The running dream

Van Draanen, W. (2011). The running dream. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

Interest level: Grades 7+

Reading level: 4+

Sixteen-year old Jessica is a runner. She can't really remember a time when she hasn't been a runner. It's not just what she does, it's who she is.  After setting her personal best record at an away track meet the school bus she's on is involved in an accident. One of her teammates died in the crash. Jessica's leg was crushed and 3/4 of it has been amputated. She wishes she were dead instead. Upon returning home from the hospital everything is a challenge. She can't get to her upstairs room, she can't shower on her own, and she can't run. Jessica spirals into depression, pushing everyone out as she learns to navigate on crutches and eventually on a prosthesis. When she returns to school she is behind on everything and to add to it, her math teacher puts her in the back of the class with Rosa- the girl in the wheelchair who has cerebral palsy and can hardly be understood. Jessica has to confront her own prejudices about the handicapped and figure out her place in the world.

Van Draanen has crafted an amazing story here. Readers can't help but empathize with the loss, pain and depression Jessica experiences even if they themselves aren't athletes. Rosa is a great addition to the story, tutoring Jessica in math and helping her to strive for all with handicaps to be seen as more than that. Jessica's discomfort at becoming a poster child so that she can get a runner's prosthesis is also realistic, but in the end she accepts it with grace and inspires many. This is a good book for anyone in need of inspiration, and aren't we all? It isn't preachy, just a real story about real like. Readers who enjoyed Sorta like a rock star by Matthew Quick will enjoy this one as well.