The Long Run

June 1, 2016

Gr 6 Up-Travis Hawk is three months away from his 18th birthday and adulthood. But three months is too long to stay with his alcoholic father and the bullies at the Seattle homeless shelter where they live. So Travis sets off across the country to his childhood home in Maine, taking buses and hitching rides, drawing on the advice of his Passamaquoddy grandparents to avoid notice, survive the elements, and find strength in the world around him. A narrow escape from local thugs in Missoula notwithstanding, Travis's journey is one of generous strangers sharing life lessons in exchange for company on a long drive or a few hours of work. A poet leaves him a verse and a $20 bill, a cowboy and his sister open up their home, and a kind police officer finds him a job with an elderly Syrian restaurateur and a ride with a wealthy senator. Travis and his father are quietly complex characters. The teen loves his dad in spite of the alcoholism, and his father, an Iraq War veteran, clearly has strong ties to his Native heritage that he has proudly passed on to his son, but employment instability has taken its toll on his ability to be the parent Travis needs. Written for a teen audience but at a lower reading level, this work is fast-paced and offers plenty of action without sacrificing depth and authentic emotional experiences. VERDICT A good choice for middle and high school collections in need of low-level reads that are well written, engaging, and uplifting.-Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN

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