The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen 336 pages

This title just won the teen Schneider Family Book Award for a book that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience. I've read several of her Sammy Keyes young mystery series, but this is totally different. Jessica, is one of the fastest cross-country runners until the fateful day of her school bus accident. One teammate lost her life; Jessica lost her leg. Van Draanen follows Jessica from the moment she learns that her leg was removed, through the grief process and concludes with her successful rehabilitation. Fortunately, Jessica has a great best friend and loyal teammates. They start a campaign to earn money to pay for a racing prosthetic limb. The author has obviously done her homework and weaves into the novel the advance technology that makes running possible for determined athletes. She also goes a step further in embracing disabled teens. When Jessica returns to school, she is assigned to sit at a "special" table with Rosa, a brilliant math whiz who happens to have cerebral palsy. It is only a last ditch effort to keep from failing math, that she reluctantly asks Rosa for help. Rosa may have trouble speaking clearly, but she effortlessly makes math clear for Jessica and other classmates. Perhaps, Jessica does seem to heal and solve her problems awfully easily; but this remains a rather inspirational story.