Running the Risk

by Lesley Choyce

After being the victim of an armed robbery, Sean should be terrified but he isn't. He finds he likes the rush that comes from danger and tries to recreate the feeling. But when his risktaking leads him to some of the worst parts of town and he finds himself face-to-face with the original armed robbers, he finds he must do the right thing.

Genres: Young Adult, Ebooks, Realistic Fiction, Canada

110 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Lesley Choyce is a novelist and poet living at Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia. He is the author of more than 80 books for adults, teens and children. He teaches in the English Department and Transition Year Program at Dalhousie University. He is a year-round surfer and founding member of the 1990s spoken word rock band, The SurfPoets. Choyce also runs Pottersfield Press, a small literary publishing house and hosted the national TV show, Off The Page, for many years. His books have been translated into Spanish, French, German and Danish and he has been awarded the Dartmouth Book Award and the Ann Connor Brimer Award.

Lesley Choyce was born in New Jersey in 1951 and moved to Canada in 1978 and became a citizen.

His YA novels concern things like skateboarding, surfing, racism, environmental issues, organ transplants, and rock bands.

Reviews

[Jeramiah Paige]

This book was predictable, yet good. This book has a sense of suspense as apposed to the physical action that took place, which I liked. I was glad sean came back to his senses when he had to face the robbers in a lineup. If I had to summarize this book I would say things aren't always as they seem. I don't know why Sean felt exhilarated when danger was in his presence but I'm happy he saw the real deal and changed his mind. He then got his Job back (the place he got robbed), and the people that were with him before were there. I have plenty to say but I'll stop here.

[Jeffrey Coronado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Running The Risk by: Lesley Choyce is a thrilling book. The summary of this book is "Sean is attracted to danger. After being the cictim of an armed robbery, Sean should be terrified but he isn't. He finds he likes the rush that comes from danger and tries to recreate the feeling. But when his ribs taking leads him to some of the worst parts of town and he finds himself face-to-face with the original armed robbers, he finds he must do the right thing." I picked this book because the tittle sounded, plus when I read the summary the book sounded good and I wanted to find out what happen with Sean and the gun man.

My favorite part of the book is when Sean was at the burger shop and he gave the money to the gunman. I liked it because I didn't knew he was gonna do that. I was shock when Sean did that cause I didn't knew he will do that I thought that he was gonna get shot. So that's why I liked that part. I would recommend this book to people who likes action books.

[Angel Vasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about half danger and half love.As Sean's burger place where he works is getting robbed he looks at the guy who is pointing the gun at him and thinks that he is really nervous.HE goes to the counter very calmly and takes out all the money and gives it to him.HE doesn't say anything else as his friend cam is looking at him like what are u doing?!The 3 robbers leave the shop as they hear sirens.Why was Sean so calm?He didn't want to die because if he panicked as he said in the story someone could of gotten killed.

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so confusing. It went from a store getting robbed, to a love story, back to more stores getting robbed, to the main character helping a homeless woman who still searched for her dead son, then back to the robberies. It was all over the place for me.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Sean has lived a fairly low-key existence. He does well in school and has parents who support him and expect him to head to college when he finishes high school. They really don't even care if he gets an after-school job, instead thinking he should focus his attention on success in school. But the lure of some extra pocket money and a little excitement lead him to a job at Burger Heaven.

Flipping burgers is not Sean's dream job, but it's keeping him busy. He never imagined it would offer the rush of adrenaline that would turn him into a risk-taker. It happened shortly after midnight on a Friday. The guys entered the restaurant wearing ski masks and carrying guns. When one of them stepped up to the counter and looked Sean in the eyes, something clicked and Sean seemed to know exactly what to do. He calmly handed them the money from each of the cash drawers. They accepted the cash and left, only having fired a single shot at the ceiling.

Could all the action and excitement be over by the end of page 6? Hardly. Sean's experience at Burger Heaven is just the beginning of his new, risky life. His parents and even some of his friends think the robbery should have freaked him out enough to make him play it safe and quit his job, but that's the last thing Sean wants. He is forced into a mandatory week off to "recover" from the experience, but that time off simply becomes the beginning of Sean's search for adventure and excitement.

In RUNNING THE RISK, author Lesley Choyce presents a situation in which a character encounters a life-threatening event that triggers a desire for continued adventure. Sean's brush with danger whets his appetite for risky behavior. He becomes intrigued with a dangerous girl, unsavory parts of town, and even a psychotic homeless woman.

Will his new behavior end in tragedy, or will he come to his senses in time to return to his perhaps less exciting, but safe life?

[David Nawloka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Running the risk by Lesley Choyce
Fiction
4 out of 5 stars

This book is about a kid called Sean. He was working on day at burger heaven which is a restaurant and its also his job. It was late ant night and some guys with ski masks walked in and took Sean and the guys with ski masks made Sean give them money. Sean noticed one of the robbers eyes. Later on in the story he finds a guy and he meets his eyes and he notices that he has seen them before and then he remembered that it was the robber that robbed burger heaven. He is afraid to turn him in and he want to tell the cops but then he gets over his fear and he tells the cops that he knows who the robber is and they take him to jail.If you like action books then you should read this book because it has a lot of action.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because it has a lot of action and it always has you on the edge of your seat. Also it had a really good conflict. Somethings that I didn't like were that at some points the story was really boring but most of the time it wasn't. Also most orca books have a twist at the end of the story but this one had a really boring ending. Thats what I liked and didn't like about it.


I recommend this book to anyone who like a lot of action.

[Tim Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The insight into a modern teenage life could not be viewed any better,then by viewing work from amazing author Lesley Choice. She gives us insight through our main character Sean who is in high school, but also works a night shift at the local burger restaurant. His life is what today's society would call "normal". He is not a troubled child, he doesn't have failing grades. Ordinary, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Our real story begins when an event in his life changes his entire outlook on everything; suddenly he no longer wants his normal life. craving a feeling of shock, rush, terror and ..risk... Over the next few months we follow our protagonists through his stages of adventure to fulfill his lust for adrenaline and fear. I liked the book I would recommend it for someone who feels as if they have tasted most of life's candies. Someone who feels as if they live the ordinary life.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid title from Orca. Choyce takes the story in some interesting directions from the opening scene of an armed robbery. Our protagonist escapes, only to feel oddly emboldened by the experience, while his co-workers have different reactions. Ultimately, the story is about making choices: wise, unwise, strong and weak. I expect teens will like it, even if the end is a bit too neat.

There is a scene of drug use, but there is nothing here that will shock most high school readers.

[Eduardo Fortes · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think ''running the risk'' is a good book because it is a social issues book and i would rated it 10/10 because it is a suspense book first time you read this book you will not put the book down.my favorite part about the book is the beginning maybe you are asking why is that your favorite,the beginning is my favorite part because there was a robber

[Jeremy G]

its really good so far!

[Kenneth taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book was great

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

You're sixteen. You live in a nice neighb orhood. Your father is an accountant for God's sake. You KNOW what it means to be careful, to be safe. Until someone puts a gun in your face...

[Edith Valerio]

This book gotten my attention to read ! Book is about how a boy named Sean who has been a witness of arm robbery , and finds out that he finds the rush of danger is enjoying!

[Nik Fiset]

this book was good and interesting

[Belle · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's just a quick read.

A slice of life.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was absolutely amazing. A really short read but worth it

[John R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Running the Risk begins at a fast food restaurant, in an average small or middle sized American town, at night with Sean as one of three workers at the front when two masked burglars enter. Instead of panicking Sean remains calm, handing over the available money. A shot is fired but no one is hurt. He is interviewed by the police, who realize even though he cooperated he was not part of the crime, and returns to school. He realizes that he enjoyed the feeling of danger that he was in. He feels like a different person now since the robbery. He receives a call from one of his coworkers, Jeanette, and goes on a coffee date with her. She is into marijuana and drinking and gets Sean to smoke with her. Sean finds himself participating more in class discussions at school because of his new attitude. The following day Jeanette finds Sean at school as she is having a "panic attack". They both ditch school and walk to a rough part of town. Sean is attacked by a mentally ill woman who believes that he is her dead son. Because he is kind to her Jeanette leaves the two, and Sean compassionately walks the lady, named Priscilla, back to her shelter. But before this happens, he runs into a slightly older tough black teen who Priscilla also believes, at times, is her son. His name is Monroe, and is joined by a four others that Sean describes as "out of a rap video". Sean has Jeanette over and allows her to drink some wine and to get her home borrows his dad's classic Mustang. Soon Sean seeks out Priscilla to help her, buying her some food from a store she had been banned from. He again runs into Monroe with one of his crew. Sean then realizes that the he recognizes with certainty the eyes of Monroe's friend. He was one of the robbers that night at the burger restaurant. Will he go to the police to report it?

As a Hi-Lo reader Running the Risk does a good job, and is recommended for a high school library. For high school students it provides an easy to read, fast paced story that is both interesting and plausible. Also worth noting is that throughout the story Sean recalls sayings from his grandfather always telling him to take the riskier path, which can be worth it.
Recommended ages: 14 -19

[Dahziah]

Running the Risk begins at a fast food restaurant, in an average small or middle sized American town at night with Sean as one of three workers at the front when two masked burglars enter. Instead of panicking Sean remains calm handing over the available money. A shot is fired but no one is hurt he is interviewed by the police who realize even though he cooperated he was not part of the crime and returns to school. He realizes that he enjoyed the feeling of danger that he was in. He feels like a different person now since the robbery.