On the Road to Find Out

March 24, 2014
All Alice Davis—“champion taker of standardized tests, favorite of teachers, and only child of two achievement-focused parents”—wants is to get into Yale. So when the Early Action rejection comes, it sends her into a downward spiral that even her beloved pet rat, Walter, can’t shake her from. Alice vows to start running as her New Year’s resolution, which turns out to be both a challenge and a lifeline. Through running, she meets Joan, a former top-ranked marathoner who shows Alice how to find joy in life, and Miles, a homeschooled, shaggy-haired guy who wins local races and Alice’s heart. Even though Toor doesn’t throw in any real surprises—except, perhaps, for Alice’s lengthy discourses on the many upsides to rats—her heroine’s rejection and doldrums are relatable, as is her winding journey to figuring out who she is. For many readers who are just starting to feel the pressures of college apps, as well as those who love running (and maybe rats) as much as Alice does, this is a road worth taking. Ages 12–up. Agent: Elise Capron, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.

May 15, 2014
In a light and gently humorous romance, self-centered Alice learns to run, to cope with disappointment and to consider other people's feelings.Alice is heartsick after Yale rejects her Early Action application. However, as a family friend both wise and wisecracking points out in a heavy-handed but nonetheless insightful speech, her crushed feeling is less about Yale itself than about not having gotten her own way. Stubborn, snarky and sometimes glaringly un-self-aware, Alice has a smart retort for everything her mom, dad or family friend Walter tries to tell or offer her. She is kinder to Jenni, the best friend for whom Alice's parents serve as a sort of surrogate family, but astute readers will notice the imbalances in the pair's relationship long before Jenni herself points them out. What keeps readers engaged with Alice is her devotion to her beloved pet rat, a comical, curious and deeply lovable creature also named Walter, who inspires enthusiastic and endearing rat-related asides to readers. As Alice follows up on her hastily made New Year's resolution to start running and meets the kind and driven head of a running shop as well as a down-to-earth and dreamy boy runner, her growth is palpable. Lessons-of the life-skills variety and the SAT-vocabulary variety-are many, but the vibrant characters and lively dialogue make them easy to digest.Warm, funny and wise. (Fiction. 12-18)

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June 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-In this debut novel, readers met Alice as she goes for her very first run on New Year's Day. Two weeks prior, Alice, very much a perfectionist, was thrown into shock and depression when Yale rejected her early action application. For her entire life, Alice has focused solely on academics, assuming it would be enough to get her into the college of her choice. When not studying, she prefers to spend her time with her pet rat, Walter. Through her rejection and subsequent decision to begin running, she meets Miles and Joan at the running store, both of whom help her grow as a runner and as a person. Alice could potentially rub readers the wrong way, but teens who are feeling the pressure of college applications will relate to this character who finds that she is tougher than she thought she could be.-Stephanie Charlefour, Wixom Public Library, MI

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