SOLVED. YA fiction, late 80s-early 90s - Characters Crash and Rollie(?) - about running. [s]

[Susan]

Hello,

Years ago, in the late 1980s or early 1990s (probably after 1986, definitely before 1992) I enjoyed reading books with a female protagonist nicknamed Crash. Crash was really into running, and running races (long distances I think). If I remember correctly, she ran to help deal with other things going on in her life. She had a friend/coach-type person that I think was named Rollie.

For formatting: these were the days before e-books. I think I read the books in paperback format; I got them from the school library which had few hard covers. I think that I remember there was more than one of these books but think that they were not part of a series (maybe a trilogy?). I am unsure of the publishing dates but believe they were fairly contemporary to the times when I read them.

I have tried the search engines and suggested links, but using keywords 'crash' and 'running' has generally led to books about people running from hit-and-run accidents or similar topics...

I would like to try and look up these books again. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you :D

[Kris]

Susan, about how old is Crash? Crash is definitely a girl? Is there any romance in the story?

Is she on the high school track team? How did she get the nickname Crash?

When using Google, you can avoid results with "car" (accident) by typing the not (hyphen) symbol. For example: -car

[Ayshe]

You Are the Rain has Crash and Rollie. The Kirkus review: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

[Susan]

Hi Kris,

Crash is definitely a girl - I remember part of the reason I enjoyed the book(s) was that there was a dearth of female protagonists at that time, especially ones who undertook non-(stereotypically)-'girly' activities, such as athletics.

I think she was a teenager/youth - a little older than I was at the time (which was middle-school age for me).

I remember Crash as more of a loner but think she ran eventually competitively either on her own or as part of her school team - I cannot remember which (though see below).

Ayshe - THANK YOU - I think you might have found what I have been looking for.

In looking over both You Are the Rain and the list of books that R.R. Knudson has published, I think these are the books that have been nagging at the corner of my brain.

I remember that I read a whole bunch by the same author in a binge-read. I suspect that now the different characters got conflated in my mind, likely the reason that I was struggling with the 'more than one book but not a series' problem. Mostly likely several books by the same author but not necessarily otherwise attached to each other.

Now, I will see if I can track down copies to read and see (unfortunately, the library systems where I live do not seem to have any of Knudson's work).

I think this one is now 'potentially solved'.

Thank you.

[Kris]

Susan wrote: "Ayshe - THANK YOU - I think you might have found what I have been looking for. In looking over both You Are the Rain and the list of books that R.R. Knudson has published, I think these are the books that have been nagging at the corner of my brain...."

That's great. I moved your request to the Possibly Solved folder. Please come back and let us know if this is your book.

[Susan]

Thanks Kris - I am fairly certain that Ayshe was right in what I was looking for. So the Possibly Solved folder is the right place for this one.

I think, unfortunately, it will now take some doing to track the books down to see. The upside is that there are a fair number of used books stores where I live; I suspect they might be a good place to look for older titles.

I will definitely let you know if/when I figure it out.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Susan, can you confirm that was your book?

[Capn]

The book in question can be read for free online (or searched) at: https://archive.org/details/youarerai...

back cover:

The Wilderness Waterway Group is only the second all-girl tour to be allowed to canoe on the Flamingo River into the interior of the Florida Everglades, and it’s an unlikely crew. Lalla has brought her transistor so she won't have to miss Elton John; G.C. has her bikini; June has filled her duffle with poetry books in- stead of equipment. Only Crash and Rollie are prepared, and they consider themselves superior to the challenges of nature—even when hurricane warnings are broadcast.
Although willing to accept the others, Crash and Rollie cannot hide their contempt for unathletic, introspective June and make her the butt of constant ridicule. Then Hurricane Aretha strikes, and Crash and June are separated from the others. Meek June and forceful Crash find themselves mutually dependent and discover that their roles are not permanently fixed.

As far as I can tell, that's the only book by R.R. Knudson which features Crash and Rollie. However, Knudson also wrote a whole series about a female protagonist named Zan Hagan, who is an all-around athlete and also participates in cross country running and marathons, particularly in the final two books (hurts shoulder playing baseball, takes up long-distance running; trains for Olympic marathon):

https://www.goodreads.com/series/1602...
Zanballer
Zanbanger
Zanboomer
Zan Hagen's Marathon

[Susan]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Susan, can you confirm that was your book?"

Thank you yes - the group has found my book.

[Susan]

Capn wrote: "The book in question can be read for free online (or searched) at: https://archive.org/details/youarerai...

back cover:The Wilderness Waterway Group is only the second all-girl tour to ..."

Thank you!

I clicked the link and the cover brought me right back to elementary school (when I read it). I will follow-up further once I get some of my to-do tasks done (I'm self-employed and prone to tangents that are more interesting than needed work paperwork :D).

[Capn]

Hooray! :)

[Kris]

Great! Glad you found your book, Susan. Thanks for the update.