May 27, 2025 by Aladdin
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Leta lives with her mother and younger sister Amelia, and the family is struggling since the father has moved out. The mother works two jobs, and still struggles to put food on the table. Pops, the mother's father, helps out, but he is still running a heating and cooling business. He's also a manic runner at 65, sometimes going 18 miles a day, and lives in a retirement facility. Leta has picked up his passion for running, and is determined to be the best at the 400 yard race. It's tough, though, when she has to glue the sole of her running shoes back together, and doesn't have enough fuel for her body. Coach Mac is fairly understanding, and provides her runners with sports bras, food, and information about their periods and health. Even Coach Mac, though, can't provide new shoes. Leta is too ashamed to get free lunch, even though her friends Chrissy, Raina, and Sabrina also have backgrounds where there is some struggle. Leta wants to do really well in the upcoming state meets, hoping that her father will read the write up in the newspaper and come back to visit, especially since Amelia is looking forward to a daddy-daughter dance. When there's no food in the house, Pops often takes the girls out for fast food, and Leta starts to pick at this, even though Coach Mac talks to the runners frequently about eating disorders and how detrimental poor diet can be to runners' health. Since Leta often sees her mother eat less than she needs, this example sometimes speaks more loudly. On top of these serious challanges, there are standard middle school issues like whether to shave her legs, problems with Amelia, new girl Natalie, mean girls Briana and Brooke, and the crush that Leta has on Benny. When over training leads to a possible stress fracture, Leta decides to run through the pain to hopefully still win her race. Pops helps by showing her how to train in a pool, but stress fractures don't get better on their own. Will Leta and her mother finally be able to ask for help and find a better way forward?
Strengths: I'm always a fan of books about running, and Leta's challenges with training will speak to a lot of readers. Pops is a fantastic character, and I love that he is still running in his short shorts! His difficult relationship with Leta's mother is echoed in Leta's relationship with her own father. Leta often has to take care of Amelia, and we don't see this portrayed enough in middle grade literature; I loved that Amelia chafed under Leta's supervision and had her own after school agenda. Coach Mac tries to be aware of all of the challenges facing her athletes, but can't see every need. There is excellent information about periods, and even a scene where Leta's friends instruct her on how to use a tampon through the bathroom door. While Leta deals with a lot of difficult situations, there is an air of hope about her story, and a satisfying ending.
Weaknesses: Free and reduced lunch programs, like other details about schools, vary from place to place. In my district, students have an account number that they give to the cafeteria, and no one knows if they have free lunch, or if their parents put money in the account. We also have a "share box", and Leta could pick up as many carrots and apples as she could eat, and other schools in my district even have food pantries. Other areas might be more like Leta's school. I would have liked to see a little more of the mother, but her absence drives much of the plot. Seeing more of Leta's relationship with Benny would also have lightened the mood.
What I really think: This is a great choice for readers who liked Gerber's Taking Up Space, Dunlap's Racing the Clouds, or Morrison's Keeping Pace. If Barbara Dee wrote a novel with sports, it would read a bit like this title.
Weaknesses: Free and reduced lunch programs, like other details about schools, vary from place to place. In my district, students have an account number that they give to the cafeteria, and no one knows if they have free lunch, or if their parents put money in the account. We also have a "share box", and Leta could pick up as many carrots and apples as she could eat, and other schools in my district even have food pantries. Other areas might be more like Leta's school. I would have liked to see a little more of the mother, but her absence drives much of the plot. Seeing more of Leta's relationship with Benny would also have lightened the mood.
What I really think: This is a great choice for readers who liked Gerber's Taking Up Space, Dunlap's Racing the Clouds, or Morrison's Keeping Pace. If Barbara Dee wrote a novel with sports, it would read a bit like this title.
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