Running Wild

by Thomas J. Dygard

When Officer Stowell encourages him to join the high school football team or go to jail for joyriding, Pete Holman finds that he likes playing football and becomes a star player until his old gang shows up. Reprint.

Genres: Sports

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

In His Own Words...

"I can't remember when I first started writing fiction. it was shortly after I began reading fiction, I'm sure.

"I've been a voracious reader for as long as I can remember. As a teenager, I read a lot of the same kinds of books I'm writing-the John R. Tunis sports stories, for example. I also read a lot of history when I was young-and I still do now. It's always fascinated me.

"When I was a high school senior, I was offered two jobs, both of the apprentice sort. One was in a commercial artist's studio, on a recommendation from my art teacher. The other was in the sports department of the local newspaper, following work on the school paper. I took the sportswriting job.

"For four years I worked for the Arkansas Gazette while attending the University of Arkansas, first at Little Rock and then at Fayetteville, covering football, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, tennis-everything that made up the sports page. After graduation, I joined the Associated Press as a newsman at Little Rock and later worked in AP bureaus in Detroit, Birmingham, and New Orleans. Eventually, I was Chief of Bureau in Little Rock, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Tokyo, Japan. I retired from the Associated Press in 1993 and now live in Evansville, Indiana.

"For me, writing fiction is fun, relaxing, and satisfying-an enjoyable change of pace, a recharging of the batteries.

"My first young adult novel, Running Scared, got started one night in a motel room in Champaign, Illinois, when I had nothing else to do. Before long, the story had me in its grip. The creation of the thing was a fascinating experience. I liked the characters. I liked leading them through their problems to their triumphs. I kept going until one day it was finished.

"I did not set out to write for young people. Looking back, I think it was something of a blessing that 1 did not. As I wrote Running Scared, I imagined the reader as an adult, but after it was finished, it seemed more appropriate for young readers. The result, I think, was that the story did not talk down to teenagers. In every book I've written since, I've tried to keep the same approach."

Reviews

[Dashaun Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a good book. Once a troubled teen turned out to be the star player for his highschool football team. His old friends got jealous because he wasnt hanging with them so they stole his playbook and sold it to their opponent.

[Amura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you are at the wrong place at the right time. Pete Holman was going down the wrong path in life when being arrested changed his life for the better. Have you ever been peer pressured to do something wrong? Pete was constantly being peer pressured to smoke, skip class, drink, and do illegal stuff at the mall. This was by his friends that he had since a young age. He was also being pressured to do the right things by a cop and the football coach. The main character is Pete Holman. He lives in the city and attends school at Cartwright High. He is going through a problem in his life of choosing a better life over the friends he had become comfortable to. Throughout the book Pete is being pushed in both directions, referring to positive and negative choices, and he seems to be leaning toward the positive. At the beginning of the book Pete was hanging out with his friends driving around drunk. His friend Bucky had turned and sideswiped a parked car while they were running from a cop. Pete, Jimbo, and Bucky had all gotten out and attempted to run. Pete was caught by the officer and the cop told him that he should play football. At first Pete agreed to do it so that they would not tell his parents. The first day back to school he was nervous about showing up. His friends were teasing about becoming a jock. When he got to the first practice he did not think that he fit in, but the players surprisingly treated him well. He stuck with it and started hanging out with his troubled friends less. Pete started getting better and better at football throughout each practice. He ended up falling in love with the game. Along the way through the book Pete learned that sometimes you have to sacrifice your comfort level and friendship to get to where you want to be. Sometimes in life you have to look at the big picture and decide if what you are doing now is worth it. I wanted to read this book because I am really into sports. This book reminds me of my life because I have had friends that I had to cut out of my life do to their bad habits. I have stopped talking to multiple friends because they started smoking and doing illegal activities. I don’t want to get caught up in that life and it is worth making the choice to lose a friend and be successful later. When I was reading this book his two friends Jimbo and Bucky immediately made me think of two of my friends that I used to be close to. I can relate to the main character because I have also stayed out of trouble by being involved in sports. In my opinion the book exceeded its expectation of teaching me a lesson. I don’t think that it was the best book for entertainment but I had a personal connection to it. I would recommend this book to anybody that is hanging out with the wrong crowd. It is a good short read. You should read it because it teaches a good life lesson. It gives an example of someone making right choices. This book is aimed at middle school through high school students. But anybody who enjoys reading books that teach life lessons or books where the main character turns their life around would love it.

[Braylen Mumford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this is a great book for athletes. I loved this book because it showed that anyone can do in sport if they put their mind and effort into it. Pete Holman started off as a thug and was hanging out with people who would smoke and drink almost every day. Once Pete had gotten into the incident with Office Stowell is when things started to change for him. Pete overcame the problems with his old friends and became a key piece to the Cartwright football team. I think books represent real-life situations because athletes overcoming things in their life outside of sports can be challenging. This was a great book overall and the way the author went into detail during game situations was very good as well.

[Alex Klosterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book a five star rating, because this book "Running Wild" is a really good book. I didn't think this book was going to be that good, but I tried it. I am really glad that I tried it. Also this book mentioned the exciting parts. Such as the games, and the good and bad parts of the main character. That is why I gave Running Wild a five star rating.

I would recommended this book, because it was just so good. Every time I was reading this book I just wanted to keep reading and never stop. Also, I don't really liked to read, but with this book I did. The age level of this book is junior high kids that like to read about football. So that' why I would recommended this book to somebody.

A brief overview of Running Wild is that Pete and his friends got caught drinking. So then Pete and his friends had to go to the Police Station. Pete's friends had to call their parents and have them get picked up. While Pete's punishment was different he had to practice for the football team for one day. So then Pete went out for the football team. He was really out of shape compared to everybody else. Pete wondered everyday if he was going to go to football or quit. He kept going to football and decided to join the team for good. Pete in his first game he was a back up running back. So he got to go out there a couple of plays. Over time and time Pete kept getting better and better. Eventually he became the starter. Pete one day Pete couldn't find his play book, and if you lost your play book it was a one game suspension. Pete looked everywhere for it in his locker, his friends locker, and his entire house. He couldn't find his book. Then his coach found his play book, and he told Pete that Hanson High (there opponent that week) saw his players messing with the book. So the Hanson High coach brought the book to Coach Wilson (Pete's coach). What happens from there? Is Pete punished? How did the book get to Hansen High? You will just have to read Running Wild by Thomas J. Dygard.

[Nobama'12 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently reading this book. It is your typical football novel, similar to that of Mike Christopher and his sports novels. But one made me rate this book so high is that I enjoy this type of reading the most. I think that I could become interested in some other types, but I do not like to read much. I am able to relate to this type of book more than any other though, so I have more fun reading them. Anyway on to the book. Pete is a high-school student. He is just a normal student and does not play any sports. One night while cruising around town, with his friends Buster and Jimmy, they run a red light and get pulled over. On instinct Jimmy and Pete run. Pete gets caught and Buster doesn't run because he was driving. They run mainly because they were out past curfew. Pete is very scared he may have gotten himself in bigger trouble than he would've been if he didn't run. The officer that arrests him decides to cut him a deal however. If Pete will agree to go out for football, the officer will let him go without even contacting Pete's mother! Pete automatically says yes after thinking about the pros and cons. But today is Monday, and he isn't so sure about his decision after all. Heck, who is going to flat out say that he has to gear up and practice? (This is as far as I've read so far.)

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Running Wild is a book about a high schooler who gets caught drinking and doing other bad things. He has a choice to join the football team or spend the night in jail. So he decides to join the football team and he turns out liking it and wants to keep playing it. He ends up being the star running back for the high schools football team.
I would recommend this to students who like drama or like real situations. And maybe for some kids you can relate to some of the characters. Personally it wasn't my favorite book ever but it was fun to read and has a good message.
I would say that this book showed me that whoever you are you can be successful. It taught me that everyone makes mistakes that they can fix. I think that this book has a good message.

[Derek Stanoch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pete Holman was caught joyriding with his friends. After the cops stopped them all of his friends got away but Pete was the only one that got caught. When he was at the station he saw a football coach and he told him that if joins football he will bail him out.
The next Monday he went to the football coach and told him that he wants to play. Everyone was surprised because he was know as the kid that skips school and smokes. After the first week he wants to quit but he stay in until there first game. At the end of the year Pete is one of the best running backs on the team, and he starts every game.

[Will J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pete is a trouble senior at his high school, he cuts classes, smokes, and drinks. When he is caught and brought to the sheriff's office he has a choice, join the football team or have his mom pick him up and punish him. Pete joins the football team and finds out he likes it and wants to continue playing it. This book shows how you should not be friends with people who are bad influence on you and could make you get in trouble. I would defiantly recommend this book to a friend who enjoys reading sports books. It is not too difficult or long.

[Cody Wernimont]

I think it is a good idea for him play football for his punishment.

[Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Running wild is an awesome book if you like thrillers that will have your heart racing eager to know what happens next. Running wild is a Fiction sports book about American football. This book revolves around football but also has many themes in it. One of the major themes I pointed out was always surround yourself with good people. Pete is a high school boy who hangs out with the wrong crowd and whoever you surround yourself with is who you are going to turn into and he did.
Pete first started off as a bad kid in high school and hung around with the wrong group of kids. After his troubled friends, Jimbo and Bucky sideswiped a parked car. Pete gets tackled by Officer Stowell and gets drove down to the police station. Pete showed enough athletic ability while trying to outrun the police officer. The police officer Stowell called up Coach Wilson the high school football coach for the Cartwright Bulldogs. Coach Wilson showed up to the station and offers Pete the chance to play for the football team in exchange for his freedom. Pete agrees. His second practice he shows natural talent as a receiver, and in his first game, he almost carried his whole team to victory. Pete puts in every second he can to get better and better. Before Pete knows it he is soon hanging out with the varsity players, who despises drinking, smoking, or any drugs. Pete's playbook is then stolen and rumors say someone is going to sell it to the rival high school. Who could have done that? Who would want to ruin a futures star career?
Jimbo made a big impact on the story and on the main character. Jimbo was a troubled kid and was a very bad influence on Pete. He tried to make Pete do the stuff he did but Pete didn't give in. Jimbo was an also a backstabber to Pete and was not a good friend to Pete or I wouldn't even call him a friend. I would describe Jimbo as an evil, backstabbing, troubled kid.
This book was a very interesting book that wanted me to keep reading and made me not want to put the book down. It always had drama or a very exciting part going on in the book. I agree with the ending of the book it ended the way I wanted to and wouldn't change a thing. The part I disagree on is the book should have talked about his future in football instead of the college he got into and the high school he played for. I wonder if he furthered his career. This book made me very angry and some characters and made me happy with other I had mixed feelings. I would definitely suggest this book to anyone into sports or just a fun and exciting book to read it never had a boring part in it.