Run Like a Girl by Amaka Egbe
Publisher summary: Dera Edwards knows her life is over when she’s shipped off to live with her estranged father in the middle of White Suburbia. To make matters worse, Dera learns that her new school doesn’t have a girls’ track team, shattering her dreams of getting a track scholarship and, one day, competing in the Olympics.
Not one to give up easily, Dera joins the boys’ team instead. But while she has the school administration’s blessing, her new teammates and classmates are less than welcoming. Between that and her frustratingly distant father, Dera is positive her junior year is ruined.
Just as she starts to accept her status as an outsider, Dera’s approached by her classmate Rosalyn, who wants to feature Dera’s story in her blog. Eager to change the narrative and spend more time with Rosalyn’s gorgeous cousin Gael–also known as one of the few teammates who will talk to her–Dera agrees.
But when she goes viral and gains attention across the state, Dera’s new notoriety opens the door for trolls both online and at school. Paired with her deteriorating relationship with her father, she soon finds everything to be too much. Will Dera be able to keep outrunning her problems, or will her dream be the very thing that derails her?
My Thoughts: As someone who is just getting back to running after an injury and long recovery, I was very excited to find a book featuring a runner. It’s more than a book about running though and that definitely made it better. Dera does share some of her running experiences, but there is more about her relationships and about the difficulties of navigating being a girl on a boys’ track team.
Being on the boys’ team in a new school is a lot alone, but living with her father is also a huge adjustment. There are many issues to work through and Dera is in no hurry to get started.
Dera had to leave her friends, but does manage to connect with several people fairly quickly. The captain of the track team is one of the more interesting characters. Liam is the first student she meets, but he is also one of those people who has the gift of hospitality. He’s a welcomer and encourager.
Dera also meets another Black girl at school right away, but they have very different ideas about how to move and exist in such a white space. This leads to some uncomfortable interactions between the two. Where Dera thinks their Blackness gives them something in common, Arnell believes otherwise.
I appreciated the use of online journalism by Rosalyn. It amplifies Dera’s story, but it also adds more complications that snowball a bit. Rosalyn is quite savvy, but also, helps Dera get a little closer to Gael. The romance aspect of the book is not necessarily the focal point, but does take up a good portion of the story.
I expected more running on the pages, but the actual running and races aren’t described in a ton of detail. You get some running, but for non-runners it shouldn’t be too much.
Recommendation: Get it now. Dera’s story is a unique one told with a delightful sense of humor and lots of love.
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 352
Availability: On shelves now
Review copy: Final copy via publisher