Sixteen year old Jessica was born to run. She loves it and she's good at it. But her life takes an unexpected turn when she's in an accident and she loses her leg. As we meet Jessica, she is having to face life without being able to walk to the bathroom much less run and win an 800 meter race. The story explores how Jessica feels physically and emotionally and how her parents and her sister handle the loss as well. There are the days in the hospital healing and learning to get around on crutches and finally the day when Jessica can go home. She is blessed with a great friend, Fiona, who believes in her, celebrates her and who urges her back to everything normal and that normal includes going back to school and a guy named Gavin Vance. Her teachers welcome her back and treat her carefully but in math class she wheels herself to the back and finds a place next to a girl named Rosa who is also wheelchair bound. Rosa is about to teach Jessica math and maturity. The medical costs pile up, Jessica's teammates begin to fundraise for her, and Jessica works to strengthen herself physically and emotionally with the help of some upbeat characters. So, how would you feel if you had to give up the thing that was most important to you? Short chapters move the pace of the book and the technical descriptions of the care of the severed limb and the details of the prosthesis will intrigue curious readers who wonder, "What if?"
Ages 10-15 336 pages
Recommended by: Barb
*****
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xteen-year old Jessica is a star track athlete for her high school team until one day on the way home from a meet the bus is in an accident killing one of the team members and leaving Jessica with her leg amputated below the knee. As far as Jessica is concerned life is over! She feels that Lucy her friend who died was luckier than her. How can she go on? Even if they say she can walk again she lives to run and as far as she is concerned that dream will never happen.
There are not many people she treats well feeling only pity for herself until slowly she sees that just maybe she can move forward. Maybe she can walk again and maybe even run!
Needing to catch up with her past due work she is tutored by Rosa who has Cerebral Palsy and is in a wheel chair. All Rosa wants is for people to see her and not her condition. They soon become friends and as Jessica realizes that she was only seeing Rosa’s condition she decides to do what she can to help others see Rosa as a person. With this desire and the support of her track team who help raise money for her new running leg Jessica’s life is transformed into one where hope and dreams can come true.
This is a very quick and uplifting book. A real feel good book.
Recommended by: Joleen Waltman, Librarian, Idaho USA
