Draanen, Wendelin Vann. The Running Dream. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2001. ISBN 9780375896798
Sixteen year old Jessica is a runner. Running makes her feel alive. She first fell in love with running in third grade and never once waivered in her fanaticism for the sport. After a record breaking track meet, Jessica’s school bus is in an accident her leg is amputated. Jessica must now learn to carefully maneuver through a world that was once so familiar. Life’s ordinary routine becomes a monumental task and going to school is suddenly terrifying. Jessica no longer feels whole and worries that others only see what she is missing. With this new perspective, Jessica becomes friends with Rosa, a girl in her class with Cerebral Palsy, who changes her life. With the help of family and friends, and especially Rosa, Jessica slowly learns to reclaim her self-confidence, purpose, and love of running.
Critical Analysis
Jessica is a strong, independent female character whom faces and overcomes many obstacles through the course of the book. Draanen has presented a realistic look at the grieving process for Jessica’s loss of her leg and track dreams and aspirations. When Jessica initially loses her leg she feels as if her world is crashing down around her, and turns to unhealthy coping mechanisms.
With time Jessica comes to accept the reality that her leg is gone and begins to refocus her life. She learns to climb stairs and eventually returns to school. She is surprised to realize that many students are enthusiastic upon her return and acknowledge her excitedly. Other students, however, seem to ignore her or appear uncomfortable around her. When Jessica is told to sit in the back of the room next to Rosa, a student with cerebral palsy, Jessica suddenly feels guilty. Just as students were ignoring her, she too had once ignored Rosa. Draanen is careful to give Rosa’s character a personality that helps the reader see her beyond her disability. Rosa is insightful, smart, and witty with her own aspirations. A strong friendship develops between Rosa and Jessica as Rosa tutors Jessica in math. Jessica’s guilt fades and she comes to realize that Rosa, like her, is a girl who wants others to see them for more than their disabilities.
Draanen provides incredible detail that helps the reader understand Jessica’s journey from her swollen, scarred “stump” to decompression socks, and the incredible amount of work that goes into creating a useful prosthetic. When Jessica finally gets her prosthetic leg, she must deal with the accompanying reactions to the leg including the, “guys being wowed and the girls being revolted.” However, this struggle does not take away from Jessica’s joy at being able to once again walk. Although Jessica’s life seems to be getting easier, she still faces struggles both unique to her situation and universal to teenagers. Jessica worries about the cost of her medical bills, fears that no boy will ever like her, and worries that her leg is the reason no boy has asked her to prom. At the same time, she worries about making good grades and fights for increased independence from her parents.
Eventually, Jessica feels freed with a running leg. As she builds up strength and endurance, Jessica decides to give a gift back to her friend Rosa by pushing her wheelchair in a ten mile race. “Team Rosa” consists of Rosa, Jessica, and several friends who participate in the ten mile race with the goal of bringing awareness to individuals, not disabilities. By the end of the book Jessica too seems to have overcome her fears of being different and freely changes from her walking prosthetic to her running prosthetic in public. She is now used to the rhythm and sound of her new running, “whing, woosh, wing, woosh” and has an optimistic outlook on life.
Awards and Review Excerpts
Schneider Family Book Awards
YASLA Best Fiction For Young Adults
Booklist: “readers will truly feel what it’s like to walk (or run) a mile (or 10) in Jessica’s shoes”
Publisher’s Weekly: “Van Draanen sensitively conveys Jessica's struggles”
School Library Journal: “Readers will cheer for Jessica's recovery and be reminded to recognize people for their strengths and not overlook them because of their disabilities.”
Connections
Read other stories where teenage characters face obstacles and deal with their own disabilites.
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. ISBN 9780316013697
Draper, Susan M. Out of My Mind. ISBN 141697170X
Hershey, Mary. The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California.
ISBN 1595141502
Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. Reaching for Sun. ISBN 9781599900377
Read other books by Wendelin Van Draanen.
Draanen, Wendelin Vann. Flipped. ISBN 9780375825446
Draanen, Wendelin Vann. Runaway. ISBN 9780307975973
Draanen, Wendelin Vann. Swear to Howdy. ISBN 9780440419433
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