Review: Girl on the Run by B.R. Myers

GIRL ON THE RUN

Author: B.R Myers

Series: -

Pages: 336

Publisher: Nimbus

Release date: First published 21^st September 2015

Synopsis: When seventeen-year-old track and field star Jesse Collins’ dreams of a full scholarship are shattered after the sudden death of her dad, she leaves home to work as a summer camp counselor to escape the small town nosy stares... and her own secret guilt.

After a mix-up at registration, she’s put in charge of a boys’ cabin, and the head counselor, Kirk, predicts she won’t last the first two weeks. In the midst of fending off four twelve-year-old boys who are hell-bent on mortifying her and a growing attraction to Kirk, Jesse finds the inspiration to run again from an unlikely source. But getting her old life back isn't that easy and soon Jesse will realize that a good pair of legs can take a girl far, but she'll never outrun the truth.

Review: 3 out of 5 stars

Our main character is seventeen year-old Jesse Collins, a girl with a proven record as a track and field star; she’s had high hopes of going to university on a full scholarship but everything comes to an end with the death of her beloved father; she quits running and puts all of her dreams on hold.

Jesse heads off to Kamp Krystal Lake for a breather and is mistakenly put in charge of four twelve year-old cheeky boys; it’s predicted that she won’t last a week by the head counsellor Kirk but she sets out to prove everyone wrong.

Some of the things Jesse had to endure would send a normal person running but she wanted to give her mum a break to grieve without worrying about her and also prove to herself that she can do it. I loved her strength and her eagerness to tackle most things head on; she also made some great friendships whilst she was there all whilst being pranked and embarrassed by her group on a daily basis. Her inner dialogue was great!

I loved the relationship that Jesse came to have with her young group – Spencer was the biggest troublemaker and the camp owners’ son, identical twins are Liam and Duff who is hearing impaired and Scotty, who is the best of the bunch; they could be quite trying but she was persistent. We also had the typical beautiful mean girl who was trying to sabotage Jesse’s job.

There is romance between Jesse and Kirk which was slow progressing as well as with two others boys (quite brief) which I felt wasn’t needed (not exactly a love square/triangle); I ended up enjoying Jesses and Kirk’s moments together but I felt there was something lacking.

Besides not loving the romance, I also felt there was nothing that was unique about this YA Contemporary read that would make it stand out against others; it was an entertaining and easy read but it wasn’t a title that left me completely wowed.

Overall, Girl On The Run was written well and was a pleasant surprise. It was an engrossing, at times emotional read with fun, engaging characters and witty dialogue.

I would like to thank Nimbus publishing via Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

About the author: Always in the mood for a good scare, B.R. Myers spent most of her teen years behind the covers of Lois Duncan, Ray Bradbury, and Stephen King. Her YA contemporary coming of age novel, GIRL ON THE RUN, was chosen by the Canadian Children's Book Centre as a BEST BOOK for TEENS for 2016. 

When she's not putting her characters in awkward situations, she works as a registered nurse. A member of the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia, she lives in Halifax with her husband and two children—and there is still a stack of books on her bedside table.