Dawn Jewell is fifteen. She is restless, curious, and wry. She listens to Black Flag, speaks her mind, and joins her grandmother’s fight against mountaintop removal mining almost in spite of herself. “I write by ear,” says Robert Gipe, and Dawn’s voice is the essence of his debut novel, Trampoline. She lives in eastern Kentucky with her addict mother and her Mamaw, whose stance against the coal companies has earned her the community’s ire. Jagged and honest, Trampoline is a powerful portrait of a place struggling with the economic and social forces that threaten and define it. Inspired by oral tradition and punctuated by Gipe’s raw and whimsical drawings, it is above all about its heroine, Dawn, as she decides whether to save a mountain or save herself; be ruled by love or ruled by anger; remain in the land of her birth or run for her life.

Tenth anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Darnell Arnoult, Sandra L. Ballard, Marianne Worthington, and Gillian Berchowitz and a new afterword by Beth Macy

First published in 2015, Trampoline introduced readers to Dawn Jewell, a fierce, funny, and unforgettable fifteen year old navigating the complexities of family, activism, and identity in eastern Kentucky. With a voice as raw and real as the Appalachian landscape she inhabits, Dawn becomes an unlikely fighter in her grandmother’s crusade against mountaintop removal mining—while wrestling with her own need for escape and self-discovery.

This tenth anniversary edition celebrates the enduring power of Robert Gipe’s illustrated debut novel, the first in the acclaimed Canard County Trilogy, rounded out by his later novels Weedeater (2018) and Pop (2021). Gipe’s storytelling—rooted in oral tradition and punctuated by his signature hand-drawn illustrations—captures the grit, humor, and heart of a region too often misunderstood. His portrayal of Appalachia is both unflinching and deeply loving.

The new edition features an afterword by bestselling author Beth Macy (Dopesick, Raising Lazarus). It also includes an collective introduction by Darnell Arnoult, Sandra L. Ballard, Marianne Worthington, and Gillian Berchowitz, offering insight into the novel’s place in Appalachian literature and its influence on a generation of readers and writers.

Limited to 1,000 copies, this commemorative edition is a tribute to a beloved book and its visionary author. Whether you're discovering Dawn Jewell for the first time or returning to Canard County, Trampoline remains a vital, vibrant portrait of a young woman—and a region—fighting to be heard.