Mike’s Reviews > The Running Dream > Status Update

I'm trying my best to like this, I really am. But it just feels too much like a Lifetime movie. It's predictable, the characters are bland, and the happy ending here is way too simple and happy to be believable.

This ending is so predictable. Even as a kid, I think I could've seen it coming.

There's a lot of interesting stuff here. If only Jessica weren't so much of an empty protagonist.

Is this entire novel just one big argument for a single-payer healthcare system? Because that would make it much more interesting.

The problem with this novel is that it doesn't really improve on a nonfiction book about teenagers who lose limbs. Like, the reason to read a novel about this subject instead of a nonfiction book is so that we have a human personality to relate to. We don't really get that here - Jessica could be anybody.

I do have problems with this book, but there are a lot of things I like about it. I like how Draanen shows how Jessica's perspective changes due to her disability, and how she shows the ways Jessica was lucky before the accident, and is still lucky after. It's deeper than what you'd normally see in MG.

I think the problem here is that Jessica just isn't a very well-rendered character. We know nothing about her except that she likes running. There are only a few little details about her life that make me feel like I have an idea of who she is. This stream-of-consciousness prose is well-suited for the topic and the audience, but it skims over details and doesn't give Jessica as much of a voice as it should.

I wonder how much research Draanen did into how people feel after losing limbs. I can't really speak to how realistic this is, so I'm curious.

This is well-written so far. I think I'll enjoy this.