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mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
3.0
The conclusion to the Track series was anti-climactic.
We get a random backstory to Coach that felt incongruous with the rest of the book. After all this time picturing him as John Witherspoon - something I believe Guy Lockard encourages with his vocal direction - it turns out he's a lot younger than I thought and apparently has a baby son that was just born? Completely blew my mind nothing about a pregnant wife was mentioned in a previous book.
The fight between Lu and the other kid (I do not recall his name) about being the sole track captain is finished with a whimper. They just suddenly respect one another. Even though Lu literally was being bullied by him which - to me - should have been enough to demote the kid or kick him off the team, but Coach was fine since he and Lu 'are the same' and they just didn't realize it.
Lu's story ended up being the least interesting of the whole bunch for me. In spite of how interesting a drug dealing fathers' past coming back to haunt him sounds on paper, it played out in a very detached way due to the writing style. It was the literary equivalent to sitting in a room with your friend who is reading a newspaper, and they say 'oh, it's supposed to rain tomorrow' and you quietly lift your head from your knitting to glance at them before going back to your knitting.
There is technically a continuous narrative here that you might want to see through, but honestly I'd say stop at Sunny or even as far back as Ghost, and you'll have a better time overall. I wish the series had been all about Ghost honestly as the chopped up story beats made me feel like none of these characters are actually experiencing any growth despite there being four separate books where they are featured.
We get a random backstory to Coach that felt incongruous with the rest of the book. After all this time picturing him as John Witherspoon - something I believe Guy Lockard encourages with his vocal direction - it turns out he's a lot younger than I thought and apparently has a baby son that was just born? Completely blew my mind nothing about a pregnant wife was mentioned in a previous book.
The fight between Lu and the other kid (I do not recall his name) about being the sole track captain is finished with a whimper. They just suddenly respect one another. Even though Lu literally was being bullied by him which - to me - should have been enough to demote the kid or kick him off the team, but Coach was fine since he and Lu 'are the same' and they just didn't realize it.
Lu's story ended up being the least interesting of the whole bunch for me. In spite of how interesting a drug dealing fathers' past coming back to haunt him sounds on paper, it played out in a very detached way due to the writing style. It was the literary equivalent to sitting in a room with your friend who is reading a newspaper, and they say 'oh, it's supposed to rain tomorrow' and you quietly lift your head from your knitting to glance at them before going back to your knitting.
There is technically a continuous narrative here that you might want to see through, but honestly I'd say stop at Sunny or even as far back as Ghost, and you'll have a better time overall. I wish the series had been all about Ghost honestly as the chopped up story beats made me feel like none of these characters are actually experiencing any growth despite there being four separate books where they are featured.
lectora21's review
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Bullying, Drug use, Addiction, and Vomit
enichols08's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
meevees's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't imagine that this one would be able to top Sunny for me but my expectations were blown out of the water! A beautiful wrap up to the series, even though it is bittersweet to see it end.
roseleaf24's review
4.0
I have been looking forward to Lu's story since I read Ghost and realized that it would be a series. He was the most enigmatic for me; unfortunately, that translated into a voice that I didn't sink into quite as easily as I did the other books in this series. But this story packs a real punch, and wraps up the series extremely well (and much more solidly, my husband and other readers who get frustrated by Reynolds' open ended endings will be happy to know ;-) ). I love the way the secondary characters in this book, and this series, have full and complete lives that continue in and out of the main storyline. I would really, really like to know the full story of some of the characters that are introduced in this book, and hope we get a non-track-series "Kelvin." Reynolds here shows so, so well the causes and effects of bullying, and how often there is so much to a person that we don't see, beyond what we are able to react to.
whatsthestorywishbone's review against another edition
4.0
We finally finished this book (and series) after stopping and starting SEVERAL times. The year has been weird without a lot of commuting time. I would say that this may have actually been my least favorite of all the books, but it had its sweet moments too. I was wondering how they would do the track meet at the end and was glad it didn’t leave us hanging, but while I liked the message about family I am still not sure how I feel about the end. Definitely should not have started this series with a five year old, although he was begging to continue. I would recommend it for kids just a bit older (maybe 8 or 10?)
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
4.0
I'm sad to be done with these kids, but liked how some plot points unexpectedly got resolved in this one.
Now I'll just have to go read all of Reynolds's other books.
Now I'll just have to go read all of Reynolds's other books.
alexilse's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0