The Runner

After reading this, I'm surprised it was Dicey's Song and not this book that won the Newbery. I knew going into this that the book would be intense - if one has read the previous installments in the cycle, they'd know Bullet was killed in Vietnam and that when Abigail Tillerman found out, she threw her phone through the window of the telephone company. So, I braced myself.

I was not prepared for the racial tensions, which was rampant during the time this took place. Nor was I prepared for how deeply Bullet's emotional turmoil ran. This was the first book in which Ab's husband, John, as well as Liza's children's father, Frank, are introduced. Both are more off-putting than previously mentioned. What I really wasn't prepared for was how show more much I would care for Bullet. At first, I wanted him to connect with someone, anyone at all. Then, I wanted to scream at him during a pivotal scene with his dog (a scene that almost made me abandon the book, I was crying so badly). I smiled at his running success and his kind-of partnership with Tamer Shipp, whose foreshadowing (to those that haven't read previous books) prophesy about Bullet pierced my heart:

"You're going to end up really great or dead."

It made the epilogue of the book, Ab received the news that her son has been killed all the more poignant. Honestly, I think this is the best book of the series (that I've read so far). It is heartwrenching and profound and falls into the elements of it setting perfectly. I would definitely recommend this for upper middle/high schoolers. show less

This is not a pleasant read. Bullet is not a likable protagonist, even as his way of being in the world is unusual and fascinating. On top of that, for anyone who's read the other books in this series, foreknowledge about the end of his story haunts the rest of the novel.

And yet, this unflinching look at a painful life in a wrenching time in US history is as thought-provoking and beautiful as it is harrowing.

Bullet Tillerman runs, not to win races, but because running is what he’s made for. He goes his own way, but occasionally something crops up in life that makes him stop and think. One of these occasions is when the track coach asks him to mentor another cross country runner, a black man named Tamer Shipp. What will it take for Bullet to move past his own prejudice?

Ah, I remember why I didn’t like this book as much as I like the other books in the series. For one thing, Bullet is so angry all the time that reading is a tense, unhappy experience. Also, and this may constitute a spoiler, but only in the vaguest sense, something bad happens to a dog.

I don’t want to be too critical, because this book has all of the earmarks of good show more writing present in Voigt’s other books: Bullet’s characterization is terrific, his change over the course of the novel believable and hard-won. The dialogue is smart and snappy, and there’s no shortage of wit in the writing. It also fills in some blanks from other books in the series, which is nice. But I don’t think I’ll ever read it again. show less

(Writing this having read only the first four books in the Tillerman series)

With "Homecoming" and "Dicey's Song," Voigt accomplished something that I suspect if mighty difficult for an author to do... she created a protagonist (Dicey Tillerman) who, if you actually knew her personally, you probably wouldn't like her very much... but as a reader, you loved her, rooted for her, admired her, and maybe liked her a bit too, knowing all the background behind why she is the way she is. But for me, she did not accomplish this with "The Runner."
Bullet Tillerman is Dicey's uncle, dead before the series begins in "Homecoming." This is his story. Like Dicey, you probably wouldn't like him if you knew him personally. I know I wouldn't. But unlike show more Dicey... I didn't admire him, or root for him, either. He is always angry at someone, if not everyone. He is surly, uncommunicative with everybody, and seems to care nothing at all for anyone but himself and his own selfish wants. For me, such an unlikable main character made for a book that I didn't enjoy very much, even though I acknowledge that it was just as well written as the first three. Just as compelling... but I am happy to leave Bullet Tillerman behind and move on to the next in the series.
Bullet is the last of the three siblings at home. Johnny has gone off on his own, and Liza (Dicey's mother) has run off with her boyfriend, who makes a brief, unlikable appearance as well. His father is absolutely loathsome, his mother, who we know from Dicey's Song pretty well, is... prickly, but understandable. The plot centers around Bullet's inherent racism and the integration of the public schools. He is an obsessive cross country track star, and the coach has asked him to help train a new black guy on the team. As you might expect, through the course of the book, Bullet learns a bit, and isn't as racist at the end as he was in the beginning, but he doesn't change enough to make him appealing.
The only really pleasant character is Patrice, a curious old fisherman who employs Bullet as an assistant. He takes absolutely everything in the world in stride. Nothing upsets him, no matter what. As such, he is about the only person Bullet respects and likes. I'd have rather read a book about Patrice. show less

Voigt deftly portrays characters with depth and complexity. There is no sugar-coating of the working-class American family, nor shying away from racial tensions on the personal level during de-segragation. Satisfying read in every way.

CW: emotional abuse/manipulation, racism, major character death, and accidental shooting of a pet

Not Voigt's usual tight writing. There was so much going on: multiple kinds of war issues, race issues, emotional abuse/manipulation from Bullet's father, coming of age issues. Most of them didn't actually evolve or grow the characters much.

The only exception is some minor growth regarding Bullet's racist views. Bullet is RACIST. The book is told from his POV so we get all his stereotyped views of black people (looking older, being athletic, grouping all individual black people together, etc). The author doesn't do a good job of not being narratively racist either (the one named black character is a mixture of stereotypes).

Bullet is also an show more arrogant jerk in other ways. His internal monologue of superior thoughts is off-putting. He's constantly thinking he's above everyone else, more grown up, better at everything, and somehow he gets passing grades without doing any of the reading or homework. It's an actual point hammered throughout the book that he's so good at things without trying, and everyone (including teachers) finds it mysterious or endearing. Seriously?

It was nice to get an inside view of this timeline in the overall history of the Tillerman family, particularly understanding Abigail's character even more. show less

This is a flashback book, telling the story of Dicey's uncle. The best thing about it is the view you get of Dicey's grandmother as a younger woman, and all the hints of what made her the way she is. Interesting treatment of a domineering father -- made me think of the way someone very dear to me grew up -- and also of mindless racism and what happens when people can put it aside. You probably want to read this one before "Come a Stranger".