The Runner

Rating:
Summary: My Review of the Runner
Review: The things that happen through out this book are very meaningful. The main character Bullet has to go through a lot. Such as getting out of the box that his father has built around him and his struggle to over come his racist out look on the people around him. These are some very good issues and I like how they are thought out in the book. So over all I thought this book was worth reading and I recomend it to others.

Rating:
Summary: A book about a boy named Bullet facing lifes challenges.
Review: This book was confusing when I began reading it but when I got near the end it all started coming together and made sense. It shows how much racism there actually is in the world and how one little thing can change how you feel about certain kinds of people or religions, like for example Bullet changed his idea of blacks when he had to coach a black boy on his track team. Overall I feel that this book had a strong account of prejidice and it was well writen.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: This is a wonderful book. Voigt skillfully balances themes of family tension, race relations, love and loss and death, separation and reconciliation in the story of Bullet's life. I highly recommend it, with or without the other Tillerman books.

Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. The author has a finely honed skill at putting the reader into a character's life in such a way that we not only feel the pressures exerted on that character, but grasp, from the inside, why a character is particularly challenging, and makes sometimes horrifying choices. Not only are the characters amazing in their richness, detail and believability, but we learn from them about being human and young. The prose is elegant as well. I feel as though I've been to these marshes and woods of the Chesapeake.

Rating:
Summary: A prequel to the Tillerman family series.
Review: While different in style from Cynthia Voight's other stories of the Tillerman family and their peers in Crisfield, The Runner is a very strong book. Samuel "Bullet" Tillerman, the uncle of _Homecoming_'s protagonist Dicey, is a high school student aiming for a track scholarship. Dealing with antagonism from school faculty and other students, he finds himself headed down another path. This book has a more mature, and dare I say masculine tone than the Dicey books. My only criticism is wishing for more dialogue concerning Bullet's sister's (and Dicey's mother) relationship with her erstwhile husband Frank, who makes a brief appearance.

Rating:
Summary: A unusually mature kid's book.
Review: Why are the best books written for kids or young adults? This is an incredible book about running, racism, war, the '60's and integrity. Is Bullet a loner, a racist, an athlete or a hero? To me he's just someone being true to himself. Also, Voigt made me dig through Housman's poetry for great lines. A very moving book that should be picked up as an adult.