BIBLIOGRAPHY
Van Draanen, Wendelin.
2011. THE RUNNING DREAM. New
York: Random House Children's Books.
ISBN 9780375866678
PLOT SUMMARY
Sixteen-year-old Jessica Carlisle lives to run. As one of her high school's track stars,
Jessica is expected to beat out her top rivals and possibly earn a running
scholarship to go to college. However, a
devastating school bus accident ends her dreams, and she wakes up finding part
of her right leg amputated. THE RUNNING DREAM chronicles Jessica's physical and
emotional journeys as she is introduced to a new way of life and a new way of
thinking about others.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In her novel, THE RUNNING DREAM, Wendelin Van Draanen brings
a powerful and moving story to expose young readers to the realities and
challenges individuals with disabilities face.
Although fictional, readers are drawn into the story by the accurate
details the author consistently uses throughout its pages. Since Jessica is a partial leg amputee, Van
Draanen includes details of numerous visits to Dr. Wells, her orthotics doctor
who fits her with a prosthesis. Through
these visits, readers learn that most leg amputees are fitted with a temporary
limb while constant measurements and adjustments are made to ensure a
comfortable and accurate fit for a final limb.
Readers also learn that the first step in this process is taking a
plaster cast of the affected limb. This
is evident in a passage describing Jessica's first visit to Dr. Wells: "He
has me take off my shrinker sock. Then
he starts measuring. He uses tools like I've seen my dad use. A metal caliper.
A tape measure. Something that looks like a carpenter's square. He takes all sorts of measurements of my
stump side, and of my good side." Accurate details are also included in creating
the socket for the artificial limb and the various types of socks needed to
cushion the contact site: "Right on top of the stocking, he begins marking
places. Around my knee. Along what's left of my shin...The pencil
he's using is blue, and when he's done, the stocking looks like a little kid
scribbled on it." Inclusion of
these intricate details reveal that the author has done careful research on the process
amputees must go through when being fitted for a prosthesis.
Jessica's confrontation and acceptance of her disability is
the strength of this book. Van Draanen
does an exquisite job in providing readers with a first-hand account of the feelings
and thoughts someone endures when they must confront their disability. Jessica's journey from bleak hopelessness to
strength and hope is skillfully woven throughout the text. Jessica's struggles to accept her new life
without a limb are evident in the comments and thoughts she shares with the
audience. She says things such as
"My life is over... I wipe away my tears and nod, because the pain in my
leg is nothing compared to the one in my heart." When others try to encourage her and tell her
things will get better, she tells the audience "They talk some more, but I
stop listening. What does it matter how
long it takes? I'll never recover. I can't see how I'll ever even
adjust." However, as Jessica
overcomes challenges such as showering by herself, climbing her home's stairs,
and patiently waiting for her residual limb to arrive, she encounters
individuals who are just like her, living as amputees and leading normal
lives. Her attitude begins to change and
she begins to be grateful for what she does still have: "I rub my hands
together, spreading out the soap, and as I massage both sides of my head, I'm
thankful for my hands. Thankful to have
both of them." As she begins to
socialize with her friends again, their words of support and encouragement pull
her out of the darkness. This is evident
when Jessica reflects "I wipe my eyes with the napkin, and somewhere
inside me I can feel a shift. I'm
turning a corner...It feels so, so good."
By the end of the story, Jessica has come full circle and had learned
life can still go on, and her disability cannot limit her hopes and
dreams. As the last few pages of the
book draw to a close, readers are left feeling just as happy and fulfilled as
Jessica. She comments "One by one
by one. That's how I got through losing
my leg. Minute by minute by minute. Hour by hour by hour. Day by day by day. That's how anybody makes it through
anything." However, the most
powerful sentiments are found in the book's closing lines detailing Jessica's
growth: "Eight months ago it was a herculean effort to walk myself and my
IV stand to the bathroom. Today I ran my
friend ten miles across her first finish line.
Eight months ago I couldn't do anything.
This race made me believe that there's nothing I can't do." Readers are
left in awe as they witness Jessica's phenomenal transformation, and are
reminded, that although challenges may come, one must take it day by day to
come out of the trial stronger and better.
This 2012 Schneider Family Book Award winner also confronts
the many of the challenges individuals with disabilities face when dealing with
others. When Jessica finally returns to
school after the horrific accident, she notices the stares and averted eyes
from her fellow classmates. She fears
that people will only see her disability now and not her. These thoughts make reader reflect on their
own attitudes and behaviors around those that are disabled. Although difficult, Jessica knows that some
people do not know what to say or do, and whether they should even mention the
"elephant in the room."
Jessica realizes her own ignorance and prejudices when she is told to
sit next to Rosa, a fellow classmate in Jessica's math class that has cerebral
palsy. She describes "For a moment
my mind's blank. Then I realize she
means the special-needs girl who sits at the classroom. The girl in the motorized wheelchair. The girl who rarely talks and when she does,
is very hard to understand. I didn't
even know her name was Rosa." As
Jessica and Rosa forge a beautiful bond of friendship, Jessica realizes that
Rosa also has dreams she would like to fulfill, but given her condition, may
never be able to do. Jessica makes it a
mission to fulfill Rosa's dream of knowing what it feels like to run. As she trains to take Rosa on a ten mile run,
she emphasizes to those in her community "That's all anybody with a
disability wants. Don't sum up the
person based on what you see, or what you don't understand; get to know
them" and see them for who they are. Again, young readers will begin to think
about their own perceptions they may have towards those who have disabilities,
perhaps making them change how they speak and treat these special individuals.
REVIEWS
BOOKLIST: "Van Draanen's extensive research into both
running and amputees pays dividends readers will truly feel what it's like to
walk (or run) a mile (or 10) in Jessica's shoes."
CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: "The story is touching without
being maudlin. Although Jessica's story has a "happy ending," it also
comes with the reality of what it costs--physically, emotionally and
financially--to come back from such a devastating physical trauma."
KIRKUS: "the pace of Van Draanen's prose matches
Jessica's at her swiftest. Readers will zoom through the book just as Jessica
blazes around the track. A lively and lovely story."
CONNECTIONS
Have students watch and listen a short video of the author,
Wendelin Van Draanen, describing her inspiration for writing THE RUNNING
DREAM. This may be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAV5ActuNUU
Share similar books or books that have a similar theme:
Jordan Sonnenblick.
AFTER EVER AFTER. ISBN 054572287X
Helen Frost.
HIDDEN. ISBN 0374382212
Lauren Baratz-Logsted.
CRAZY BEAUTIFUL. ISBN 0547403100
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