Running on the Cracks

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A runaway thriller for fans of Anne Cassidy, Jennifer Niven and Malorie Blackman, by former Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson.

Driven away by the disturbing behaviour of her uncle, fifteen-year-old Leo flees her aunt's home, where she has been living since the sudden death of her musician parents. She heads to Glasgow, hoping to discover the secret behind the feud between her father and his Chinese family. Leo's journey is peopled with fabulous characters, including thirteen-year old Finlay - an amateur sleuth and even-more-amateur Goth - and Mary - a Johnny Cash-and-chocolate-biscuit fanatic.

In Running on the Cracks, Julia Donaldson has crafted a funny, moving, heart-stopping thriller with characters that will stay in your heart long after you have turned the final uplifting page. Julia has long been a household name thanks to her raft of best-selling picture books, but in her first book for teens she offers readers who enjoyed The Gruffalo as a child something completely new.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Running on the Cracks LEO Station Loo This is the bit I've planned. I know what I've got to do, but it would help if my hands would stop shaking. It would help if there was more space too. I should have gone into the disabled loo instead of the ladies. The cubicle is tiny; the gap under the door feels huge. What if anyone peers under it? Instead of seeing two feet plonked apart facing forward, they'll see a bulky school bag and various clothes going in and out of it. First, off comes the brand-new, snooty blazer with the high school crest on it. Poor blazer--it'll never enter the high school now. A door swings. Footsteps, coming toward me. Another door bangs in my ear. Someone is in the loo next to mine. I freeze with my tie half unknotted. Don't be so paranoid! No one's looking for me yet. I unbutton the white shirt and slip out of the black skirt. An echoey announcement wafts through the air. It's for the Exeter train, not mine, but there's not much time left. I rummage in the school bag. Beneath the empty filesand folders and the unused gym kit is my precious sketchbook. That's not what I'm looking for, though it's good to feel its familiar battered corners. Here it is, the secret carrier bag. And inside it, the jumble-sale clothes. I still think that jumble sale was a brainwave. A total disguise, and such a cheap one--only £3.50 altogether for the beige hooded anorak, the white T-shirt and red sweater, the definitely nondesigner jeans and trainers (how Caitlin and Flo would slag me off if they saw them!), and the pair of sunglasses. Actually, I'm not so sure about the sunglasses anymore. Maybe they'll just draw attention to me. After all, the clothes aren't summery. In fact, they're too hot for this warm September day, but then Glasgow is bound to be colder than Bristol, and it'll be winter all too soon. Now for the cleverest trick of all. Folded up inside the carrier bag is a flimsy nylon hold-all--another jumble-sale bargain. It cost all of 40p and is big enough to contain my school bag and all its contents. Now I won't have to leave the school bag in the station or risk having it spotted and identified on the train. The hold-all even has a zip pocket for my purse. No need to check the contents of the purse, really, but I do: £39.60 and a ticket. The wrong ticket. That's all right, though; it's all part of the plan. Insteadof a ticket to Glasgow, I've bought a standard day single to Paddington. The ticket will be as unused as the school uniform, and it cost a lot more than the jumble-sale clothes, but it was worth it. Along with my note, it should put them off the scent for a while. "I'm going to see the Dali exhibition at the Tate Britain," I told the ticket clerk. He'll remember me now. That's the plan anyway. The £39.60 is just enough to pay for my ticket on the Glasgow train if I have to, but I do hope I won't. I'm planning some more sneaky visits to the loo, timed to coincide with any ticket inspections. I remember Mum's scorn for fare-dodgers. "Sorry, Mum, but this is different," I tell her. I don't really believe in heaven, but I still find myself talking to her--and to Dad too. The transformation is complete, and the ladies is all mine again. Furtively--no, casually; I mustn't look furtive--I emerge and look at myself in the mirror. The clothes and hold-all are nondescript, which is the effect I wanted. My face is unfortunately not nondescript at all. I look Chinese, like Dad, instead of English like Mum. (For some reason, thinking about Mum and Dad isn't hurting so much as usual. I suppose the excitement and nerves are covering up the hurt.) If my hair had been long, I could maybe have cut it, but it's short, black, and shiny. Hood up? Hood down? Sunglasses on? Off? No time for dithering, as a crescendo of train wheelsand a floating announcement remind me: "The nine forty-five for Glasgow Central is now arriving at platform one. Calling at Cheltenham Spa, Birmingham New Street, Preston, Carlisle, and Motherwell. Platform one for the nine forty-five to Glasgow Central." Suddenly I feel sick. It's the thought of all those stops and starts. It's going to be a long journey, and I don't know what's at the other end. Copyright (c) 2009 by Julia Donaldson Excerpted from Running on the Cracks by Julia Donaldson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

This engaging, bittersweet story follows biracial British teenager Leonora ("Leo") Watts-Chan, who was orphaned when her parents were killed in a plane crash, and has fled the home of her maternal aunt and perverted uncle. Interspersed with Leo's first-person narration are third-person accounts of Finlay, a teenage goth wannabe who first encounters Leo when she steals a bag of doughnuts; the musings of Leo's uncle, hot on her trail; and newspaper articles and letters. Rescued from homelessness by Mary, a former psychiatric patient, Leo is determined to find the paternal grandparents she has never met. With the help of unlikely friends and a string of coincidences, Leo finds her father's family and learns the value of friendship ("I kind of think of the friends as my family too, as they've all been so good to me"). The characters in Donaldson's (The Gruffalo; Room on the Broom) YA debut are well drawn and their imperfections are authentic, particularly Mary's battle with mental illness. Despite heavy themes, the story is neither bleak nor gritty. The fast pace and short chapters should appeal to readers, who will celebrate the hopeful ending. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

Gr 6-9-Still reeling from the recent death of her parents in a plane crash, Leo, a 15-year-old girl of mixed Chinese and English descent, runs away from an unpleasant living situation and boards a train to Glasgow. Remaining incognito in the city proves to be difficult, but she eventually finds refuge with a kindhearted, mentally ill woman. After seeing Leo's picture in the paper, Finlay, a 13-year-old Goth paperboy, figures out who she is. They become friends as he learns of her circumstances and volunteers to help her locate the Chinese grandparents she's never known. Finding them is imperative, as Leo doesn't want to be forced back to her aunt's home, a dangerous environment with a leering Uncle John. Donaldson's novel, told from the shifting perspectives of Leo, Finlay, and Uncle John, is slow to start, but picks up as Leo's predator uncle appears on the scene to track her down. American readers will find bits of the dialect hard to understand, but the slowly building suspense, strong characterizations, and a narrative that includes information about the Chinese immigrant experience in Scotland and insight into the lives of the mentally ill make the book a worthwhile read.-Shawna Sherman, Hayward Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

When Leonora ( Leo for short) loses both parents in an airplane crash, the 15-year-old is sent to live with her aunt and uncle. But when the latter begins demonstrating an unhealthy sexual interest in her, Leo runs away to Glasgow in search of her father's Chinese family (she's of mixed heritage). Now homeless, she at first finds only more trouble but gradually makes some surprising and surprisingly helpful friends. But wouldn't you know it, soon enough her creepy uncle comes back into her life. British picture-book author Donaldson's first YA novel is distinguished by its large cast of eccentric secondary characters and its sensitive treatment of mental illness. Some readers might be baffled by the heavy use of British slang, but Leo's plight is universal and sure to attract the attention and empathy of many American teens.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2009 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Leonora (aka Leo), a recently orphaned half-white/half-Chinese teen, has run away from her unhappy aunt and uncle's house in England to search for her estranged Chinese grandparents in Glasgow. Finlay, a wannabe Goth and part-time paperboy, is trying to grow his meager savings by working a snack van on the weekends, when starving Leo steals a bag of donuts. The ensuing chase leads to an unlikely friendship, as the two set out on a quest to find Leo's family. On the way they become involved with an assortment of down-and-out street people, including a sweet, batty old lady named Mary, who lets Leo crash in her hovel of a flat. Meanwhile, Leo's unsavory uncle has traced her to Glasgow and the race is on as to whether he will find her before she finds safety. This fast-paced, richly characterized Scottish import, imbued with the important message that friends are the family you choose, will be a boon to libraries looking to add more world literature to their teen collections. (Fiction. 12 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.