Module 5: Other Award Winners

February 12, 2018 

Module 5: Other Award Winners

Title: The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

Genre: Young Adult/Realistic Fiction

Book Summary:

Jessica has lost her leg in a car accident and now feels like life is over as she knows it -- no more track, no more running, and worse, she will need a prosthetic leg. Her life was all about running and now it's over...or is it? As her new "normal" begins, she learns to cope with having first crutches and being stared at by her classmates and friends. She resents the looks of sympathy, of being in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. She doesn't like being ignored, which is what she has done to Rosa, a girl with CP. Rosa becomes her tutor, helping her catch up with all the math she has fallen behind on, while at home recuperating.

Jessica learns that she may be able to run again, with the help of a "bionic" prosthetic. While she is thrilled to learn she may be able to run again, she doesn't want to do it alone...she wants to run with Rosa, a girl who has taught her that it's ok to be ignored, a girl who just wants to feel what it's like to "run".

APA Reference of Book: 

Draanen, W. V. (2012). The running dream. New York: Random House Publishing Group.

Impression

Professional Review:

Gr 7 Up-Jessica has run her personal best at a track meet-then there's a tragic bus accident and the high school junior loses her leg as well as her future dreams. From waking up in the hospital and coping with the trauma, to her return home, then school, she tries to grab her life back. On one level the story offers inspiration to those dealing with physical changes in their own lives and the stages of recovery, fight, survival, and victory as Jessica reaches deep to push past her wall of self-pity and loathing, and moves beyond the "finish line." On a deeper level, there is her blind discrimination toward a fellow classmate who has cerebral palsy. Rosa is hard to understand and easy to ignore. She is anchored to a wheelchair. Jessica, encumbered by her crutches and her tender "stump," is seated in the back of the class, out of the way, next to Rosa. She learns that the girl is smart, wise, and friendly. They pass notes and share lunch. Rosa writes, "I wish people would see me and not my condition." When Jessica is running again-on specially engineered prosthesis-she challenges herself to help her friend be seen. How Jessica orchestrates putting Rosa in the forefront of a community race and pushing her wheelchair across a finish line is a study in faith and determination. Readers will cheer for Jessica's recovery and be reminded to recognize people for their strengths and not overlook them because of their disabilities.

Follos, A. (2011). The Running Dream. School Library Journal, 57(2), 121.

Library Use:

These books could be used to showcase during the Paralympics or the Special Olympics, sparking discussions about supporting these causes.

Read alikes: Each of these books have characters who go through similar experiences as Jessica, told from different perspectives from cancer survivors to disfigurement and how they overcome obstacles due to their physical limitations.

 After Ever After by Jorden Sonnenblick
Crazy Beautiful by Lauren, Baratz-Logsted
Stotan! by Chris Crutcher