RUN IF YOU DARE

Many young men have a moment of reckoning as they look toward the future. These are the moments that author Powell writes about best. His portrayal of Dean’s moment of truth in Dean Duffy (1995) is superb; Gardner Dickinson’s “moment” in Powell’s latest offering isn’t far behind. Gardner is 14 and is watching his family crumble as his 49-year-old father enters month six of unemployment. Gardner’s mother has returned to work to keep the family going and encourages his father to take his time finding the right job, even as she worries about their future. But the Dickinsons are finding it increasingly difficult to cover up the embarrassment of an out-of-work husband and father. Gardner, meanwhile, spends the first third of the book pretending everything is fine and in fact enjoying having his father around. Powell writes about father-son interactions with insight and accuracy. Gardner and his dad have many long, philosophical discussions, and it comes out that his father is thinking of leaving the family, essentially running away. These conversations become Gardner’s moment of truth. He begins a rigorous program of physical self-improvement, including running and weight-lifting and begins to think seriously about what kind of future he wants. More important, he begins to think about having passion for something, not drifting through life as it appears his father has done. While there are no concrete resolutions at the close of this book, this is nevertheless a satisfying read on a topic not often seen for this readership. (Fiction. 12-14)