Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Running Loose LSSL 5385

Running Loose


Crutcher, C. (1983). Running loose. NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Summary
Louie Banks is in his senior year of high school.  He lives in a very small town in Trout, Idaho were everybody knows everyone, the good, the bad and the ugly.  Things seem to be going great for Louie. He and his best friend Carter work out all summer to earn a starting spot on the football team.  The challenging work pays off and Louie is a starter on the team.  The Trout’s have been state champions for the past two seasons.  When it came time to pay the second-place team, things turned bad.  The head coach of the Trout’s, Coach Lednecky knew the only way they would win was to intentionally hurt the starting quarterback of the opposing team, taking him out of the game.  The player was an African American boy by the name of Washington who was very good and the secret weapon of the other team.  Louie knew of this plan.  When it came to fruition, Louie got upset and walked off the field because he felt it was racist and unfair.  He vowed to never play football again.  Louie had the support from his best friend Carter, his girlfriend Becky and his parents.  Louie was banned from planning any other sport.  Becky was the love of his life.  She was beautiful, athletic, funny, and smart.  She could have any guy in the school but, she had eyes for Louie.  Becky was involved in a car accident that killed her. Louie was devastated, lost, sad and angry for a long time.  He couldn’t understand why.  Coach Madison the principal to let Louie run track.  After some convincing, he joins the team. Louie did well and was able to go all the way to the regionals.  By the end of the school year, Louie had endured love, death, racism, victory and defeat.  He came out stronger and more mature, read you face the world.

Reflection
This book was extremely interesting and relatable.  The main character faced some deep issues that he was able to overcome.  Death, racism, victory and defeat are all things we all face to some degree. Running Loose was a very good depiction and attempt at how a teenager would deal with any one of these adversities.

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The following books are by the author.




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