Earlier in the year, I read Van Draanen’s Wild Bird, which is still probably one of the best novels I picked up this year. I immediately sought out more of her work, devoured The Running Dream and then…stopped posting reviews for 2 months (oops). But it’s never too late, and I want to recommend this one to y’all. I feel like it’s aimed at a slightly younger audience than Wild Bird, but that in no way diminishes it. Van Draanen tells us another story about a struggling young woman and leads us on a path to her hard-won victory.
“I am a runner. That’s what I do. That’s who I am. Running is all I know, or want, or care about.”
Jessica is a track star who loses a leg, and now she can’t see any point to living. People stare at her — they whisper behind her back and pity her to her face. She feels sorry for herself (and who wouldn’t) and doesn’t think there’s any reason to go on. But little by little, she starts to grow. She makes friends with a student named Rosa, who has CP, which is all anyone has ever noticed about her. Jessica realizes what’s behind those physical differences, and as she gets to know Rosa, she gets to know herself as well.
I am a runner. The idea of an injury that would prevent me from running honestly scares me more than outright death (I know that’s screwed up, but it’s true). Seeing Jessica comes to terms with an injury that would leave me feeling exactly the way she does at the beginning of the book really hit home for me.