Run Like a Girl

Gr 9 Up–Chidera “Dera” Edwards’s life is about to be turned upside down with her track dreams slipping away. Her mother, dealing with financial strain, sends Dera to live with her estranged father. What’s worse? Her new school doesn’t have a girls’ track team, leaving Dera to wonder how she will get a scholarship and make it to the Olympics one day. Determined not to give up, she asks to join the boys’ team, and when the administration and the coach agree, life starts to look up. But not all of the boys on the team are welcoming, and she also finds herself an outsider off the track. When classmate Rosalyn asks to interview Dera for her blog, and it goes viral, it complicates her life more than it helps. Debut author Egbe presents a wonderfully written story about following one’s dreams and finding a way despite the hurdles. Key characters are diverse; Dera is one of the few Black (her father is Nigerian) students in her school, and Egbe does not shy away from writing about what it is like to not only be a girl on a boys’ team but also a Black girl facing microaggressions. Dera is an authentic character, and her growth over the course of the novel feels genuine. Her story is messy, and the ending, though happy, is not wrapped in a bow, making it refreshingly realistic.