Missouri high schooler Kevin Schuler is fast. In cross-country and his track events, the 1600 and 800, he is untouchable. People hail him; he is showered with praise and rewards. However, Kevin wants none of that--he loves to run, but not compete and wishes to be left in peace. This story, however, also follows Kevin as he tries to work through his personal issues that originate from the accident that killed all his teammates from his first track team.
This book has a lot going for it. Jackson does a really good job of setting up Kevin's situation and also characterizes him well. The writing is extremely engaging, and I found myself reading huge chunks of the book at once, even though oftentimes I had other things I should have been doing (like homework or sleeping). The book reminded me a bit of some of Chris Crutcher's work in that Jackson uses sports to address more personal issues. My one complaint with the book was that I wanted to see more of Kevin's character development. His issues and Jackson's presentation of them are compelling, but, because I did not always like Kevin as a narrator, I wanted to read about more changes in him. That being said, the book is compelling enough and is a good read.
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