Darn you, Jason Reynolds! There was quite a lot of this book where I was not enjoying Lu's personality at all, and then somewhere in the middle he turns it around on me and I end up crying _again_ at the end of _another_ one of the track series books. Good writing. Great story. Fearless tackling of hard issues, like becoming a reformed drug dealer and trying to come to terms with the repercussions of your actions. Like hitting deep on the themes of bullying and unkindness and how to take our armor off, even when it leaves you vulnerable. Like how positive family dynamics can still cause bad feelings in a community, because not everyone has that good luck. Jason Reynolds. He just never slows down. ( )

The last book in Reynolds "Track" tetralogy, Lu focuses on the albino co-captain of the Defenders. Lu(cas) is struggling to become a hurdler, finding the obstacles tough to overcome. The reason is that his near eyesight is very poor, and any dirt messes up his contacts. Coach eventually figures out the problem and they come up with a stride solution. Meanwhile, Lu deals with some family issues, including his mother's pregnancy and his father's nefarious past. I think what I don't like about this series is the unnecessary dialect, which is okay for dialogue, but more bothersome since Reynolds writes in the first person. ( )

diverse children's middlegrade fiction (albinoism, African American kids in an urban setting on a track team, drug usage and consequences seen in the community)
Loved this! Another great book in JR's outstanding series. Though it can stand alone, it would be better to read Ghost first as this alludes to his backstory. I really like how each character (even the side characters like Kelvin) have their own stories and complications, and I liked how Lu's voice was written in the vernacular--I think this will resonate with a lot of kids and will continue to recommend this excellent series. ( )

Lu, the last book in Jason Reynold's track series, is okay, but none of the rest of the series lived up to the brilliant first volume, "Ghost."
Lu deals with being bullied because he is an albino, his farther being a reformed drug dealer, his mother being pregnant, and of course trying to win and please the coach. But I never cared as deeply about Lu, (or Patina or Sunny in their books) as I did for Ghost.
And the ending of Lu felt a bit rushed, a bit artificial, and just didn't click for me. ( )

Lu Richardson is one of the newbies on the Defenders track team, and a good runner who's starting to learn hurdles. His parents have always told him he was like lightning - a miracle, since they weren't supposed to be able to have kids, and doubly surprising as an albino. But now, they have surprising news for him: he's going to be a big brother. Will he still be himself, the only Lu, now that maybe he isn't so special?

This was such a great wrap up to the series. Most of those can be read on their own, but this one has so many call backs to previous books that I think it really should be read at the end. Lu learns a lot about integrity, what it means to be "cool", and how long hurtful words can last, in this fabulous wrap up. ( )