Many Characters Seem To Have "Issues"
The title of this book is intriguing and obviously has a double meaning: you’ve got a running shoe on the cover but it's covered in blood. So you may not catch the runner, but you could catch a criminal. Within the first two pages, the reader learns that there are several issues in the Steckler family. Mom is a recovering alcoholic, and her two daughters sense that it is a tenuous balance. The parents’ careers as realtors in the Catskill Mountains are not keeping up with their needs or spending; there are money worries. Clearly the parents have failed at hiding their concerns from the girls because the money worries are common family knowledge, and Stella knows that they think the house is too big.
Stella is the younger daughter who shares the alternating first-person narration with Ellie, her one-year-older sister. The closeness in age has not made them closer in their sibling relationship; there seems to be some jealousy. Maybe it’s the difference in their appearance – the stereotypical difference of one sister has coarse curls while the other has fine, silky hair (to go with her icy blue eyes that Stella knows will convey fury when Stella runs too fast for Ellie to catch up her on the track.) Ellie is also much more social, while Stella is focused on improving her performance as a runner. She’s been doing one hundred miles a week! Interestingly, however, she also has anger management classes. Kind of unusual for her young age, but the home pressures could be a lot for any young person to handle. Mr. and Mrs. Steckler have only enough money to send one girl to college, and the other one will have to win an athletic scholarship
There is more going on than just a family with sibling rivalry and adult alcoholism. It’s been just one decade since their seemingly idyllic and picturesque area was famous for the bludgeoning deaths of three female runners. The crimes were never solved, And is typical with humans, people began to forget and move on with their lives.
As a reader, I did not find the two teenage girls extremely likable or appealing. Stella’s blasé dismissal of the fourth death of a girl named Shira Tannenbaum seemed a bit cold hearted. Then again, Stella's running coach seems sarcastic amd trying too hard to be cool. Perhaps these personalities will turn out to be essential to the entire plot. I'm curious to find out.
Stella is the younger daughter who shares the alternating first-person narration with Ellie, her one-year-older sister. The closeness in age has not made them closer in their sibling relationship; there seems to be some jealousy. Maybe it’s the difference in their appearance – the stereotypical difference of one sister has coarse curls while the other has fine, silky hair (to go with her icy blue eyes that Stella knows will convey fury when Stella runs too fast for Ellie to catch up her on the track.) Ellie is also much more social, while Stella is focused on improving her performance as a runner. She’s been doing one hundred miles a week! Interestingly, however, she also has anger management classes. Kind of unusual for her young age, but the home pressures could be a lot for any young person to handle. Mr. and Mrs. Steckler have only enough money to send one girl to college, and the other one will have to win an athletic scholarship
There is more going on than just a family with sibling rivalry and adult alcoholism. It’s been just one decade since their seemingly idyllic and picturesque area was famous for the bludgeoning deaths of three female runners. The crimes were never solved, And is typical with humans, people began to forget and move on with their lives.
As a reader, I did not find the two teenage girls extremely likable or appealing. Stella’s blasé dismissal of the fourth death of a girl named Shira Tannenbaum seemed a bit cold hearted. Then again, Stella's running coach seems sarcastic amd trying too hard to be cool. Perhaps these personalities will turn out to be essential to the entire plot. I'm curious to find out.