Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?
As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.
With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her.
I read Wendelin Van Draanen's Flipped last year at the recommendation of one of my young women. It was cute, fluffy and fairly quick so when Janssen recommended The Running Dream I added it to my list as well. It's another quick, snappy kind of read but it's not nearly as fluffy. This one deals with some hard things. One of Jessica's teammates dies in the accident that takes her leg. Jessica is angry and depressed at first and adjusting to life without a leg isn't easy. She pulls herself together though and quickly learns to walk and then run again. There were times when I thought that her character arc from angry amputee to inspirational story was a little too easy but then I remembered that this is a YA book and I just rolled with it. I cried more times than I care to admit. One I'd absolutely recommend.
No comments:
Post a Comment