'Runner' Book Review

Welcome everyone to 'Book Reviews By Sophie McC.' In this blog post, the book I will be reviewing is 'Runner' by Robert Newton.

General Information

'Runner' is a Juvenile Fiction book.

Friendship is a key theme.

'Runner' has 217 pages. 

Age Recommendation = 14+ (Possibly 13+)

Brief Description

'Runner' is set in 1919, Richmond/Fitzroy Melbourne Australia. There is an Australian slang accent throughout the whole book. The main character Charlie Feehan is 16 years old and has a passion for running. His father has died and he lives with his mother and baby brother Jack. The Feehans and the rest of the families in the neighbourhood are quite poor. To earn some money for his family, Charlie skips school to try out for a runner job to work for a popular criminal by the name of Squizzy Taylor. Charlie gets the job and starts to work at night as a runner to earn money for his family. Throughout his time as a runner he makes a friend (Norman a.k.a Nostrils) and an enemy (Barlow). However, things start to get dangerous for Charlie. He quits his job as runner and decides to compete in the Ballarat Mile Race. He bets all of his earnings from Squizzy Taylor on himself to win. The question is, will he win??

My Review

'Runner' was a pretty good book. There were some positives but there were a few negatives.

I'll start off by saying that the title does match the book really well. Since Charlie Feehan has a passion for running and has a job as a runner, the title is a great match. Using Australian slang in this book did work effectively. It really suited the setting and characters. But for me personally, towards the end I did find it a little irritating as I had never read a book that was written with Australian slang as the dialogue. My opinion on why Robert Newton has written the dialogue in this style is to make the book seem more realistic. On a more positive note, I did like how I felt many different emotions throughout the book. Emotions that I felt and other readers will feel is happiness, despair, pity, joyfulness, worried, determination. Also, the book started off with trying out for a job to work for Squizzy Taylor. By doing that it made the book attract my attention and will certainly attract other readers and will also get readers thinking questions such as 'Who is Squizzy Taylor?" It will make definitely make readers want to know more. When Charlie was competing in the Ballarat Mile Race, I felt like I knew what was going to happen next and what I thought did happen. Because of that, it made the book very predictable. Towards the very last couple of chapters, an emotion I felt was extreme happiness. There was a smile on my face as there was a very happy ending. 😊

My Overall Rating

'Runner' is a book that will attract the reader's attention at the beginning to open up to a great written book. 

I rate 'Runner' ⭐⭐⭐ STARS. 

For a project I am doing, 'Runner' is involved so I will have to re-read it. I am looking forward to re-reading it.

Honestly, this book would be perfect for a movie!

Conclusion

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my book review!

To find out more about Robert Newton and the books he has written you can check out this website below.
https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/robert-newton

Sophie x ❤

Instagram: @bookreviewsbysophiemcc
Email: bookreviewsbysophiemcc@gmail.com

(Photos accessed from penguin.com.au and goodreads.com)