Taming the Star Runner by S.E. Hinton

 S.E. Hinton has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Famous for her first novel, The Outsiders, she has written a number of novels for young adults. Each presents a hard-hitting plot line with a message about growing up and finding yourself.

I knew this coming in to Taming the Star Runner and I wasn't disappointed. Written in third person, unlike most of her novels, it tells the story of a teenage boy who gets himself in trouble and has to move out to the country with his uncle. The reader comes alongside the main character as he copes with the struggles of dealing with one's anger, reaching for one's dreams, and going hard for the things everyone else says can't be done.


Taming the Star Runner is just that. It's about reaching for the impossible against all odds. It's about shooting for the moon and landing among the stars.

All in all, Hinton cranked out another winner here. Well-written and beautifully insightful, Taming the Star Runner was a joy to read and a joy to have on my shelf.

 Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

An Explanation of Booklist That

When I was researching colleges for English majors a few years back, I learned something quite interesting. At Oxford college, English majors are required to read 100 books per year. I found this particularly fascinating. One hundred books? I'm known for being a fast reader, but 100 books? Surely that was impossible.

Challenge accepted.

Now I'm not stupid enough to assume that I would succeed in my first year of trying. In 2009, I read 30 book. In 2010, I made it to 32. This year, I shot for 50 and am currently halfway through number 55 with 4 days to go. I think I'll shoot for 75 in the year 2012.

Besides being an avid reader, I adore writing. I mostly enjoy fiction, but I'm frequenting the blogging "scene" lately. That probably has something to do with my having forgotten my journal when I moved, but  we can overlook that for now.

Anyway, I've decided to combine my tendency to keep my nose deep in a good book and my adoration of the written word in this blog: Booklist That. This is basically where I'm going to post reviews of the books I read. Hopefully, I can work to improve my writing and share those opinions I seem to never run out of all in one go.