Running Dream

by Wendelin Van Draanen

When Jessica is told she’ll never run again, she puts herself back together—and learns to dream bigger than ever before. The acclaimed author of Flipped delivers a powerful and healing story.
 
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, Jessica feels that she’s both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don’t know what to say act like she’s not there. Jessica’s embarrassed to realize that she’s done the same 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.
 
“Inspirational. The pace of Van Draanen’s prose matches Jessica’s at her swiftest. Readers will zoom through the book just as Jessica blazes around the track. A lively and lovely story.” —Kirkus Reviews

• ISBN10: 1299059929
• ISBN13: 9781299059924
• Publish Date: 1 January 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 8 April 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 208
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Van Draanen is just so good at writing beautiful and heartwarming stories. In the beginning, I shed tears for Jessica as she was adjusting to life without her leg, but her spirit and the support of her community had me cheering by the end. An uplifting story, which also reminds us to take the time and look beyond the disability to the person.

[Joséphine]

I enjoyed the book itself very much but didn't care much for the narrator. Doubt I'll listen to audiobooks in future with the same narrator.