Runner

By Carl Deuker

Reviewed by Edward G., BCCHS student

Runner is about a boy named Chance, a teenager that is living in a sailboat in Seattle, Washington with his dad who always drinks. He helps his dad pay the mortgage for the boat by working in a cruddy restaurant as a dishwasher. His dad then gets fired, so Chance tries to get a raise in his job but can't. But one day, a fat guy who always looks at Chance run every night comes to him and tells that he has a job for him. He just needs Chance to run and pick up a package everyday under a tree. That’s when the story gets interesting and conflicting.

My opinion of the book is that it’s very intriguing. This book will catch your attention in the beginning and then gets you to read more and more. The title makes you curious about why it’s called Runner; it makes you wonder what the ending would be like, and you will have so many theories about the ending in this book.

My favorite character in this book is Chance. He thinks just like me sometimes and does some things that I do in a related way just like this quote from the story, “… I did what I always do when I feel like my head is about to explode: I ran”. I go outside once in a while to cool myself down whenever I get mad. I like that he thinks so much and wonders about things that he does, what people do, and what people say.

People who might like this book would be people who like mysterious, fast-paced, mind-blowing, surprising, and suspenseful books. This book will blow your mind in the end and I would really recommend this book to anyone. A lot of people will like this book, it’s very simple to read and easy to follow. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. To me it’s not 5 out of 5 stars because it needs a little more suspense, but everything else about this book is great.