Runner

When a new job falls his way, Chance jumps at the opportunity, becoming a runner who picks up strange packages on a daily route and delivers them to a shady man at the marina. Chase knows how much he will earn¡ªwhat he doesn¡¯t know is how much he will pay.Suspenseful, fast-paced, and poignant, this novel avoids easy answers as it examines issues of terrorism and patriotism, fear and courage, and the lives of privilege and poverty.For a kid desperate to escape poverty, the job seems perfect. But what¡¯s really inside the packages he runs A High-Stakes Thriller: Seventeen-year-old Chance is a runner, but this daily route involves more than just exercise¡ªit involves mysterious packages, a shady deal, and dangers he can¡¯t comprehend. Moral Dilemma: The cash is good, a lifeline for him and his alcoholic father. But when Chance suspects he¡¯s a pawn in a much larger, deadlier game, he has to decide how much his integrity is worth. Poverty and Privilege: A gritty look at life on the margins, contrasting a teen living on a broken-down sailboat with the seemingly perfect lives of his classmates. A Patriotic Question: In a world shaped by terrorism, Chance is forced to confront what patriotism really means and where his loyalties truly lie.