Book Reviews
Racing the Past by Sis Deans
Reading Level: Recommended for Grades 4–7 (possibly on the older side due to some mature language and issues)
Eleven-year-old Ricky is facing tough times. His father has died, leaving a legacy of alcoholism and abuse, his mother is struggling to pull herself together, his younger brother is terrified their father will come back to life to plague them again…and a bullying classmate’s taunt—“the best thing your father ever did for your family was running his truck off of Dead Man's Curve”—rings uncomfortably true.
Money is also in short supply, and no one has particularly high hopes for the son of the town drunk. Frustrated and confused about what, or whom, exactly, he’s defending, Ricky can’t seem to stop himself from fighting back against the daily gibes. But when his principal threatens to call in his mother, Ricky bargains for one more chance to stay out of trouble. Of course, this means avoiding his chief tormenter, Bugsie.
A Unique Solution
Ricky figures his only way around the problem of school-bus skirmishes is to skip the ride altogether. That adds up to a journey of three-and-a-half miles to school, three-and-a-half miles home again, on foot, every day.
Gradually, Ricky’s slow, blister-ridden jogs turn into something a lot faster, and a lot more important. As our eminently likable hero mentally calculates and recalculates speed and distance in complex mathematical formulas—or scratches them out in the dirt—we begin to discover there’s a lot more to Ricky than a scrappy, scruffy facade and downtrodden history.
At the novel’s outset, Ricky’s only fans seem to be his best friend Lyle and his brother Matt. But as his strength and confidence build, so does his support network, including some sympathetic grown-ups. By the end of the school year, Ricky has even found the self-assurance to challenge his nemesis again…this time to a running race!
Along with his classmates passing him farther and farther along the bus route every day, we cheer Ricky on as he first develops a cautious goal, and then commits to achieving it with gusto: He wants to beat the school bus. The savvy reader will also applaud Ricky’s success in shedding the burden of his own misdirected aggression and negative self-image.
Social and Emotional Lessons in Racing the Past
The power differential between Ricky, the target, and those who hound him is notable; picking on someone who is in some way weaker than others is classic bullying behavior. Teachers will find Racing the Past helpful for reinforcing STEPS TO RESPECT concepts of allies, friendship skills, responsibility, and the idea that feelings can change, both in an individual and within a community. This book is also a natural way to reinforce STEPS TO RESPECT skills in math, health, and science. Ricky is obviously gifted in math, and makes graphs to evaluate his running progress. Links can be made to the physiology of exercise, body changes, how running shoes are designed and why they’re needed for the body to endure long-distance runs, and more.
Reviewed by Emilie Coulter
Freelance Writer