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by: Wendelin Van Draanen
Recommended Age: YA (12+ years and above)
Lexile: 650L
Content Warning(s): Addiction, death
"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." (book summary)
My Thoughts:
As one of my favourite books, I was quite surprised to see I hadn't yet written a review on the blog for Wendelin Van Draanen's masterpiece, The Running Dream. This is one of the few books I find myself returning to time and time again – I've probably read this four times fully but sometimes I flip to a random chapter and start reading from there.
I typically don't enjoy sports-centered novels, especially ones where I can't personally connect to the love of that sport, so loving this particular book so much shocked me. While the book centers on Jessica's dream to be able to run, I also appreciated the spotlight that Jessica's budding friendship with Rosa got and how Van Draanen perfectly and authentically portrayed Jessica and Rosa's dynamic and evolving friendship, authentically building their initially awkward interactions until they gradually got comfortable with each other.
The Running Dream still is one of the most inspiring books I've ever read, despite my initial reading of it almost two years ago. Its influence on me extends onto my own goals and pushes me to reevaluate how much effort I'm putting to reach them.
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