blakehalsey's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorite stories of female friendship ever. Heartbreaking and real, this book has excellent bi and disability rep and is a must for all Keplinger fans. I think this is my favorite book of hers to date.
finalefile's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great story about an unlikely friendship between a "good girl" and a "bad girl." They learn to see past stereotypes and help each other deal with their own family problems.
I really liked the structure of the book. The chapters alternate points of view, and each girl's story has its own timeline--Agnes's story ends where Bo's story starts. I know it sounds kind of confusing, but it worked well for this story.
I really liked the structure of the book. The chapters alternate points of view, and each girl's story has its own timeline--Agnes's story ends where Bo's story starts. I know it sounds kind of confusing, but it worked well for this story.
freesien's review against another edition
3.0
A sweet and fast read about friendship but at times the pace was too slow for me and I got a bit bored.
michellesantiago's review against another edition
5.0
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Originally posted on Undeniably Book Nerdy:
I have loved Kody Keplinger's books ever since The DUFF came out. I have read all of her books except for Lying Out Loud (but I own a copy) and The Swift Boys and Me (her middle grade title). The DUFF is my favorite by her, but after reading Run it may be right up there with The DUFF.
It actually took me a while to read Run because I was in the middle of a reading slump and I was distracted, but once I actually made myself sit down and focus, I got immersed in Bo and Agnes's story.
Run is told in dual narrative between Bo Dickinson, the town "bad girl" with a wild reputation thanks to her family's well-known dysfunction, and Agnes Atwood, the legally blind, sheltered "good girl." Within the girls' narrative, we also get alternating timelines. Bo's chapters are set in the present, of the girls actually running away and eventually the consequences of their actions. Agnes's chapters are set in the past, and we get to see how these two girls from opposite sides of the track came to form such an intense friendship, as well as the events leading up to their running away together.
Now, the whole dual perspective/alternating timeline thing could get messy and disjointed, but in Kody Keplinger's deft hands it was the opposite. The story and the pacing flowed very well and each girl's side of the story came together to tell a compelling and engaging coming-of-age story.
Run was sort of a departure for Kody Keplinger. Besides setting this novel in fictional Mursey, Kentucky (a poor, rural small town) rather than rich, suburban Hamilton (as with her other YA books), Run is friendship driven rather than romance driven (we still do get a bit of romance, but its secondary) as well as more serious and darker in tone than all her previous novels. But, like in all of Kody Keplinger's books we still get her signature complex female characters, and a multi-layered storyline that touched on important issues without being preachy.
My favorite thing about Run is definitely Bo and Agnes's friendship--if you're looking for a novel with a strong female friendship this is your book. Both girls were basically suffocating (for different reasons) in the town they're living in and they are each other's breath of air. I am in love with their [yes, platonic] friendship. But, I should mention that Bo is bisexual, and even though her sexuality is not a big part of the plot, it's awesome to see an LGBTQ character represented in this novel. I also love that Run is co-narrated by Agnes who is legally blind, since it's not very often that we come across a legally blind main character in YA fiction and observe things through her perspective as person with a disability.
Overall, Run was an excellent read. The only reason I didn't give it a full five stars--and it's very, very minor--is because nothing about the characters' circumstances and reasons for running away and how everything gets tied up in the end really stood out to me or surprised me. However, when you add in all the other elements--the exceptional dual narration, the multi-layered, diverse characters, how it dealt with the issues, strong female friendships, Kody Keplinger's excellent writing--Run does become a pretty unique, realistic, and emotional read that will stay with me. I very much loved it and I highly recommend it.
Originally posted on Undeniably Book Nerdy:
I have loved Kody Keplinger's books ever since The DUFF came out. I have read all of her books except for Lying Out Loud (but I own a copy) and The Swift Boys and Me (her middle grade title). The DUFF is my favorite by her, but after reading Run it may be right up there with The DUFF.
It actually took me a while to read Run because I was in the middle of a reading slump and I was distracted, but once I actually made myself sit down and focus, I got immersed in Bo and Agnes's story.
Run is told in dual narrative between Bo Dickinson, the town "bad girl" with a wild reputation thanks to her family's well-known dysfunction, and Agnes Atwood, the legally blind, sheltered "good girl." Within the girls' narrative, we also get alternating timelines. Bo's chapters are set in the present, of the girls actually running away and eventually the consequences of their actions. Agnes's chapters are set in the past, and we get to see how these two girls from opposite sides of the track came to form such an intense friendship, as well as the events leading up to their running away together.
Now, the whole dual perspective/alternating timeline thing could get messy and disjointed, but in Kody Keplinger's deft hands it was the opposite. The story and the pacing flowed very well and each girl's side of the story came together to tell a compelling and engaging coming-of-age story.
Run was sort of a departure for Kody Keplinger. Besides setting this novel in fictional Mursey, Kentucky (a poor, rural small town) rather than rich, suburban Hamilton (as with her other YA books), Run is friendship driven rather than romance driven (we still do get a bit of romance, but its secondary) as well as more serious and darker in tone than all her previous novels. But, like in all of Kody Keplinger's books we still get her signature complex female characters, and a multi-layered storyline that touched on important issues without being preachy.
My favorite thing about Run is definitely Bo and Agnes's friendship--if you're looking for a novel with a strong female friendship this is your book. Both girls were basically suffocating (for different reasons) in the town they're living in and they are each other's breath of air. I am in love with their [yes, platonic] friendship. But, I should mention that Bo is bisexual, and even though her sexuality is not a big part of the plot, it's awesome to see an LGBTQ character represented in this novel. I also love that Run is co-narrated by Agnes who is legally blind, since it's not very often that we come across a legally blind main character in YA fiction and observe things through her perspective as person with a disability.
Overall, Run was an excellent read. The only reason I didn't give it a full five stars--and it's very, very minor--is because nothing about the characters' circumstances and reasons for running away and how everything gets tied up in the end really stood out to me or surprised me. However, when you add in all the other elements--the exceptional dual narration, the multi-layered, diverse characters, how it dealt with the issues, strong female friendships, Kody Keplinger's excellent writing--Run does become a pretty unique, realistic, and emotional read that will stay with me. I very much loved it and I highly recommend it.
cajunliterarybelle's review against another edition
5.0
Told in alternating perspectives of Bo, who comes from a troubled family, and Agnes, who was born blind, this is a pageturner about friends and learning to find your voice and be who you are. Bo's chapters are told in present tense as things are happenings, and Agnes's chapters are told in past tense before they ran away from their problems. The story catches up to itself at the ending in a way that is reminiscent of The Outsiders by S E Hinton. Bo feels trapped in their small town by her troubled family, and Agnes feels trapped by her parents limiting her freedom due to her blindness. These caged feelings of not being in control of their own lives and futures result in the desperate desire to run away, but intense circumstances prove that no matter how far you run, your problems will always find you back home. I highly recommend this book and hardly put it down while reading. Short chapters with the constant need to know what happened next then and happens next now.
vitsa's review against another edition
2.0
The first thing that annoyed me was Bos way of speaking. I feel like her whole characterisation was a little lacking. Why was she different than her family? Why did she like poetry?
The development of her relationship with Agnes was a little fast going and I didn't feel like it was developed enough.
The book only took me 3 hours and two plane rides to finish the book. It was easy going, but only an alright book.
The development of her relationship with Agnes was a little fast going and I didn't feel like it was developed enough.
The book only took me 3 hours and two plane rides to finish the book. It was easy going, but only an alright book.
jessicajewel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sc104906's review against another edition
4.0
For a more complete review, visit my vlog, Bickering Book Reviews, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWZPKxez6_Y
Bo is considered the town slut, even though she has done nothing to deserve it. Agnes is the classic good girl, who is given no freedom because she has a vision problem. When the two are together, they become better versions of themselves. Many people reject this friendship, but eventually they come around. The two have their lives and friendship put to the test when Bo needs them to runaway from town quickly. There is a sprinkling of romance in this book, but it focuses on the friendship of the two girls.
While the two perspectives weren't my favorite, I felt that Agnes more than made up for Bo.
Bo is considered the town slut, even though she has done nothing to deserve it. Agnes is the classic good girl, who is given no freedom because she has a vision problem. When the two are together, they become better versions of themselves. Many people reject this friendship, but eventually they come around. The two have their lives and friendship put to the test when Bo needs them to runaway from town quickly. There is a sprinkling of romance in this book, but it focuses on the friendship of the two girls.
While the two perspectives weren't my favorite, I felt that Agnes more than made up for Bo.
ginnikin's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the structure. The plot I didn't enjoy as much. Agnes's parents made me stabby, but so did Bo's.
lestaslettering's review against another edition
2.0
Open endings work more often than not, though in this case, they didn't.