Running Full Tilt
- Subject
- Family - Siblings
- Age
- 9-12 years
- Format
- Trade Paperback
- Pages
- 336
- Publisher
- Charlesbridge Teen
- Size
- 13.7 cm × 20.8 cm
- ISBN
- 9781580898966
An honest and sensitive debut that memorably captures a teen runner’s relationship with his brother and his brother’s experience of autism
Like many siblings, Leo and Caleb have a complicated relationship. But Caleb's violent outbursts literally send Leo running. When the family is forced to relocate, Leo tries to settle into a new school, joining the cross-country team and discovering his talent for racing and endurance for distance.
Things begin to look up for Leo when he befriends Curtis, a potential state champion who teaches Leo strategy and introduces him to a girl named Mary. But Leo's stability is short-lived as Caleb escalates his attacks on his brother, resentful of his sports success and new friendships.
Leo can't keep running away from his problems. But, with a little help from Curtis and Mary, he can appreciate his worth as a brother and his own capacity for growth, both on and off the field.
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What reviewers said
By the time Leo is a junior, his family has moved three times due to his older brother, Caleb, who has autism and other cognitive disabilities. Leo has grown accustomed to his brother’s lower functioning behavior, but Caleb is now prone to attacking Leo physically for unknown reasons. Leo literally starts long-distance running to get away from Caleb. The exercise soothes Leo, and it gives Caleb time to cool down. When Leo starts his new school, he signs up for cross-country track and finds friendship and guidance from senior team member Curtis and Coach Gorsky, as well as romance with Mary…
Currinder’s debut novel expertly navigates the complicated relationship between 17-year-old Leo Coughlin and his older brother, Caleb: “All I understood was that Caleb’s autism and cognitive delays meant that his brain made sense of the world in a different way than mine.” After Caleb’s unpredictable behavior makes them unwelcome in their St. Louis neighborhood, the family moves across town, which sets Caleb off and precipitates physical attacks on Leo. Leo’s only escape is to run—and he does, long and far. When Leo starts at a new high school in the fall, he goes out for the cross-country…
Currinder's quiet debut explores the complexities of living with a sibling with disabilities. High school junior Leo loves his older brother, Caleb, even if he doesn't always understand him. Caleb has autism, seizures, and unspecified cognitive delays that cause him to process and communicate with the world in ways that Leo does not. As Caleb's interactions with him become increasingly violent (though seemingly nonmalicious), Leo takes up running as a form of escape, firmly deciding he would rather find his own escape than risk institutionalizing Caleb. When their family decides to move from…
High school junior Leo Coughlin has a difficult home life. His older brother,Caleb, has autism, epilepsy, and some developmental disabilities—and hisdisruptive behavior has prompted the family’s move from one St. Louis suburbto another. Recently, Caleb has become physically aggressive with Leo, leavingscratches and bruises. Their parents’ marriage, which was rocky to begin with,is strained even more by the stress of the whole situation. Leo, who has begunrunning away from Caleb out of necessity, finds a hidden talent and joins first thecross-country team and then the track team at his new…
"A fast-paced convincing drama of a young runner whose legs circle him back to the many conflicts he is trying to escape."
