Runner

Bibliography

Deuker, Carl. Runner. 2005. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company ISBN 0-618-54298-1

Critical Analysis

Carl Deuker's novel Runner leaves readers anxious to keep pace with main character Chance Taylor love of running when his daily workouts turn into a secretive, high-paying job. Chance lives on a small boat that can't even sail called the Tiny Dancer, in a marina with his alcoholic father who cannot hold a job for any length of time, leaving it up to Chance to figure out a way to pay the piling bills. His part-time job washing dishes on the weekend isn't cutting it and Chance spends most of his time worrying about things that teenagers shouldn't have to be worried about like "the moorage fee, the electric bill, the heating bill, the sewage fee, the food bills - and how [they] didn't have money to pay any of them." For these reasons, when Chance is offered a job picking up undisclosed packages on his daily runs and leaving them in a locker at the marina bathrooms for a few hundred dollars a week he is in no position to refuse, even if it is illegal...

Deuker's choice of first person narrative gives young readers direct insight to a side of life that many will never have to deal with, creating a character that faces obstacles that less-fortunate teens have to deal with everyday, like if there will be any food to eat for the next week. Teens from all walks of life will be able to relate to Chance however. His character is three-dimensional and despite the fact that he has to make many adult decisions, the typical senior year questions, like what to do after graduation and girl problems, are still confronted as well. Readers follow his thought process as he makes these difficult decisions and are given the opportunity to question what they would have done in the same situation.

A theme of politics runs cleverly throughout the novel as well. Chance's only friend Melissa is quite vocal about her political opinions in class, especially when a pompous, high school alumni that graduated a few short years early comes back to visit the school after enlisting in the Army and talks about how great it is. The threat of foreign smugglers at the nearby ports is ever-present in the book as well. Though mentioned frequently, the politics throughout the book are integrated so well that they set the scene rather than take over the book.

Runner will have readers on the edge of their seats as they try to keep up with Chance and his fast-paced journey to get off the Tiny Dancer and create a better life for himself.  

Book Discussion Ideas

Discuss the decisions that Chance makes throughout the book and what would have happened if he had made another choice. Ask if there were other choices. Discuss the choices other characters could have made in the book as well and what the outcome could have been. 

Example Questions:

What would have happened if Chance never spoke up in class to defend Melissa? 

What if Chance had not taken the job the man at the dock offered?

What would have happened if Chance's mother never left?

What if Melissa's father had not helped Chance at the end of the book?

External Assessment

"When his alcoholic Gulf War veteran father is fired from the first steady job he has held in years, Chance Taylor is understandably glum. He has no idea where they'll get the money to pay the moorage fees for the run-down sailboat they call home. Since his parents' divorce, Chance has tried to keep a low profile in school, and his only pleasure is running by himself along the Seattle waterfront. When a marina office employee offers to pay him $250 a week to pick up occasional packages at a tree along his running route, Chance is deeply suspicious of what they may contain but desperate enough to accept this opportunity to pay the bills. As this new job gradually becomes more dangerous and more clearly illegal, Chance's father is able to rise above his personal problems to help extricate his son. In a gripping climax complete with SWAT teams swarming throughout the marina as Coast Guard patrol boats close in on terrorists, Chance is afforded a final glimpse of the heroic man his father once was. Writing in a fast-paced, action-packed, but at the same time reflective style, Deuker uses fewer sports scenes than in his previous novels, and instead uses running as a hook to entice readers into a perceptive coming-of-age novel. A subplot involving Chance's friendship with a wealthy female classmate whose father was a close high school friend of Chance's father is nicely integrated into this timely, compelling story."- Ginny Gustin, School Library Journal

"My dad never hit me; never yelled at me. He was just a drunk." High-school senior Chance is a "ghost-walker" at school--barely talking, just passing, finding escape only in long, solitary, after-school runs. His hard-drinking father can't keep a job, and Chance worries how they will pay the mooring fees for their dilapidated, 30-foot sailboat home in Pugent Sound. When a marina worker offers him a job picking up secret packages, Chance can't turn down the lucrative opportunity, even though he's sure it's illegal. But as a friendship with smart student Melissa grows, so does Chance's concern about his job and its possible links to local smuggling rings. Deuker drops plenty of hints about what's in the packages, but the tragic blockbuster ending may still be a surprise. The authenticity of Chance's first-person voice occasionally wavers, and the initial pacing of the story is sometimes awkward. But the sports and suspenseful action will easily draw readers, as will the gripping adventure's consideration of crime, class, ineffectual parents, and a teen's questions about his uncertain future."- Booklist