Running On Empty

The book explores the topic of death and the way it affects a child and their family. The story begins with Aj being eleven years old and experiencing the Olympics with his family, the first chapter shows Aj and his overthinking and lack of self confidence when comparing himself to his classmate. He tends to think of the worst possible scenario and this causes his to miss out on amazing experiences. Aj loses his grandfather in the next year, he fills the void of his grandfather with running to avoid having to accept the loss of his grandad. Aj has two parents with learning difficulties, after the loss of his grandfather who took care of all the adult roles, this passed the role onto Aj. Aj is forced to become the adult and worry about topics that shouldn’t be his concern. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think it teaches children important aspects of life and death.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes athletics and following their dream

The fastest on empty

I think this book is amazing becuase of its intcing plot and exciting story line. My favourite charcter is AJ because he is a very interesting person with lots if secrets. I would definately reccommened this to somwone else as it is very secretive and exciting.

I loved it but it was quite long and grown up so it was a bit hard to understand. I'd recommend this book for children who are aged nine to twelve. It can also be quite a good book for seven and eight year olds, but it may be as I said long and hard to understand.

The main frame of the story is there is a little boy who wants to go to the sports school in Canada but his trainers are all worn out out and he needs to win a race to get there. When he gets some new trainers he's through to the second race and he's really excited but he misses the last race because he gives his trainers to someone who is in the same situation as he was. And he learns that your hobby is not the most important thing in life.

I will definitely be reading this story to my Year 5 class.

It was the best book I’ve ever read I would definitely recommend it to someone else

Such an emotional read. A funny, yet wholesome story of all the things you can’t know are going on at home for a child. The innocence of all the characters and the ever supportive presence of the memory of the main character’s grandfather is really heartwarming. I cried at least once!

Incredibly emotional story of a boy who becomes the main carer for his parents, mum has learning difficulties and dad suffered with anxiety. AJ is a talented athlete but can't make the team in the trainers that don't fit him anymore. Trying to keep everything normal, he counts down to his birthday and the new trainers that will make everything better.

If you want a book that’s easy to read and relatable, this is the book for you! I love the fact that it’s written in first person. It made me feel like AJ was speaking directly to me, and me alone. The present tense style kept everything moving and interesting, and made it feel like I was with the characters every day instead of being told about things that happened in the past.

The author manages to capture beautifully the challenges that an 11/12-year-old boy faces when moving to secondary school. The way that his emotions are described help to show that everyone has good days and bad days. The relationship that AJ shares with his little cousin, Aisha, is lovely and would probably ring some bells for you and any younger siblings or relatives of your own.

There are parts that are truly sad, especially when the reality of how responsible AJ must be is at the forefront of the story. It’s a good reminder to just be kind because we really have no idea what is going on in someone else’s life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in realistic fiction or who feels that they may be able to relate to the character – even if it’s just a shared enthusiasm for running!

I really enjoyed this book as it was heart-warming and thought provoking. All our lives are different and how we deal with that is important.
I would recommend this as it made me put myself in the main character's shoes and think about their situation.

I think this is on of the best books ever. Definitely worth reading.

This is a good book, it's about real life so you can really connect with it. It is about a boy called AJ who loves running. He is starting secondary school but his Grandad has just passed away.

I really enjoyed this book because it is sad and heart-warming at the same time and it is totally understandable if it makes people cry. AJ is such an understandable character but is just your average school-aged boy, but realises that he can do great things when he tries.

The only reason i am not giving it 5/5 is because it made me cry. A lovely, lovely book which i recommend to all readers older than 8 [inclusive]

this was a really heart felt story and i love how he carried on what his grandad had not finished. i love how he cared for his family so much that he sold his new trainers just so they can charge up the meter the blurb really stuck to its meaning