Runner [Hardcover]

Carl Deuker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2005

But the weather-beaten sailboat Chance Taylor and his father call home is thirty years old and hasn’t sailed in years. One step from both homelessness and hunger, Chance worries about things other kids his age never give a thought: Where will the money come for the electricity bill, grocery bill, and moorage fees? So when a new job falls his way, he jumps at the opportunity. He knows how much he will earn; what he doesn’t know is how much he will pay.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–When his alcoholic Gulf War veteran father is fired from the first steady job he has held in years, Chance Taylor is understandably glum. He has no idea where they'll get the money to pay the moorage fees for the run-down sailboat they call home. Since his parents' divorce, Chance has tried to keep a low profile in school, and his only pleasure is running by himself along the Seattle waterfront. When a marina office employee offers to pay him $250 a week to pick up occasional packages at a tree along his running route, Chance is deeply suspicious of what they may contain but desperate enough to accept this opportunity to pay the bills. As this new job gradually becomes more dangerous and more clearly illegal, Chance's father is able to rise above his personal problems to help extricate his son. In a gripping climax complete with SWAT teams swarming throughout the marina as Coast Guard patrol boats close in on terrorists, Chance is afforded a final glimpse of the heroic man his father once was. Writing in a fast-paced, action-packed, but at the same time reflective style, Deuker uses fewer sports scenes than in his previous novels, and instead uses running as a hook to entice readers into a perceptive coming-of-age novel. A subplot involving Chance's friendship with a wealthy female classmate whose father was a close high school friend of Chance's father is nicely integrated into this timely, compelling story.–Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. "My dad never hit me; never yelled at me. He was just a drunk." High-school senior Chance is a "ghost-walker" at school--barely talking, just passing, finding escape only in long, solitary, after-school runs. His hard-drinking father can't keep a job, and Chance worries how they will pay the mooring fees for their dilapidated, 30-foot sailboat home in Pugent Sound. When a marina worker offers him a job picking up secret packages, Chance can't turn down the lucrative opportunity, even though he's sure it's illegal. But as a friendship with smart student Melissa grows, so does Chance's concern about his job and its possible links to local smuggling rings. Deuker drops plenty of hints about what's in the packages, but the tragic blockbuster ending may still be a surprise. The authenticity of Chance's first-person voice occasionally wavers, and the initial pacing of the story is sometimes awkward. But the sports and suspenseful action will easily draw readers, as will the gripping adventure's consideration of crime, class, ineffectual parents, and a teen's questions about his uncertain future. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (May 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618542981
• ISBN-13: 978-0618542987
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #680,479 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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking the "Reluctance" Out of Readers, July 1, 2007

By 

Ken C. (MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Runner (Hardcover)

Carl Deuker's RUNNER should attract both teachers of reluctant readers and young readers who feel that reading is not for them. The beginning is interesting enough with its high school bullying episodes and questions of rich (as embodied by romantic interest Melissa Watts) vs. poor kids (our protagonist Chance Taylor, who lives on a small sailboat on a marina's dock), but the book really takes off when recreational runner Chance gets an offer he wants to but cannot refuse -- running mysterious packages in exchange for cash like he and his alcoholic ne'er-do-well father have never seen.

Here the high-octane plot takes off, running away with a reader who can't help but hold on to find out what's happening. Are the packages drugs? Explosives? Money? And who are the mysterious people leaving them behind in the cracks of a retaining wall near a beach on Puget Sound? Chance really doesn't want to know, but soon events take a dangerous turn, and if he cannot work up the guts to seek out the truth, it turns out the truth might be ready to seek him out -- with dire results.

Known for his sports books, Deuker here shows a skill for pacing and plot in a thriller that will keep readers guessing until the spectacular finish. Although it touches on themes of patriotism and social class, RUNNER shouldn't be read for any deep characterization or rich description; realize instead that it is a book meant to entertain with a fast-moving story that should win over even the most reluctant of readers. Teachers should keep it on hand for students who will only try a fast-read, and young readers looking for a quick and engaging plot should "play Chance" by running some packages that may or may not make them an accomplice to a crime.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars runner book review, September 17, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Runner (Hardcover)

Chance is the main character in the book called Runner. This book was written by Carl Deuker. Chance and his dad live on a boat in a marina. His dad is having problems paying moorage fees and other expenses. Chance has to help him out. Chance's dad is an alcoholic and a bum spending the rest of his spare change on beer. The father would rather sit out on his tiny boat drinking than helping his son. Chance is having many problems in his life when his mom leaves them to go on and do something more with her life.
Everyone on the pier knows that Chance's dad just got fired from his job. A stranger who nobody has seen before works in the marina office and asks Chance if he needs money to help his dad out. Chance doesn't think twice about this decision. All he has to do is jog a mile to a point, look for a package, then jog back with the package. If there is a package at the point, Chance returns it to the office marina guy. Every week Chance receives $200 dollars for running his normal jog route and returning packages that are there at the point. Chance is desperate for money to keep his boat and his spot on the pier. This job appears easy to Chance. He doesn't think about the contents of the packages and the possible consequences.
In this heart-pounding thriller, Carl Deuker combines global concerns and the threat of terrorism with the everyday worries of a teen who only wants to keep his life together until graduation. Supported by a smart, politically aware girl in his history class, Chance learns there's a lot more to patriotism than just waving a flag, and a lot more to courage than just following rules he knows may be wrong. This timely, complex story will make you think twice about the choices you make and what it means to be brave.
I personally liked this book a lot. It has several good parts in this story and some bad parts too. In life you want to make good choices and not bad ones. The moral of the story is to always think before you act.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT!, December 4, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Runner (Paperback)

The book Runner by Carl Deuker, is about a boy named Chance who lives with his father in Seattle on his sailboat called The Tiny Dancer. Chance's mother left him when he was little and he hasn't seen her since. Now he is living with his father who can't seem to find a job. Chance and his father are short on money and are always late paying the bills. He tries to help his father by washing pots at Ray's Restaurant but it doesn't pay a lot. One day after going for a run, Chance was walking back to his boat when a fat man who worked in the marina office stopped him and offered him a job. "`You know something? I like your spirit. I really do,' said the fat man. `But I don't have time to play games. So listen and listen carefully. You're in trouble, and I can get you out of that trouble. I'm offering you a job, kid. Very good pay; very short hours. When somebody offers you easy money, you should at least hear him out.'" Chance knows that this man is up to no good, but he needs the money to pay the bills.

I thought Runner was an excellent book and I had trouble putting it down. This book is very original and exciting trying to learn what the fat man was doing and why he wanted Chance's help. It was interesting reading about Chance's adventure and hearing all of the problems he was going through with money and school, and finding out what he was doing for the fat man. I highly recommend it to anybody. It is definitely one of my favorite books I have ever read.