Running on Empty cover art

Running on Empty

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Running on Empty

By: S. E. Durrant
Narrated by: Joe Jameson
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About this listen

AJ’s grandfather has always been the one to keep his unusual family together, so when he dies things start to unravel at the edges. AJ is worried about his parents, but they don’t really seem to notice.

In order to deal with his grief and to keep his anxiety at bay, AJ does what he and his grandfather did best: running. Round and round the Olympic Park, aiming for the cross country trials, running to escape, AJ only seems to be heading ever closer to disaster.

Running on Empty is a beautiful audiobook about false starts and emotional journeys, with hope as the ultimate finishing line. From the author of Little Bits of Sky.

©2018 S. E. Durrant (P)2018 Nosy Crow Ltd
Fiction Literature & Fiction Sports

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Critic reviews

"Lyrical, moving and realistic." (Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times)

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4.5 stars

A boy with dreams to run, the granddad who encourages him... AJ is talented, but he has things holding him back - both his parents have learning disabilities, there is little money, he can't get inside the local Olympic stadium to train. And then his world falls apart when his beloved granddad dies, leaving both himself and his family without its centre.

With worries about the bills at home, no running trainers to wear at school, the embarrassment but love he feels for his parents, AJ is a boy with more cares than most his age.

I was touched by this story, and by the unusual inclusion of two parents such as AJ's. Their portrayal was very sympathetic and would make an excellent discussion topic. AJ himself is a conflicted but worthy young man, who has both talent and ambition, but requires the mentor and backing to be able to utilise them.

The Audible narrator telling the story gave an appropriately young-sounding voice to AJ, slightly inexperienced and yet mature at the same time. The book worked well as a 'listen', with AJ's voice telling us his story. A very easy-to-follow narration.

Would work well with the age group portrayed here - 11-13 in particular. Could be used in classroom settings for discussions in PSHE and English, and by book groups.

Uplifting and sweetly moving.

With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.

Realistic narrator in a tale of dreams & realities

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It's a great book short and sweat but not to short.
I suggest you read this book.

it's an amazing book and the chraters are great!

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