Review by Booklist Review
When the school van veers off a bridge and plunges into the river below, everyone on the track team is killed except star Kevin Schuler, who rode home with his parents that evening. Repressing almost all memory of that season, Kevin begins high school in a different district, where he remains isolated from other students and teammates. Claiming he hates running, the star athlete nonetheless finds peace in it, losing himself in concentration when he runs. As Kevin sets more records and becomes locally famous, the clouds that hang over him take on new forms and he must successfully navigate his own course through all the noise of the outside world, dodging those who would tempt him in different directions. Jackson's first novel presents an unpredictable and unique protagonist who defies categorization. The first-person narration provides a glimpse into Schuler's mind, yet the voice is detached enough that he remains almost as much a mystery to the reader as to other characters. The unforgettable and complex main character makes this novel well worth reading. --Gavin Quinn
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The narrator of Jackson's debut novel is Kevin Schuler, an eighth grader from a small Missouri town; he's popular, athletic and dates the cutest girl in school. But his life is shattered when the van carrying most of his friends home from a track meet skids into the river and all on board are killed. From that moment on, Kevin is transformed: he transfers to a different school, becomes a track prodigy and struggles with repressed memories of his dead friends. His success attracts a lot of attention from doctors, school administrators, girls and he becomes a local sensation, though not everyone's interest in his progress is entirely ethical. The events of the novel take on a slightly surreal cast from the boy's skewed perspective, which lies somewhere between damaged adolescent, reluctant hero and ironic sage. This confusion is compounded by the incongruously sophisticated first-person narration Kevin possesses the vocabulary and insight of a Ph.D. candidate (his first impression of his coach is that the older man "exuded a languidness I imagined arose from sexual experience"). Kevin's family and friends, who help him through his crisis, are portrayed rather flatly, despite their often bizarre names (Bobolink Crustacean, Umber Porphorhessohln), though one exception is Andanda Dane, the school newspaper editor who carries a torch for Kevin. Despite (or perhaps because of) its flaws, this debut has an undeniably quirky charm; it will be interesting to see what Jackson does next. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A teenaged track star in Missouri uses his gift for speed to cope with traumatic loss-in a first novel that gives new life to the subject of athletics and coming of age. Kevin Schuler is a popular member of the eighth-grade track team in his small elementary school-14 of the 16 students in the entire grade are on the team. The story opens with a wonderful, heartbreaking set piece, an away meet that vividly brings the team to life as a unit and as individuals-until the school van goes off a bridge on the way home. Everyone dies. Only Kevin, who'd driven home separately with his parents, is left. His response is to lose all memory of the accident and his friends. The following August he enters ninth grade at a large high school in a nearby town, feeling grateful for the anonymity it offers. On the track team, he soon realizes that only in the silence that running-and running fast-creates do the memories return. His talent for speed is quickly noted and exploited by school authorities. In a Dickensian approach, Jackson concocts a slightly absurd, almost humorous plot about institutional greed and social malfeasance complete with preposterous names for supporting characters, such as the villainous school superintendent Umbar Porphorhessohln. But Kevin narrates with a matter-of-fact formality and refreshing lack of psychological posturing. He loves his simple parents, who have no clue about his emotional life, and he respects authority as long as he can. He tentatively enters into new friendships-with a black football star, with the sexy school newspaper reporter who takes her reporting very seriously, and with a sensitive, not very good girl runner who finally wins his heart. The story's modulated pace, not unlike a long-distance race, can be lulling at times but ends in a satisfying burst of speed and exhaustion. A quietly remarkable achievement of pathos and wit.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
