Synopses & Reviews
Kevin Schuler is popular, has a wonderful girlfriend, and is the fastest runner on his tiny school's track team. At a track meet, on a cool March night, he anchors a winning relay, trades insults with a rival, and lets another boy run in his stead in his best event: the 800-meter run. Everything works out for Kevin perhaps it always has. But after the meet, as Kevin rides home with his parents, the van carrying his team crashes, and everyone on board is killed.
In an instant, Kevin's world collapses. The classmates he grew up with are gone, and the grief lodges deep within him, numbing him. Even his memories of his friends are lost. He barely recognizes their names.
Something else changes too. After the accident, Kevin emerges as a phenomenal runner. At his new school, he begins breaking records in track and cross-country. His speed is seemingly effortless. He can't be beaten. He's perfect. On the inside, though, he's still struggling.
New friends help Kevin. The beautiful and brilliant editor of the school newspaper takes a shine to him. His best friend is a popular and talented running back. And Kevin grows fond of an intuitive and sensitive girl named Henny. Slowly, Kevin begins to remember his teammates, but his mind is still unsettled. His senior year, tortured by nightmares, Kevin wrestles with unanswerable questions: Will running help him heal? Or is his fame too great a distraction? Does physical grace inform the heart? Or is the solitude of running another way to disconnect from the world? Just as he is beginning to feel like himself again for the first time, another terrible tragedy enters his life.
In a voice that aches with unflinching authenticity, Jeremy Jackson relates a story of fearsome sadness, yet imbues it with humor, creating an unsentimental novel of remarkable poignancy.
Review
"[A] first novel that gives new life to the subject of athletics and coming of age....The story's modulated pace, not unlike a long-distance race, can be lulling at times but ends in a satisfying burst of speed and exhaustion. A quietly remarkable achievement of pathos and wit." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"An ex-high school runner recommended this debut novel by Jeremy Jackson, and I devoured it in one sitting. Ostensibly about running, the story reads like something between a horrible dream and a coming-of-age story about the strong, silent cool guy in high school....Although the story is almost plotless, I hardly noticed, so clear and concise is Jackson's prose and so compelling is Kevin as a character as are the people from the past he must get over and those he must connect with in the present. It's not a perfect book, but it is one of the most readable, affecting and unpretentious stories I've found in the past year." Anne O'Neil, Salon.com
Review
"The events of the novel take on a slightly surreal cast from the boy's skewed perspective, which lies somewhere between damaged adolescent, reluctant hero and ironic sage. This confusion is compounded by the incongruously sophisticated first-person narration Kevin possesses the vocabulary and insight of a Ph.D. candidate....Despite (or perhaps because of) its flaws, this debut has an undeniably quirky charm; it will be interesting to see what Jackson does next." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Jackson's first novel presents an unpredictable and unique protagonist who defies categorization. The first-person narration provides a glimpse into Schuler's mind, yet the voice is detached enough that he remains almost as much a mystery to the reader as to other characters. The unforgettable and complex main character makes this novel well worth reading." Gavin Quinn, Booklist
Synopsis
The Sweet Hereafter meets Chariots of Fire in this touching first novel about a teen who runs track and endures a horrible tragedy. Years later, when he has come to terms with his past and begins to heal, another tragedy enters his life. Jackson relates a story of fearsome sadness, yet imbues it with humor, creating an understated novel of remarkable poignancy.
Synopsis
In eighth grade Kevin Schuler is a popular kid with a decent, if not stellar, record on the track. Yet after fate takes him off a bus that crashes and kills his fellow students, including his girlfriend, Kevin inexplicably becomes a track phenomenon. Separated from his memory and distanced from his own life, he effortlessly smashes records and gains national attention, until he finds that he can no more remain apart from himself than he can from the ground beneath his feet.
Synopsis
In eighth grade Kevin Schuler is a popular kid with a decent, if not stellar, record on the track. Yet after fate takes him off a bus that crashes and kills his fellow students, including his girlfriend, Kevin inexplicably becomes a track phenomenon. Separated from his memory and distanced from his own life, he effortlessly smashes records and gains national attention, until he finds that he can no more remain apart from himself than he can from the ground beneath his feet.
About the Author
A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and Vassar College, where he later taught, Jeremy Jackson is a Henfield Prize winner and former James A. Michener Fellow. A native of Missouri, he now lives in Iowa.