On the Road to Find Out
A Novel
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
On New Year's Day, Alice Davis goes for a run. Her first ever. It's painful and embarrassing, but so was getting denied by the only college she cares about. Alice knows she has to stop sitting around and complaining to her best friend, Jenni, and her pet rat, Walter, about what a loser she is. But what she doesn't know is that by taking those first steps out the door, she is setting off down a road filled with new challenges—including vicious side stitches, chafing in unmentionable places, and race-paced first love—and strengthening herself to endure when the going suddenly gets tougher than she ever imagined, in On the Road to Find Out by Rachel Toor.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
All Alice Davis "champion taker of standardized tests, favorite of teachers, and only child of two achievement-focused parents" wants is to get into Yale. So when the Early Action rejection comes, it sends her into a downward spiral that even her beloved pet rat, Walter, can't shake her from. Alice vows to start running as her New Year's resolution, which turns out to be both a challenge and a lifeline. Through running, she meets Joan, a former top-ranked marathoner who shows Alice how to find joy in life, and Miles, a homeschooled, shaggy-haired guy who wins local races and Alice's heart. Even though Toor doesn't throw in any real surprises except, perhaps, for Alice's lengthy discourses on the many upsides to rats her heroine's rejection and doldrums are relatable, as is her winding journey to figuring out who she is. For many readers who are just starting to feel the pressures of college apps, as well as those who love running (and maybe rats) as much as Alice does, this is a road worth taking. Ages 12 up.