This was of course after they had already gassed each other up, talking to each other like there was no one else on the track but them. And at the first meet of the season, nobody knew this more than Ghost.īefore the race, me and everybody else stood on the sidelines, clapping and hyping Ghost and Lu up as they took their marks. That’s what they really mean when they say false start. No competition except for your own brain that swears there’s other people on your heels. Just jump early and break out running with no one there running with you. Because false means fake, and ain’t no fake starts in track. TO DO: Everything (including forgetting about the race and braiding my sister’s hair)ĪIN’T NO SUCH thing as a false start. And now he wants Patty to run relay…where you have to depend on other people? How’s she going to do THAT? Excerpt But can you ever really run away from any of this?Īs the stress builds, it’s building up a pretty bad attitude as well.

And so Patty’s also running for her mom, who can’t. She runs from the reason WHY she’s not able to live with her “real” mom anymore: her mom has The Sugar, and Patty is terrified that the disease that took her mom’s legs will one day take her away forever. She runs for many reasons-to escape the taunts from the kids at the fancy-schmancy new school she’s been sent to ever since she and her little sister had to stop living with their mom. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team-a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. A newbie to the track team, Patina must learn to rely on her teammates as she tries to outrun her personal demons in this New York Times bestselling follow-up to the National Book Award finalist Ghost by New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds.

Patina track series