The Runaway's Diary

by James Patterson, Emily Raymond, Valeria Wicker (Illustrator)

Overview

A page-turning graphic novel of sisters, secrets, and second chances.

I’m running away. Not to a place—to a person. 
 
Eleanor is happiest when she's left alone to dream up elaborate stories. Sam is polished, fun, and popular. Still, the sisters have always been there for each other—until everything changed.  
 
Now Sam is somewhere in Seattle, and Eleanor runs after her. Nothing is easy in the big, unforgiving city. As Eleanor faces new setbacks, she also makes new friends and tells new stories. Eleanor can rewrite her life in so many ways . . . but can she make a happy ending her reality?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316500234
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	06/07/2022
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	110,231
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

James Patterson is the world's bestselling author. The creator of Maximum Ride and Crazy House, he has donated more than one million books to students and soldiers, as well as millions of dollars to independent bookstores and school libraries. He lives in Florida with his family.

Hometown:

Palm Beach, Florida

Date of Birth:

March 22, 1947

Place of Birth:

Newburgh, New York

Education:

B.A., Manhattan College, 1969; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1971

Website:

http://www.jamespatterson.com

Editorial Reviews

"Enjoyable…an energetic read."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2022-04-13
A teenager runs away to Seattle, hoping to locate her missing sister.

Fifteen-year-old Eleanor idolizes her older sister, Sam, despite their being complete opposites: Sam is outgoing and wild, while socially awkward Eleanor is known as Little Miss Perfect, always doing the right and safe thing. After Sam runs away from home, the only communication she has with Eleanor are three postcards sent from Seattle. Eleanor decides to trace her 18-year-old sister’s footsteps, leaving her messages and hopping on a bus to find her. But when Sam doesn’t meet her at the bus depot, Eleanor, who has no real plan, has to learn how to survive on her own while searching the city for her sister. While the close bond between the girls is well depicted through flashbacks, the reveal of an important secret ultimately feels anticlimactic. A major plot point relies too heavily on chance and coincidence to be fully believable. While the color scheme, cityscapes, and background illustrations are atmospheric, the manga-inspired drawing style comes across as dated and flat. The depiction of the fabricated stories Eleanor tells is intriguing, as are the themes of friendship, living in the moment, and maintaining hope; unfortunately, none are thematically strong enough to resonate. The emotional impact of Eleanor’s experiences is diluted by her at times humorous narration. Eleanor and the main cast read as White.

A somewhat entertaining, fast-paced journey that fizzles at the end. (Graphic novel. 12-15)

Kirkus Reviews

04/01/2022

Gr 5–8—Eleanor, a gloriously auburn-maned high school outcast, boards a bus to Seattle to find her runaway older sister, and in the process becomes a runaway herself. When she touches down in the big city, she stumbles into the world of young unhoused people, finds her touch as a storytelling busker, and ultimately starts to unravel the mystery of her sister's disappearance. It sounds like a potentially dark story, but it has a persistently peppy tone, replete with trips to Seattle tourist landmarks such as the Space Needle, the Central Library, and Pike Place Market. Serendipity finds Eleanor supported by a grumpy woman from her bus who houses her briefly, then by a cute blond busker boy who keeps her company. She never goes hungry, she's never assaulted, and she brushes shoulders with drug users for a mere moment. The detective work of following her sister's trail and flashing back to their complicated relationship at home makes for a very readable story, and Wicker's colorful, straightforward illustrations make the streets of Seattle a rather appealing place to be unhoused. The narrative's gentle tone makes for an enjoyable, if sitcomlike read, but the saccharine simplification of runaway life may feel off-putting for more critical readers. All the major characters in this story appear to be white. VERDICT A energetic read with a tenuous presentation of unhoused life.—Emilia Packard

School Library Journal