Customer Reviews

Running for My Life

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Teen readers everywhere will love Running for My Life. Ann Gonzales has created a memorable character in 14-year-old Andrea-a true survivor in the best sense of the word. She's plucky yes, but more than that, we feel her pain as we discover the horrifying circumstances surrounding her mother's schizophrenia. What makes this such a special book are both Andrea's growth throughout the story, as well as the loving cast of characters surrounding her. Her dad and best friend Margie, in particular, are stand outs, and define what it means to be human. I highly recommend Running for My Life. It's well written and reads at a perfect pace so that you won't be able to put it down.

One of the reasons teens read is to see the other side of someone else's hard time, to know that there's a way out, even when something seems impossible. But just because a book is about a heavy subject doesn't mean it has to be a heavy book. Often when a novel talks about hard times, the character is completely alone and helpless. Andrea McKane has good friends, a great dad, a talking bunny and running. Running For My Life is funny, gentle and compassionate, the kind of book that, like Pedro the bunny, really can make it all better. Yet it's not all fluff. Gonzalez interweaves psychology lessons and learning to spit, therapy and track team, panic attacks and Pedro the cheerleader. Running For My Life gives the reader courage, strength and freedom, and teaches her that anyone can learn to run.

Running for My Life is a beautiful and hopeful story. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recomended it to my daughter. She read it and loved it. As a mom I'm so grateful for books that I can share and discuss with my kids. This one gave me the chance to talk to my daughter about mental illness--whether what happened to Andrea was her mother's fault and what mental illness does to a person and to the people around them. My daughter said she was so glad that she read the book. She also said that anyone who doesn't cry over this book is a "heartless stone." :) I love that the story is real to the point of being painful, but also so hopeful. Andrea has been through something truly horrible, but she's working through it with the support of her dad, her best friend, and a counselor. The story shows that even when life hands us something bad, we can still be okay. I love that message for teenagers--really for anyone. This book is a compelling read from start to finish.

In Running for My Life, Ann Gonzalez presents a story of coping and eventual understanding within a family in crisis. The book is sure to resonate with teens that will identify with the book's engaging protagonist and her friends, but the issues explored are important enough to matter to many more readers.The story is narrated by Andrea McKane, a fourteen-year-old guilty of nothing more than being scared and bewildered when facing the reality of her mother's recurring mental illness. How Andrea copes--or doesn't--offers a glimpse into a world that is both moving and disturbing. Gonzalez captures these intense emotions and feelings honestly. The unfolding of Andrea's story--as she reveals her fear that she, too, will someday be "sick" like her mother--emerges slowly. Gonzalez's use of running as both a literal and figurative metaphor to bracket Andrea's stop-and-go journey as she confronts the reality of her mother's illness and navigates her own healing, is brilliant. In an subtle way, the book offers a great model for teens of a way to alleviate stress by embracing the euphoric high that physical activity offers as an alternative to less positive ways of coping.

A brave, brave book--and hard to put down.

I felt Andrea's pain as her mother unintentionally abused her. I resonated with the truths of therapy--ups, downs, projections, and connections. The realistic characters, dialogue, and unpredictable plot kept me reading, and the ending was satisfying without tying a bow on the problems. Both older kids and adults will enjoy it.

An excellent debut novel that grabbed my attention and didn't release it until I turned the last page.
14-year-old Andrea suffers from PTSD brought about by her schizophrenic mother's actions. We watch as Andrea struggles with high school; therapy; high school phych class; memories of her mom, both good and less-so; trying out for the high school track team; navigating best-friendship and boyfriends; and high school. Angsty in the best tradition of YA fiction with real character depth for Andrea, Margie, Andrea's dad, and especially Andrea's mom. Schizophrenic Mom might be, but she is neither portrayed as all good and healed or as all evil and out-of-control. A very real look at how mental illness affects everyone in the family, tempered with hope, tho not a fairy-tale happily-ever-after ending.

I especially loved the very authentic-feeling relationship Samantha the therapist builds with Andrea. A great read especially for those teens considering therapy or who are already in therapy now. A great book to use as bibliotherapy for anyone dealing with similar issues of mental illness, especially in a caregiver. And finally, just a great book to read!

A wonderful debut novel from Ann Gonzalez. Running for My Life is an easy read in spite of the subject matter and message that not everyone with mental illness can be successfully treated, and not all family dynamics can be fixed. 14-year-old Andrea is dealing with a broken mother-daughter relationship and the concern that she too may be "going crazy." The road Andrea travels has sizeable potholes, but she's accompanied by supportive teammates who see her across the finish line. The content of YA literature is too realistic for "happily ever after," but the ending offers optimism and hope.

Ann has created a YA that has a broad appeal. I'm grandmother age and found the characters so compelling that I sat down and read it straight through. She has taken opened the door on the difficult subject of mental illness and given us a look into the lives of family members who live beside it. Her characters are realistic, the pace keeps you reading and the outcome gives hope. Wonderful debut novel!

RUNNING FOR MY LIFE is a can't-put-it-down novel, one that catches you up, folds you in and carries you into the pivotal-moment world of fourteen-year-old Andrea McKane. The earlier reviews here reveal the seriousness and depth of the challenge she faces. I'd like to add that Andrea is a great character--smart, honest, kind and uncertain, faltering on the tight wires--between hope and fear, tenderness and cruelty, unconditional love and heartbreaking rejection. But there are things in her life striving to tip the balance in her favor--her sweet Dad, a best friend (Margie), and the inanimate soulmate (Pedro). I loved this book--it's a great read for teens, but is powerful, compelling, and worthwhile for anyone, any age. I give it a soaring recommendation.

I loved this book, and could not put it down. I loved Andrea, and being an older woman, I felt protective of her, as her mother, and felt angry that her own mother wasn't taking care of her. This book truly shows the sides of mental illness in a way I had never read before. I highly recommend this to teens and all ages. Everyone will enjoy this book, and now that I'm done reading it, I'm missing Andrea and her friends, and Pedro!!