书名：The Running Dream奔跑的梦想

难度：Lexile蓝思阅读指数HL650L
作者：Wendelin Van Draanen文德琳·范·德拉安南

出版社名称：Ember
出版时间：2012
语种：英文
ISBN：9780375866289
商品尺寸：14 x 1.9 x 21 cm
包装：平装
页数：352（以实物为准）
The Running Dream《奔跑的梦想》是Flipped《怦然心动》作者文德琳·范·德拉安南的另一部作品，讲述一位遭遇车祸而失去双腿的高中女子田径运动员，在亲人、朋友的帮助下完成自己跑步梦想的小故事。本书荣获2012年施耐德家族好书奖（Schneider Family Book Award）。

推荐理由：
1.Flipped《怦然心动》同作者，故事温馨励志；
2.用词较为简单，适合初读英文原版书的读者；
3.英文原版，印刷清晰，纸质护眼。
Winner of the 2012 Schneider Family Book Award
When Jessica is told she’ll never run again, she puts herself back together—and learns to dream bigger than ever before. The acclaimed author of Flipped delivers a powerful and healing story.

Review
“I read The Running Dream on my way to the World Championships. I nearly missed my flight for reading it and inhaled it before I touched down. It’s a truly touching story that feels very real.”  — Katrin Green, Paralympic Gold Medalist

“This heart-touching story is a helpful reminder that we must appreciate each day and each blessing. When I go around ‘Rigor Mortis Bend’ and think of Jessica, my legs do not feel nearly as tired anymore. ”  — Jordan Hasay, four-time USA Track & Field Jr. Women’s Champion

“Van Draanen’s extensive research into both running and amputees pays dividends—readers will truly feel what’s it like to walk (or run) a mile (or 10) in Jessica’s shoes.”  — Booklist

“Inspirational. The pace of Van Draanen’s prose matches Jessica’s at her swiftest. Readers will zoom through the book just as Jessica blazes around the track. A lively and lovely story.”  — Kirkus Reviews

“Van Draanen delivers an abundance of interesting medical detail and emotional authenticity in this accessible and inspirational novel.”  — The Horn Book Magazine

Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She’s not comforted by the news that she’ll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?

As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don’t know what to say, act like she’s not there. Which she could handle better if she weren’t now keenly aware that she’d done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she’s missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.
With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that’s not enough for her now. She doesn’t just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her.
文德琳·范·德拉安南，出生于1965年1月6日，美国作家、编剧，其凭借Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief《萨米凯斯》系列小说荣获1999年爱伦坡儿童悬疑故事奖，其他代表作有Flipped《怦然心动》、Shredderman Rules《正义法则》等。

Wendelin Van Draanen(born January 6, 1965) is an American writer of children’s and young-adult fiction. She is the winner of the 1999 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Children’s Mystery Book for Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief and lives with her husband and two sons in California.
Finish Line

Headwind
Straightaway
Adjusting the Blocks
Starting Line

My life is over.

Behind the morphine dreams is the nightmare of reality.
A reality I can’t face.
I cry myself back to sleep wishing, pleading, praying that I’ll wake up from this, but the same nightmare always awaits me.
“Shhh,” my mother whispers. “It’ll be okay.” But her eyes are swollen and red, and I know she doesn’t believe what she’s saying.
My father—now that’s a different story. He doesn’t even try to lie to me. What’s the use? He knows what this means.
My hopes, my dreams, my life... it’s over.
The only one who seems unfazed is Dr. Wells. “Hello there, Jessica!” he says. I don’t know if it’s day or night. The second day or the first. “How are you feeling?”
I just stare at him. What am I supposed to say, “Fine”?
He inspects my chart. “So let’s have a look, shall we?”He pulls the covers off my lap, and I find myself face to face with the truth.
My right leg has no foot.
No ankle.
No shin.
It’s just my thigh, my knee, and a stump wrapped in a mountain of gauze.
My eyes flood with tears as Dr. Wells removes the bandages and inspects his handiwork. I turn away, only to see my mother fighting back tears of her own. “It’ll be okay,” she tells me, holding tight to my hand. “We’ll get through this.”
Dr. Wells is maddeningly cheerful. “This looks excellent, Jessica. Nice vascular flow, good color... you’re already healing beautifully.”
I glance at the monstrosity below my knee.
It’s red and bulging at the end. Fat staples run around my stump like a big ugly zipper, and the skin is stained dirty yellow.
“How’s the pain?” he asks. “Are you managing okay?”
I wipe away my tears and nod, because the pain in my leg is nothing compared to the one in my heart.
None of their meds will make that one go away.