Runaway by Wendelin van Draanen
**** stars
Runaway tells the story about 12 year old orphan girl named Holly. Holly's had some problems in her life, and has been lost in the foster care system. The current family she is living with treats her terribly, locking her in a laundry room most of the time, among other things. Her English teacher, Ms Leone, doesn't know Holly's current situation, but gives her a journal because she thinks it will help.
Eventually, Holly "breaks" one too many rules in her foster parent's house. She gets severely punished, and decides to run away. She gathers some supplies and steals off one day; and just like that, she's gone. The first part, getting out of the area, is the hardest. Everyone snoops too much and she has problems, but once she can hop on a train heading west, she's clear some of her problems.
When she's travelling up and down the west coast, she runs into problems she didn't even imagine when she left: what will she use for shelter? how will she keep the cops' suspicions off of her? how does a 12 year old girl protect herself on the streets of Los Angeles?
I thought Runaway was a good book. The topic of being orphaned and what a girl in an abusive home would have to deal with was something I had never really thought of before. The fact that Holly is only 12 years old gives it a different tone though. A happy, optimistic tone that says "I can do this. Even if everything doesn't go my way, I can do this because I'm strong and I'll make it work!" Holly gets in some tough spots along the way, but she does make it work in the end. The journal format made it seem more personal, and it was a great ~6 hours I spent reading.
4 comments:
Was this intended for younger audience than high school or do you think your age group would like it since the protagonist is only 12??
Interesting, you don't see too many books that tackle problems in the foster care system.
This book sounds like it might be interesting to read. I shall have to check it out.
Check out! =)
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