On the Run [Hardcover]

Michael Coleman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Fifteen-year-old Luke is a skilled thief with a perfect record until the day he is caught running from a robbery gone wrong. He chooses to save the life of a blind girl, Jodi, rather than escape cleanly. As a result, Luke is given a shot at freedom if he will train to be Jodi's guide in the London Marathon. The friendship that develops between the two offers Luke one last chance to discover just how far-and in what direction-he is willing to run. A taut, unpredictable read, this novel will appeal to anyone who has changed course in life . . . or is trying to figure out how.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9–Luke is a petty thief with a talent for picking locks. While breaking into a car, the 15-year-old is shoved aside by two schoolmates who steal it. In the melee, the owner's family returns and the daughter is nearly run down by the vehicle but Luke has the presence of mind to push her to safety. The thieves drive away, but Luke is chased and then tackled by the girl's father. The ensuing arrest lands him back in the juvenile justice system, which is more familiar to him than his own family, particularly his father, who is in prison for fraud and burglary. Honor among thieves prevents Luke from ratting on his schoolmates, but a sympathetic parole officer arranges an unusual community service project involving the girl he rescued. Luke learns that Jodi is blind and wants help training to run a mini-marathon. The unlikely partnership is awkward as Luke guides her along the track using voice commands, but her confidence and determination transform him, and give him a purpose that is no longer self-serving. Fans of British fiction will enjoy the urban dialect, and Jodi's triumph over her disability is inspirational, adding depth to the story. In a page-turning climax, Luke is blackmailed by the car thieves to help break into a garage on the day of the marathon and predictably outruns his demons for a somewhat sentimental but satisfying ending.–Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-12. Fifteen-year-old Luke Reid is an unrepentant juvenile delinquent, living in a squalid London housing project. While breaking into a car to steal an expensive pair of running shoes, he is interrupted by the project's toughest thugs, who steal the car itself. Meanwhile, the car's owners return, and the car thieves try to run down the owner's teenage daughter, Jodi. Luke pushes her to safety just in time, and that's just the beginning of this fast-moving story of teens trying to turn their lives around. Luke is arrested, but he is saved from incarceration by an unusual community service sentence: he must help Jodi train for a two-and-a-half-mile run, part of the annual London Marathon. The catch is that Jodi is blind. There are many twists and subplots, and if characterization and description are sometimes lacking, most readers will be caught up in Luke's various dilemmas. Briticisms abound, but most are entirely comprehensible in context. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525473181
• ISBN-13: 978-0525473183
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,982,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced and amazing., January 13, 2005

By 

Laura C. Perenic (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On the Run (Hardcover)

Originally titled Going Straight, this UK release about 15-year-old thief Luke Reid focuses who inherited his career choice from his father. Luke hates his father for missing his last 10 birthdays but hasn't quite made the logical leap that if he continues on this path he too will end up at Markham prison like his father. A possibility for reform and redemption comes in the form of blind marathon runner Jodie who is the victim of a crime Luke could have prevented. Coleman succeeds in creating a fast paced work that maintains suspense and doubt about the main characters' futures. In a few places the English lingo makes the text a bit obtuse, as most readers will not realize that `to grass' is thief slang for narcing or ratting someone out. Another area needing work is a slow chapter that is bogged down by entirely too much information about Louis Braille that would have been better suited to an epilogue. Luke is fascinating internally conflicted young man who has many gifts including the potential to change and the realization that he is in control of his own rehabilitation. The culmination of Luke's choices is a brilliant heart-pounding finale at the London Marathon involving tv cameras, police and an ambulance. All in all a compelling and wild ride about a boy with whom many young readers can emphasize and model their own desires for self-improvement.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is amazing!, August 16, 2011

By 

llama - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Run (Hardcover)

Luke Reid is a fifteen year old theif. His dad is in Markham prison, which is where Luke will soon end up if he dosent work with the bind for three months and get a good report. His probation officer, Viv Defoe, guides him along this action plan, along with giving him rides to and from the action plan's locations. Luke might go to Markham... if he dosen't run the marathon.

5.0 out of 5 stars On The Run, December 6, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: On the Run (Hardcover)

On The Run is about a boy named Luke that is a thife. Luke stills things
from stores to cars. One day Luke stills a pair of shoes and starts to still a car still a car. I would tell you the part were he gets mugged but I would be giving you the best part.So if you like exciting books then reed On The Run. P.S the athor is Micheal Colman.