Blog Tour Review: Run by Kody Keplinger

Title: Run

Author: Kody Keplinger
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication date: June 28, 2016
Genre(s): Contemporary
Source: Publisher

Pages: 288

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Bo Dickinson is a girl with a wild reputation, a deadbeat dad, and a mama who's not exactly sober most of the time. Everyone in town knows the Dickinsons are a bad lot, but Bo doesn't care what anyone thinks.
Agnes Atwood has never gone on a date, never even stayed out past ten, and never broken any of her parents' overbearing rules. Rules that are meant to protect their legally blind daughter -- protect her from what, Agnes isn't quite sure.
Despite everything, Bo and Agnes become best friends. And it's the sort of friendship that runs truer and deeper than anything else.
So when Bo shows up in the middle of the night, with police sirens wailing in the distance, desperate to get out of town, Agnes doesn't hesitate to take off with her. But running away and not getting caught will require stealing a car, tracking down Bo's dad, staying ahead of the authorities, and -- worst of all -- confronting some ugly secrets.

I've read almost every book Kody Keplinger has released and I've devoured all of them. I'm happy to say that Run was no different in that aspect. That said, my one suggestion before picking up this book would be to put aside everything you think you know about Kody Keplinger's writing. Run is very different from her previous stories, in the best way possible. It deals with more serious issues including disability, drug use, and family struggles, but it also deals with things like friendship, first love, self discovery. You are bound to relate in some way to these characters and what they're going through. This is a raw story with very real characters.

The way Run is written in alternating points of view makes it easy to piece together the story of Agnes and Bo. You get the whole picture, but in small doses. Agnes' perspective is from the past, while Bo is telling the story in the present. I loved the way the stories came together, but the one thing that didn't work for me was that I had a hard time distinguishing their voices. They were way too similar and I had to keep checking whose perspective I was actually reading. If their voices had been a little easier to differentiate I think the story would have had an even bigger impact.

While the characters may be young at 16 and 17, this story will appeal to people of all ages. The feeling I got while I was reading it was the same feeling I got when I was younger and I read Because of Winn-Dixie. It gave me a nostalgic feeling to that summer in 5th grade. I would recommend this one as a great summer read. It's a quick book to get through, but it's filled with feeling and love. It's an important story that needs to be shared with others and I thank Kody Keplinger for writing it so beautifully. 

About Kody Keplinger:

Kody Keplinger was born and raised in small town western Kentucky, where she began her writing career after penning the New York Times and USA Today bestseller, The DUFF, at age seventeen.The DUFF, now a major motion picture, was chosen as an YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers and a Romantic Times Top Pick. Kody has since written other books for both young adult and middle grade readers. When she isn't writing, Kody is posting about fashion and body positivity on her Instagram, chatting about her favorite TV shows on Twitter, or making videos for her YouTube account. Kody is also the co-founder of Disability in KidLit and a teacher at the Gotham Writers Workshops in NYC.

Kody is active on social media, so feel free to reach out to her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.

3 Finished Copies of RUN (US Only)

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