Keeping Pace
A Novel
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Laurie Morrison’s Keeping Pace is a poignant middle-grade novel about friends-turned-rivals training for a half-marathon—and rethinking what it means to win and what they mean to each other.
Grace has been working for years to beat her former friend Jonah Perkins’s GPA so she can be named top scholar of the eighth grade. But when Jonah beats her for the title, it feels like none of Grace’s academic accomplishments have really mattered.
They weren’t enough to win—or to impress her dad. And then the wide, empty summer looms. With nothing planned and no more goals or checklists, she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to be working toward.
Eager for something to occupy her days, Grace signs up for a half-marathon race that she and Jonah used to talk about running together. Jonah’s running it, too. Maybe if she can beat Jonah on race day, she’ll feel OK again. But as she begins training with Jonah and checking off a new list of summer goals, she starts to question what—and who—really matters to her. Is winning at all costs really worth it?
Perfect for readers who enjoy realistic contemporary fiction, stories about sports and personal growth, and books that tackle the pressures facing today's middle school students, Keeping Pace is a moving story about friendship, ambition, and finding confidence beyond winning.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Goal-oriented Grace Eller strives to cross everything off her to-do list during the summer between middle school and high school in this introspective novel by Morrison (Coming Up Short). Before she turns 14, Grace wants to babysit her divorced father's girlfriend's son without incident, change her hair style, take a cool class, score her first kiss, make a new friend, and run a half-marathon. Initially doubtful of her athletic ability, Grace soon finds peace and strength in her training routine. This regimen helps ground her as she navigates evolving relationships with friends new and old, feelings for childhood bestie and current rival Jonah Perkins, and changing family dynamics. As Grace comes to terms with this transitional stage of her life, she realizes that "there are all sorts of things I used to find fun.... But now, I'm not so sure." Morrison utilizes insightful prose and a steady momentum to chronicle Grace's pursuit of her goals. Her varying success and fluctuating perspectives all serve to make her feel more complete and confident, especially when she decides that "setting the pace that's right for me" is the only way to get where she wants to go. Protagonists read as white; supporting characters are racially diverse. Ages 10–14.
