“As much as thinking this upsets me, I'm starting to see that I need the merry-go-round much more than it needs me, and in the end my choice is to hop back on or get left in the dust.”
― Wendelin Van Draanen, The Running Dream
Summary
Jessica is a senior at Langston High. She's a SUPERB runner but her dreams are crushed when she gets into an accident. Running was Jessica's life but after that horrifying accident, not only her dreams, but also her leg got crushed. She was a leg amputee. She thought her life was over. She knew she would get a prosthetic leg on which she could walk again. But what's walking when your life is all about running?
She didn't know how to react in ANY way. Some people she's never talked to before high-fived her in the hallway congratulating her and some people who were her friends walk past her like she's invisible. She felt as if she was the center of attention yet still the invisible disabled girl. When she was seated in the back of the classroom because there was no room for her wheelchair in the front, she sat next to a girl she never knew of before-Rosa. Little did she know, that Rosa would be her starting and finish line.
Jessica would be more offended that people walked past her as if she wasn't even there if she hadn't done the same. She didn't even know Rosa existed. Through all the time Jessica had missed in math, Rosa was there for her through notes. They became some-what friends but Jessica still felt awkward. With all the help in math needed to be done, Rosa and Jess grow closer. She started backing Rosa up when Fiona and Gavin didn't "approve" of being friends with Rosa. They eventually realized that Rosa is no different than Jessica.
Jess realizes Rosa has NEVER felt what it felt like to cross the finish line. She hasn't had her legs her whole life, she didn't even know what it was like to walk! As she starts "jogging" on her prosthetic leg, she runs into Rosa sitting outside her own home. They decide to have a little talk and Jess tells Rosa that running is not just Jess' passion, but her way of life. Since then, Jessica not only wants to cross the finish line but she wants Rosa with her.
Support comes from all ways for Jessica's new running prosthetic leg. Her team starts up a fundraiser and Gavin puts an article in the newspaper. Secretly, the girl back on both her feet again starts practicing for Rosa. She pushes a wheelchair full of plant feeder soil everyday. She picks a race not only hard to compete for a normal, fit runner but nearly impossible for a runner pushing close to a 115 pounds. It's a 10 mile marathon. Gavin, Jessica's new boyfriend, and Fiona don't think the idea is great in matter's that Jessica had just started running again and she's already putting so much pressure on herself. Later on though, they're the same encouraging team of Jess and Rosa. Pushing herself through the race, Jessica not only runs on her both feet after the freak accident, but takes her inspiration, Rosa, with her. Rosa might have been the inspiration for Jessica, but together they were the inspiration for everyone.
She didn't know how to react in ANY way. Some people she's never talked to before high-fived her in the hallway congratulating her and some people who were her friends walk past her like she's invisible. She felt as if she was the center of attention yet still the invisible disabled girl. When she was seated in the back of the classroom because there was no room for her wheelchair in the front, she sat next to a girl she never knew of before-Rosa. Little did she know, that Rosa would be her starting and finish line.
Jessica would be more offended that people walked past her as if she wasn't even there if she hadn't done the same. She didn't even know Rosa existed. Through all the time Jessica had missed in math, Rosa was there for her through notes. They became some-what friends but Jessica still felt awkward. With all the help in math needed to be done, Rosa and Jess grow closer. She started backing Rosa up when Fiona and Gavin didn't "approve" of being friends with Rosa. They eventually realized that Rosa is no different than Jessica.
Jess realizes Rosa has NEVER felt what it felt like to cross the finish line. She hasn't had her legs her whole life, she didn't even know what it was like to walk! As she starts "jogging" on her prosthetic leg, she runs into Rosa sitting outside her own home. They decide to have a little talk and Jess tells Rosa that running is not just Jess' passion, but her way of life. Since then, Jessica not only wants to cross the finish line but she wants Rosa with her.
Support comes from all ways for Jessica's new running prosthetic leg. Her team starts up a fundraiser and Gavin puts an article in the newspaper. Secretly, the girl back on both her feet again starts practicing for Rosa. She pushes a wheelchair full of plant feeder soil everyday. She picks a race not only hard to compete for a normal, fit runner but nearly impossible for a runner pushing close to a 115 pounds. It's a 10 mile marathon. Gavin, Jessica's new boyfriend, and Fiona don't think the idea is great in matter's that Jessica had just started running again and she's already putting so much pressure on herself. Later on though, they're the same encouraging team of Jess and Rosa. Pushing herself through the race, Jessica not only runs on her both feet after the freak accident, but takes her inspiration, Rosa, with her. Rosa might have been the inspiration for Jessica, but together they were the inspiration for everyone.