Week 4 Diary Entree
Phew, finally finished the book. It was so hard holding back the temptation each week to read the whole thing at once. I loved the book and I loved the ending. ‘A good ending makes a good book’. I love books that have a sentence at the end that truly captures and inspires you. This one was ‘This is my new starting line’. If you haven’t read the book you might think that this means all the events in the book are pointless because she said she’s starting again but every bit of the book was important because it shaped the amazing and courageous girl that Jessica is now. It was really different to read Jessica’s tragic but fulfilling story because she is someone that’s up and about every single day purely to make a difference.
I can’t believe that Jessica was brave enough to run 10km pushing Rosa in her wheelchair. It amazed me that the cause for this was all because she wanted people to see Rosa and not her disability, just like she had when she first became friends with Rosa. Jessica depicts a true friend. She stuck up for Rosa and promoted her as a friend. Jessica is really gifted. Not only is she a good runner but she displays courage, perseverance, kindness and compassion all throughout the book.
I wish the author would make a sequel to this because it would be so exiting to find out what happens next in Jessica’s life. I wish Jessica luck in the future and I hope she has keeps running and keeps on being the amazing and inspirational person that she has become.
Diary Entree: Week 3
Now that we are three quarters of the way through reading ‘The Running Dream’ I am really anxious to find out what happens next. Jessica is a really inspirational girl and she makes me want to get up and do more things because I have what she doesn’t and she’s the one that is doing more for everyone than me. She shows the people around her that life may be hard for her but she can pull through it. You can imagine how much her community admires her for her willingness to help herself and help others like her, like Rosa.
I’m loving the character of Rosa at the moment because she thinks from the heart and you know that anything that comes out of her mouth comes from the true her and what she says isn’t effected by others opinions, though I’m starting to think that she has a heart of steel and doesn’t even get intimidated by anyone. It’s great that her and Jessica are friends because they have similar problems and can both help each other.
I wonder if Jessica will ever race against her rival, Vanessa again. I’m thinking that she will and if she does she will definitely beat her because Jessica has the willpower to succeed in anything. Jessica is now a new person. She has a whole new perspective of life because she has looked at it from another point of view and she has experienced what it’s like to be missing a body part. All her emotions have developed into an understanding of peoples differences and because of this she can now see Rosa for who she really is.
Week 3: The Summariser ‘The Running Dream’
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Vanessa blames Jessica for her tripping over the hurdle and says Jessica was a distraction to her even though she was just cheering on her own team.
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Jessica gets her new pipe leg.
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Jessica holds up a sign saying ‘HELP JESSICA RUN’ at a fundraiser event. This scene is the one where Gavin takes a photo of her to put in the local newspaper, Gavin also attaches an article about Jessica with this.
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Rosa meets sherlock and Jessica and her talk about why Jessica likes running.
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Jessica as well her family and friends are interviewed for a TV show.
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Fiona wins the 800m race and Jessica accidentally hugs Gavin because she is so excited.
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Jessica finds out that before she had lost her leg her family had some financial problems and she thinks now that her family are really struggling to pay their bills it’s her fault.. but it isn’t.
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Gavin and Fiona go with Jessica while she has her checkup at Hanks. On the way back they drop Jessica off at her house and drive off together.
Diary Entree: Week 2
We’re halfway through the book and I’m enjoying it but it’s not so much of a page turner anymore. It would be a bit more enjoyable if the book had more plots going on at the one time.
I like the character Rosa because she is really nice and supportive to Jessica. Even though Jessica was very reluctant to sit next to Rosa in class to start with she soon figured that it wasn’t that bad because Rosa was someone that could understand her situation and help her get through it. Behind Rosa’s disability and the unusual tone in her voice Jessica noticed the kindness and supportiveness Rosa had to offer once she got to know her. Even though she hadn’t known Rosa for very long I think Jessica values their friendship just as much as she does her friendship with Fiona.
It’s sort of obvious that Jessica will fulfill her dream of running again in the future or else there would be no point to the storyline ‘The Running Dream’. Even though Jessica says she doesn’t like Gavin anymore it’s certainly looks like she still does so I think that he will very soon in the future ask her out. Though I hope that doesn’t happen because I don’t think Gavin is very smart and he’s someone that all girls like but isn’t really worth it.
My favorite part of this weeks reading is when Jessica goes to see her athletics team ‘Liberty high’ compete and she shows such courage to actually do this. I can only imagine that she’d feel like she didn’t belong to her team but what she didn’t know was that by her just being there it helped her teams confidence. I admire her strength to get over her problems and instead spend her time supporting her team members.
I think I relate to Rosa a bit because on the outside I might look like I’m not worth getting to know but once you get to know me I’m actually okay… not really…but anyway I had to try and relate to someone and if it’s anyone I’d want to relate to it would be Rosa because she’s so nice and thoughtful. Though I don’t really display those last few personality traits.
This is not the best book ever written but I still like it because the author uses so many emotions to describe her characters. The author is also really good with her words and I like how she describes everything in detail to give you a really good picture of what’s going on in the storyline.
Week 2: Connector ‘The Running Dream’.
Jessica (main character) reminds me of my brother because he has 2-3 fingers that have been chopped off (accidentally of course) by a mower. I know that he doesn’t really like it when people bring up the fact that he’s got different hands to everyone else and that relates to how Jessica’s feeling because she is terribly self-conscious about the way she looks after she has lost her leg.
I myself relate to Jessica because I like running and being active because it makes me feel good with the wind blowing through my face. Her friends are like my friends, very supportive. I relate to her friends and family too because if anyone I knew was in any kind of situation like hers I’d love to help get their life back on track again.
I’ve read heaps of other books like this one and I’ve loved them. They always seem to have some kind of a happy ending. e.g I read a book about a girl who stopped running because her dad and her used to go for runs in the morning and one day ..christmas day to be exact.. she didn’t go with him and he had a heart attack while running. She blamed herself for not going with him, she thought that she could have saved him. In the end though she went back to running because she found that it took her mind off her dad’s death for a while and she knew that he would be disappointed if she didn’t continue with her running career. She was like ‘Speedy Gonzales’ but alot faster.
I’ve also noticed a connection with Jessica and alot of other runners. Most runners say that the best feeling you get is when you run because you feel free and your cheeks get flushed from the wind…. awesome feeling.
Diary Entree: Week 1
After reading the first 84 pages of ‘The running dream’, I have concluded that it is a great book. My favourite character has to be the main character, Jessica. She is the one telling the story and you don’t hear the other characters thoughts or emotions. I admire her willpower and strength to overcome the disability of not having a leg. (e.g. When she climbs up the stairs on her bottom instead of just winging about how hard it is without a leg.)
I’ve read other books like this one about people who have stopped doing something they love (e.g. running) because some emotional or physical disability has gotten in the way and they always seem to get back on their feet and start their life back up again. That’s why I think in the future Jessica will get her friends back, knowing now that they really do care for her because they have stuck by her side and then she will begin running again.
I am loving all of the book so far but the part that really stands out for me is just near the beginning when Jessica is reliving the last time she ran and how when she was running around the track she felt so free with the wind blowing through her hair and the beautiful scenery racing past her. I could then picture how much she loved running and how much she missed it. When I was reading that bit I felt like her thoughts were pounding in my skull and I could feel all her emotions. I guess that all comes back to the fact that I relate to her in this scene because I love the feel of the fresh air and the wind blowing in my face when I’m running because it makes me feel so free and powerful too.
Illustrator: Drawing of Jessica
Drawing showing what I predict Jessica’s future will include and some of the things that I’ve read about her past.
HAZZ'S BLOG OF 'THE RUNNING DREAM' 