Running on the Cracks

Be the first to write a review
Hardcover
$14.45
BN.com price
$16.99 List Price (Save 15%)
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$0.01
$16.99 List Price (Save 100%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (17)  
Used (12)  
New (5)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 2
Showing 1 – 10 of 17 (2 pages)
$0.01
(Save 100%)
Better World Books
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(50880)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Good
Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase ... benefits world literacy! Read more Show Less

Ships from: Mishawaka, IN

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.01
(Save 100%)
Better World Books
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(50880)

Condition: Very Good
Former Library book. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!

Ships from: Mishawaka, IN

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
thriftbooks-com
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(5902)

Condition: Very Good
Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library ... book - will contain library markings. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Auburn, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
Hall Street Books
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(147)

Condition: Like New
2009 - Hardcover - May contain minor shelf-wear. Otherwise, volume un-read and in "As-New" condition. - Used - Like New - - - -

Ships from: Brooklyn, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
New Chapter Recycling
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(3285)

Condition: Good

Ships from: Lakewood, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
GreenEarthBooks
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(4876)

Condition: Good
Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and ... Reuse! Read more Show Less

Ships from: Portland, OR

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
MotorCityBooks
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(5051)

Condition: Very Good
Book has appearance of only minimal use. All pages are undamaged with no significant creases or tears. With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, Best ... Prices. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Brownstown, MI

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
Free State Books
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(1006)

Condition: Good
Book has a small amount of wear visible on the binding, cover, pages. Free State Books. Never settle for less.

Ships from: Halethorpe, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
thriftbooks-com
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(5902)

Condition: Good
Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library ... book - will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Auburn, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$3.25
(Save 81%)
Powell's Bookstores, Chicago IL
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(2537)

Condition: Like New
Like New 1st Edition. 2009. Hardcover. Fine.

Ships from: Chicago, IL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 2
Showing 1 – 10 of 17 (2 pages)
Close
Sort by
NOOK Book (eBook - First Edition)
$6.99
BN.com price

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

Note: Visit our Teens Store.

More About This Book

Overview

Leo’s running from her past. Finlay’s running into trouble. Together, they stumble into a crazy new world of secrets, lies, and Chinese food.

But someone is on Leo’s trail . . . Eccentric, unforgettable characters and genuine, heart-pounding suspense make for a stunning combination as celebrated author Julia Donaldson expands her talents in her first novel for young adults.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
This engaging, bittersweet story follows biracial British teenager Leonora (“Leo”) Watts-Chan, who was orphaned when her parents were killed in a plane crash, and has fled the home of her maternal aunt and perverted uncle. Interspersed with Leo’s first-person narration are third-person accounts of Finlay, a teenage goth wannabe who first encounters Leo when she steals a bag of doughnuts; the musings of Leo’s uncle, hot on her trail; and newspaper articles and letters. Rescued from homelessness by Mary, a former psychiatric patient, Leo is determined to find the paternal grandparents she has never met. With the help of unlikely friends and a string of coincidences, Leo finds her father’s family and learns the value of friendship (“I kind of think of the friends as my family too, as they’ve all been so good to me”). The characters in Donaldson’s (The Gruffalo; Room on the Broom) YA debut are well drawn and their imperfections are authentic, particularly Mary’s battle with mental illness. Despite heavy themes, the story is neither bleak nor gritty. The fast pace and short chapters should appeal to readers, who will celebrate the hopeful ending. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)
Children's Literature
What is it like to run away from home? Leonora Watts-Chan becomes an "orchestra orphan" when her parents die in a plane crash. Then she moves in with her aunt and uncle, only to discover her Uncle John is creepy around young girls. Could life get any worse for Leo? She runs away to Glasgow, Scotland. She is about to meet grandparents she has never met, find food and shelter, and try to survive as a runaway; but she would rather live dangerously than stay with her aunt and uncle. Things start to look up when Leo meets Mary in a park; Mary offers a place to sleep and friendship. Soon Leo becomes friends with the Godfather, the President, Ronnie, Lorraine, and a cast of characters who encourage and support her during difficult times. Life is starting to look up for this teenage runaway until her Uncle John chases her down. Will she survive on the streets? Or will she have to return to her uncle and aunt? In this exciting story, young readers will fall into the footsteps of Leonora, an orphan without a family or place to call home. Reviewer: Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D.
More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
School Library Journal
Gr 6–9—Still reeling from the recent death of her parents in a plane crash, Leo, a 15-year-old girl of mixed Chinese and English descent, runs away from an unpleasant living situation and boards a train to Glasgow. Remaining incognito in the city proves to be difficult, but she eventually finds refuge with a kindhearted, mentally ill woman. After seeing Leo's picture in the paper, Finlay, a 13-year-old Goth paperboy, figures out who she is. They become friends as he learns of her circumstances and volunteers to help her locate the Chinese grandparents she's never known. Finding them is imperative, as Leo doesn't want to be forced back to her aunt's home, a dangerous environment with a leering Uncle John. Donaldson's novel, told from the shifting perspectives of Leo, Finlay, and Uncle John, is slow to start, but picks up as Leo's predator uncle appears on the scene to track her down. American readers will find bits of the dialect hard to understand, but the slowly building suspense, strong characterizations, and a narrative that includes information about the Chinese immigrant experience in Scotland and insight into the lives of the mentally ill make the book a worthwhile read.—Shawna Sherman, Hayward Public Library, CA
Kirkus Reviews
Leonora (aka Leo), a recently orphaned half-white/half-Chinese teen, has run away from her unhappy aunt and uncle's house in England to search for her estranged Chinese grandparents in Glasgow. Finlay, a wannabe Goth and part-time paperboy, is trying to grow his meager savings by working a snack van on the weekends, when starving Leo steals a bag of donuts. The ensuing chase leads to an unlikely friendship, as the two set out on a quest to find Leo's family. On the way they become involved with an assortment of down-and-out street people, including a sweet, batty old lady named Mary, who lets Leo crash in her hovel of a flat. Meanwhile, Leo's unsavory uncle has traced her to Glasgow and the race is on as to whether he will find her before she finds safety. This fast-paced, richly characterized Scottish import, imbued with the important message that friends are the family you choose, will be a boon to libraries looking to add more world literature to their teen collections. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780805090543
  • Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
  • Publication date: 9/15/2009
  • Pages: 224
  • Age range: 12 - 17 Years
  • Product dimensions: 5.30 (w) x 7.90 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Meet the Author

JULIA DONALDSON is the author of many celebrated books for young readers, including The Giants and the Joneses, The Snail and the Whale, and The Gruffalo, which has sold more than a million copies. She lives in Glasgow, Scotland, with her husband, Malcolm, and their family.

Read an Excerpt

Running on the Cracks

LEO

Station Loo

This is the bit I've planned. I know what I've got to do, but it would help if my hands would stop shaking.

It would help if there was more space too. I should have gone into the disabled loo instead of the ladies. The cubicle is tiny; the gap under the door feels huge. What if anyone peers under it? Instead of seeing two feet plonked apart facing forward, they'll see a bulky school bag and various clothes going in and out of it.

First, off comes the brand-new, snooty blazer with the high school crest on it. Poor blazer—it'll never enter the high school now.

A door swings. Footsteps, coming toward me. Another door bangs in my ear. Someone is in the loo next to mine. I freeze with my tie half unknotted.

Don't be so paranoid! No one's looking for me yet.

I unbutton the white shirt and slip out of the black skirt.

An echoey announcement wafts through the air. It's for the Exeter train, not mine, but there's not much time left.

I rummage in the school bag. Beneath the empty filesand folders and the unused gym kit is my precious sketchbook. That's not what I'm looking for, though it's good to feel its familiar battered corners.

Here it is, the secret carrier bag. And inside it, the jumble-sale clothes.

I still think that jumble sale was a brainwave. A total disguise, and such a cheap one—only £3.50 altogether for the beige hooded anorak, the white T-shirt and red sweater, the definitely nondesigner jeans and trainers (how Caitlin and Flo would slag me off if they saw them!), and the pair of sunglasses.

Actually, I'm not so sure about the sunglasses anymore. Maybe they'll just draw attention to me. After all, the clothes aren't summery. In fact, they're too hot for this warm September day, but then Glasgow is bound to be colder than Bristol, and it'll be winter all too soon.

Now for the cleverest trick of all. Folded up inside the carrier bag is a flimsy nylon hold-all—another jumble-sale bargain. It cost all of 40p and is big enough to contain my school bag and all its contents. Now I won't have to leave the school bag in the station or risk having it spotted and identified on the train.

The hold-all even has a zip pocket for my purse. No need to check the contents of the purse, really, but I do: £39.60 and a ticket.

The wrong ticket.

That's all right, though; it's all part of the plan. Insteadof a ticket to Glasgow, I've bought a standard day single to Paddington. The ticket will be as unused as the school uniform, and it cost a lot more than the jumble-sale clothes, but it was worth it. Along with my note, it should put them off the scent for a while. "I'm going to see the Dali exhibition at the Tate Britain," I told the ticket clerk. He'll remember me now. That's the plan anyway.

The £39.60 is just enough to pay for my ticket on the Glasgow train if I have to, but I do hope I won't. I'm planning some more sneaky visits to the loo, timed to coincide with any ticket inspections.

I remember Mum's scorn for fare-dodgers. "Sorry, Mum, but this is different," I tell her. I don't really believe in heaven, but I still find myself talking to her—and to Dad too.

The transformation is complete, and the ladies is all mine again. Furtively—no, casually; I mustn't look furtive—I emerge and look at myself in the mirror.

The clothes and hold-all are nondescript, which is the effect I wanted. My face is unfortunately not nondescript at all. I look Chinese, like Dad, instead of English like Mum. (For some reason, thinking about Mum and Dad isn't hurting so much as usual. I suppose the excitement and nerves are covering up the hurt.) If my hair had been long, I could maybe have cut it, but it's short, black, and shiny. Hood up? Hood down? Sunglasses on? Off?

No time for dithering, as a crescendo of train wheelsand a floating announcement remind me: "The nine forty-five for Glasgow Central is now arriving at platform one. Calling at Cheltenham Spa, Birmingham New Street, Preston, Carlisle, and Motherwell. Platform one for the nine forty-five to Glasgow Central."

Suddenly I feel sick. It's the thought of all those stops and starts. It's going to be a long journey, and I don't know what's at the other end.

Copyright © 2009 by Julia Donaldson

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit