The novel Agony Hill gets its name from an eponymous trail featured in the book, a hill whose runners generally tend to be masochistic. It is here we meet Eric, a runner.

Eric is cocky, self-assured, handsome (and well aware of it), and has a wild side. He tends to lack respect for people who aren't as good as him, and loathe those who are better than him. But when a traumatic accident strikes his senior year of high school, any prospects of an athletic scholarship flutters away, like leaves in the wind.

Agony Hill is definitely a coming-of-age story in which the protagonist learns several valuable life lessons, and strives for a goal many believe to be unattainable. It's the kind of story where you roll your eyes when Eric does something stupid, and cheer him on when he gets something right. You see the path he must run, and want to see him finish running it.

The story is a pretty solid story. The characters are believable, and they all undergo changes, and for the most part, become better.

The book, however, is not free of any flaws. One major distraction was the dialogue. At times, the things the characters said seemed unreal. You know? Real people don't talk like that. They may have talked like that in the late '70's and early '80's, I'll admit. I wasn't paying enough attention back then to notice. Likewise, the dialogue was choppy, as it tended to abscond from contractions, giving teenage informal chit-chat a feeling of extreme formality.

The other problem I had with an otherwise good story was the fact that the author would usually tell you how the characters were feeling, even when such was obvious from their dialogue. Likewise, the continual jumping back and forth into characters' heads can get distracting.

But don't get me wrong: Agony Hill is not unreadable. So, if you're looking for an inspirational story that will appeal to runners, walkers, and sitters alike, and you have no problem with the aforementioned flaws, then you'll probably find that Agony Hill, while somewhat bumpy, is still an easy downhill jog. ( )

This coming of age story is centered around Eric, a distance runner in high school. We follow Eric as he learns important lessons about himself, the value of friendship, and the difficult choices faced by all young people as they discover the skills to become the person they want to be.

I found this book hard to get into and the characters could use more depth. There were also a few gramatical and formatting issues. It is still an enjoyable read, in the same inspirational vein of "The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay. ( )

Agony Hill is a really good book to read. I enjoyed it immensely an I hope to read future things from Roger S. This book touched my heart because my grandfather started running after a run of cancer. He went to Russia and Greece to run. I could see him as the young teenager running and the goals runners set for themselves. Great read for the sportstype or not. It is for anyone. ( )

The book had a good story line for a runner's story. Overcoming obstacles is typical to most novels, but it's done pretty well here. There were some grammatical errors and areas where the text did not flow well, but the novel was overall a rather enjoyable read. ( )

An interesting coming-of -age story. Well written, and thoughtful, I would recommend it. ( )