Book Review: Keeping Pace by Laurie Morrison

Publisher’s description

Laurie Morrison’s Keeping Pace is a poignant middle-grade novel about friends-turned-rivals training for a half-marathon—and rethinking what it means to win and what they mean to each other.

Grace has been working for years to beat her former friend Jonah Perkins’s GPA so she can be named top scholar of the eighth grade. But when Jonah beats her for the title, it feels like none of Grace’s academic accomplishments have really mattered. They weren’t enough to win—or to impress her dad. And then the wide, empty summer looms. With nothing planned and no more goals or checklists, she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to be working toward.

Eager for something to occupy her days, Grace signs up for a half-marathon race that she and Jonah used to talk about running together. Jonah’s running it, too. Maybe if she can beat Jonah on race day, she’ll feel OK again. But as she begins training with Jonah and checking off a new list of summer goals, she starts to question what—and who—really matters to her. Is winning at all costs really worth it?

Engaging and heartfelt, Keeping Pace is about wanting to win at all costs—and having to learn how to fail.

Amanda’s thoughts

This is one of the best upper middle grade books I’ve read this year. Every single aspect was great: the plot, the characters, the writing, the mix of humor and sadness, the pacing. All great.

Grace is driven and thrives on goals. When she doesn’t get top scholar at middle school graduation (and instead her former friend Jonah gets the accolade) and also doesn’t get into the writing intensive she was hoping to, she begins to feel adrift. She needs new goals and plans for this summer, so her cousin/friend Avery and her sister Celia help her develop a list, which includes goals that are not just academic, things like make a new friend and get a haircut. Grace doesn’t necessarily want to do all of the items listed (especially not kiss someone “extra points if it’s Jonah”), but her summer does start to take shape. She’s babysitting for the son of her dad’s new girlfriend, taking a writing class through the library, making a new friend, and training for a half marathon. It’s this last item that helps her reconnect with Jonah, who is also training for the half marathon. Through their runs, they start talking again, getting close like they used to be, and hanging out at times other than just training. But, because life is never simple, especially not at 14, things repeatedly veer off track. There’s fights with her cousin, weird stuff to work through feeling about her dad, ups and downs with Jonah, and lots of reevaluating what it means to be so incredibly focused on achievement. Not only is that focus maybe limiting her life (and stressing her out), but there’s the small problem of having to figure out how to interact with PEOPLE and see them for all they are, because friendship and caring are not measurable achievements the same way passing a math test is. And Grace is a good friend. She’s a caring person. But she’s also 14 and figuring it all out. I admired how she could make mistakes and learn from them and apologize or change course. That’s a hard lesson for any age.

Full of supportive, well-rounded secondary characters (who, importantly don’t just support Grace but challenge her and help her see her way through things), this look at identity, relationships, and goals is a great read with the important reminder that you are more than just your accomplishments.

Review copy (ARC) courtesy of the publisher

ISBN-13: 9781419768750
Publisher: Amulet Books
Publication date: 04/09/2024
Age Range: 10 – 14 Years

Filed under: Book Reviews