A good middle-grades book. I appreciated the positive portrayal of kinship adoption and unconventional family. And it made me really miss high school track. ( )

Ever since her father died and her mother lost her legs to diabetes, Patina has felt responsible for her younger sister Maddy. Even though Maddy and Patina are in the loving care of their godparents, Patty still has a strong independent streak -- which may be why it's so hard for her to adjust to being part of the relay team in her track club. Patty has some lessons to learn about relying on others and supporting her team, both on the track and off.

A strong second entry in the Track series. Reynolds takes the opportunity to introduce some new characters, and the dialogue is likewise strong. I did feel that track was less central to this book than it was to Ghost, as there was a lot of family and school drama going on. And, once again, the book ends on a mild cliffhanger. ( )

When I know I'm going to read contemporary fiction, contemporary school stories, I am pleased by them. This series is strong -- strong in characters, strong in interior life and the real struggles of day to day life when things are not easy and you are a kid. Hopeful, for all that, and like the kids practice relay in the track team in the book, so does this book, from Patina's perspective, take off running without looking back from where Ghost left us off. Powerful, great pacing, great storytelling. ( )

I loved Ghost and this book was even better than that. I loved that Reynolds wrote a female main character, one who is full of heart and also very complicated and real. On one hand she’s trying to fit in at her new school where everyone seems to be wealthy, then she’s also trying to be a good big sister and daughter, though they only see their mum on weekends and live with their aunt and uncle. On top of all that she runs track. She’s part of an elite track team and has been picked to be a member of the 4x800 relay which requires team work and being in sync with each other.
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Not as good as Ghost. Like Ghost, Patina (Patty) Jones is a newbie on the Defenders track team, with a ton of family and social issues. Her father died, her mother has lost her feet to diabetes, and her little sister Maddie is center of her life. She lives with her aunt (Momly) and her uncle. Unfortunately, while she has common teenage problems, there was not the same connection with others that made the first book compelling. There is simply too much daily routine, such as school, chores, mean girls, lazy classmates, etc. ( )