by a friend. Which was interesting. Better than most.

[william · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book is Jacobs ladder the author is Brian Keaney. I believe this book is fantasy, I chose to read it because it is what I unwrapped for the blind date with a book. The story of this book is a boy named Jacob wakes up in a field where he doesn’t remember anything I do not want to say too much as an entire half of the book contains a spoiler you will uncover about a quarter through that changes the book completely. He goes to a place called locus that is completely grey and all they every do is pick up stones from a field. Him and a friend plot to escape and she finds something out that is a major spoiler. She as given up escape but Jacob hasn’t one of the boys in his dormitory soon learns his plans of escape and try and find a place that is only regarded as a legend but they set out for it anyway. They encounter many things and find important things that are also spoilers in the end there is a twist that I cannot say. I chose to read this book as I got it in blind date with a book. I give this book a ten out of ten because I really enjoyed all the subtle little things you find out about the strange world they are in and how they react with the environment. I actually recommend this book for all ages above eight or nine and hope you read it.

[Librariann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ages 10+ (no language or other elements)

Jacob awakens in a field with no memory of who he was before. He is ferried across a river by a man named Virgil, and arrives in Locus, a gray land. Every day in Locus is the same: gray clothes, tasteless food, baskets of rocks to be shifted. At night, the boys play the memory game and attempt to recall snippets of who they were before.

Jacob is unsettled by this land, and is desperate to uncover his past and escape Locus, even though the other boys discourage him from questioning the whys and hows of their apparent imprisonment. Then, a meeting with a girl named Aysha changes his perspective drastically: could it be that he, as well as everyone else in Locus, is actually dead?

Recommended to me by Skokie School librarian Candy Gordon, this was a quick and engaging read that is less intense than Everlost or Elsewhere. I can see why it is in demand with her 5-6 graders.

[Stak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book never really hooked me. If it hadn't of been short enough to read in one day I probably would have put it down and forgotten about it.

That said the concept was interesting enough and some parts of the story were well written. The mystery of how Jacob ended up in the field was initially intriguing as was the town of Locus. Most of the book however were this back and forth of extremes. The last few chapters of the book felt dragged out before an amazingly abrupt ending while the characters felt underwritten and the surroundings over written. Rarely is a balance struck and in the end I found myself not caring what happens to Jacob at all.

My favourite part were the memories that returned to Jacob (and the others) throughout the story. They were wonderfully well written, vivid and really conveyed the beauty of life, juxtaposed nicely with the blandness of Locus. They earn the book the third star.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feeling about this book. I know it is for YA but still. I liked the idea of the book but I thought it could have been presented better. I liked the mystery of why Jacob landed in the middle of the field and learning the way around his new dormitories but I think the story was rushed after that. The friends he met could have been developed more and I could have had more of a connection to them. I liked the ending , it reminded me of the Wizard of Oz (kinda). I liked the idea that memories can play an important part of your life and change your life, if you want. I really think this book could have better.

[Emily Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I happened to come across this book a while ago and picked it up, expecting something entirely different, this book aimed at children, has kept me engaged and I found that I got through it rather quickly. There are some dull areas within the book, but when you consider the monotonous existence of the children and that Locus is a grey place, which breaks down the spirit of the children and their escape from their dormitories is a wasteland full of stones that need clearing, one might expect such a dull experience whilst reading about it....the pace does pick up and the reader becomes more engaged as the story progresses however!

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fast, thoughtful story about second chances and perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles . The characters were familiar types, and the story was mostly plot-driven.

pace: steady
characterization: familiar
Frame: contemporary, purgatory-like setting
story line: plot driven, post life
tone: alternating between bleak and hopeful
writing style: conversational

The Last Book in the Universe or The Giver

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Jacob wakes up in the middle of a field, he realizes that the only thing he remembers is his name. A man named Virgil takes him to Locus, a town where everything is gray. He lives in a dorm with other teenage boys. By day they pick up rocks and at night tell each other about the bits of memories they have. [return][return]But Jacob refuses to go along and eventually runs aways with two other teens. It plods along before getting to an interesting ending that has to do with making better choices.

[Carole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It is our bookclub choice so I had to read it. If left to myself I would not have finished it which would have been my loss. It picks up halfway through which is why it only got 3 stars. I'm not sure there would have been a better way to start to get to the ending but it doesn't entice you to go on. The ending does make you reflect on the entire novel which makes the beginning work eventually. Luckily this is a very short read (designed for young adults) so give it a chance especially if you have a Christian background.

[Aisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about reincarnation and having a second chance in life, i read it out of boredom to be honest and i received more then i bargend for. the setting at the beginning was so confusing and depressing but as you read on you discover that a human’s sheer determination to carry on. i loved it and i would recommend anyone that reads this post to read the book. enough said I’m not giving any spoilers you my reader have to discover the hidden potential of this book and live in purgatory for a while.

[Telesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacob awakes in a field and doesn't remember how he got there. Actually, he doesn't remember much of anything at all. Luckily a man shows up to escort him to his new life...but Jacob has some serious issues with this new community.

I read this because I read and enjoyed _The Hollow People_ by the same author. Although this one was a little predictable, it is still a good read. It has a weird/creepy x-files kind of feel to it.

[Shanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were certain parts in this book that had the potential to be really creepy and/or interesting, but they were lost in the overall stagnant prose. Nothing seemed to happen for 3/4 of the book and the ending was sloppy and unconvincing. It was damn near impossible to feel anything other than apathy for the three main characters. Overall, I would not recommend this book for any other purpose than a quick 'free read' for middle school students.

[Niamh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was very good and I really enjoyed it. I read this book in just a day because I just couldn't put it down. While some parts around the middle aren't as interesting as the start and ending but, i think its worth sticking with. I thought that the author created the character(Jacob) very well. I liked how he questioned what was going on instead of just going along with it like everyone else. I really thought this was a good bookand think its worth reading