The Runner
Bullet Tillerman runs. He runs to escape the criticism of his harsh, unforgiving father. He runs to numb the pain of his mother's inability to express her love. He is the star of the school track team, but he isn't a team man and doesn't want to be. Bullet runs for himself . . .
So Bullet doesn't understand why he's been asked to train a new team member, and he's not looking forward to the task. But in coaching Tamer Shipp, Bullet learns some things about himself: who he is, and who he can perhaps become.
About the Tillerman Cycle Series
Books in series order
- 1.Homecoming(1981)
- 2.Dicey's Song(1982)
- 3.A Solitary Blue(1983)
- 4.The Runner(1985)
- 5.Come a Stranger(1986)
- 6.Sons from Afar(1987)
- 7.Seventeen Against the Dealer(1989)
Reading age: 11+ years
This series should be read in order.
It's still true . . .
That's the first thing James Tillerman says to his sister Dicey every morning. It's still true that their mother has abandoned the four Tillerman children somewhere in the middle of Connecticut. It's still true they have to find their way, somehow, to Great-aunt Cilla's house in Bridgeport, which may be their only hope of staying together as a family.
With just eleven dollars to their name, the children—aged between six and thirteen—set off on a journey across America towards an uncertain future. Will their resourcefulness and their love for one another be enough to survive? This celebrated series by Newbery award-winning author Cynthia Voigt is heartfelt, shocking and thoroughly engrossing.
A Note on the Reading Order:
The only book to have a definite reading order is the first, Homecoming, as the narratives of the other books overlap. Dicey's Song, A Solitary Blue, and Come a Stranger are the most interlocked and can be read in any order following Homecoming and before Sons from Afar and Seventeen Against the Dealer. The Runner is a stand-alone prequel, the events of which take place approximately ten years before Homecoming.