The Runner

Avi Bloom #1

by J.M. Johnson

The Runner – the first book in the young adult dystopian Avi Bloom series…

Ten years ago the president of the United States declared that global warming had reached a tipping point from which it would not recover. In answer to this dilemma, modern technology was shut down. The elderly and other volunteers could opt to live out the rest of their lives in a virtual world, but all others were left to fend for themselves.

Avi Bloom lives in a world in which each family must contribute one child as a runner. A runner risks life and limb to travel from village to village delivering news and other small items. Avi is one run shy of retiring when she discovers that whole villages are disappearing, leaving only a few dead bodies and the youngest children behind. Now, Avi must find out who or what is responsible for these missing people as she goes on a journey and discovers friendship, love, and betrayal. She also discovers that the forces behind these disappearances are much larger and more frightening than she could ever have imagined.

This is a young adult novel with mild violence.

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia

261 pages, Paperback

First published December 22, 2013

About the author

J.M. Johnson lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three children, three cats, and five chickens. When she is not busy writing, she can be found gardening, reading a book, or wandering through the woods.
Please visit J.M. Johnson for updates and ramblings at:
http://jmjohnsonbooks.blogspot.com/

Reviews

[Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Runner by J.M. Johnson
The book takes place in a futuristic setting where the world has been “shut off” in a manner of speaking not completely but mainly because of manmade global warming. Due to the loss of power mail and news is passed by runners, boys and girls typically ages 15-18, one from each family in any settlement. It’s dangerous work and runners are required to complete 185 runs…most do not make it. Avi Bloom has not only completed her runs but nearly doubled her number as she has taken on the responsibility of a surrogate family after her mother died and father disappeared. During one of her runs she encounters a group of scared children hiding after a settlement has been raided and the adults killed or taken. After rescuing the kids and some further investigation it’s discovered that many adults are disappearing with any trace or explanation. Avi and a group of new friends set out to find out what’s happening and how they can stop it.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review however it has no impact on my views or opinons.

Spoiler Alert…,sorta

At first glance this book looked promising. It had the subjects I enjoy and look for in books; post-near end of the world type scenario, minor romance, and difficult task to overcome. Basically all the ingredients that make a good read in my eyes. The premise had me intrigued however before I finished the first two chapters, I found myself wanting to put it down. The story seemed choppy and the protagonist, Avi, lacked some characteristics I was really hoping for. I wanted her to be a hard, ass-kicking individual, emotionally guarded and skeptical of everything and everyone…..that did not seem to be the case with her. While I applaud her for saving a group of small children in the beginning…obviously the right thing to do, I wish there would have been a slight internal struggle...sort of “only the strong survive” attitude. Later on she easily accepts friendships which from one perspective are a good, but it felt too easy and again didn’t fit with what I hoped for in the characters. The world is a harsh cruel place now. No room for easy going, we’re all going to be ok mentality. I’m glad those aspects are there but I wanted to see Avi evolve and let down her defenses with friendships and with a love interest. On that note, the love interest came, fine, but it came with the variable that I HATE and will almost always cause me to stop reading immediately….the love triangle. I do not like love triangles. They are unnecessary, irritating and reduce otherwise strong characters to whiny children. While this problem seemed to solve itself towards the end, I still dislike it. Towards the end we learn that Avi has some remarkable abilities that appeared, at least to me, to come on with no explanation. Why? If she has these extraordinary talents, why not hint at them in the beginning and offer some possible explanations that could be proven or disproven later in the story.
Anyway all in all this book was only an ok read for me. While the author leaves a note in the end of the first book saying that the story will continue, I’m not sure I will. Hope this helps.

PS. This is not meant to be an attack on the author or the book, just my own humble opinion.

[Ottilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you strong enough to survive? Electricity is gone. Government has been broken down. People are scattered, doing whatever they can do to survive. Avi is a runner, someone who is between the age of 13-17 who runs errands from one 'town' to another for their community, risking her life every time she leaves the fenced in area. Avi lives in the star town of the new world, but when things go hay wire, she is the first to volunteer to rise up to find answers that will save lives.

This is the first piece that I am reading by J.M. Johnson, and I enjoy reading indie books because there are some creative pieces that are not as well known. These are characters that are willing to do whatever it takes to survive, and helps the readers see despite all the bad in the world, even a smile can make a difference. She does give you detail that helps you understand the new world that she has created for The Runner. The only issue I had was that I felt like I was being talked to, rather than reading in some parts. However, the second book is released and I will probably be picking that up at some point :)

[joey (thoughts and afterthoughts) · Rating 2 out of 5]

[See the full review at thoughts and afterthoughts.]

Rating: 1.75/5

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less version:
-Elements of intrigue include Amish concepts and computer programming language.
-Heroine is underwhelming in development. Also the beginnings of a love triangle albeit underdeveloped relationships.
-Action sequences are fast-paced.
-There’s a degree of wishful thinking and lacking urgency in plotting.

Initial Thoughts:

[I received a copy of this book from the author for an honest critique.]

The premise is intriguing and certainly made me want to read this. The unfortunate thing is that while it does start off with a bang, there are avenues which lack substance in allowing this narrative to thrive in this genre.

Let me run these thoughts by you:

Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.


Afterthoughts:

“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die in one life before we enter another.”

The story begins in the life after humanity faces its own demise where technology is shut down to prevent further cataclysmic flooding of global warming. This leaves strife in its wake and the fall of structure and order in the world. At the expense of living, humans can opt to be plugged into Eden and be cared by machines. The narrative follows Avinash Bloom, our teenage heroine who fast-tracked childhood to acquire the skills and knowledge in surviving the world post-Shift; the namesake change in lifestyle. Through anecdotes and the journey she embarks on do we uncover the state of the world.

However, there is a certain deficiency in the world building that leaves so many avenues unanswered and begging for more.In this genre in particular, the ability to distinguish a world (albeit based off of Earth) from others in creating a dangerously atmospheric environment is quintessential in setting the tone for events moving forward. Leaving holes for progressive plot points as far as pacing is concerned is understandable and works so long as the details are uncovered or come to be realised. With The Runner, readers are immediately immersed in Avi’s mission and sense of urgency exhibited by those who have survived or are trying to survive. From a learning curve perspective, I was expecting more inclusion and meaning built up out of these missions but was left with so many questions. While there are provisions toward the need for runners, what it lacked was clarity in definitive reasoning for implementing such a procedure. Essentially, the Shift incited a change in the world beginning ten years her present but there is no support to aid in understanding why specifically teenagers were expected to run, why the arbitrary 185 runs and the plausibility of turmoil-filled world having villages agree on such terms. The fall of any world would suggest Darwinian measures of survival so the build up is fairly lacklustre although the promise is there.

“The change is apparent the second we enter the woods. My smile fades and my senses are on full alert, searching for danger. We travel in silence, or at least, nobody is talking. Every step of the horses, each cough, or scratch, or sigh from my friends sounds like an explosion in my ears.”

Moreover, the potential inclusion of The Runners Manual is great if it had actually created more value than Avi questioning the rule in one instance and immediately discarding the thought in another. If the manual was presented as an epigraph of sorts and woven into Avi’s character (considering she grew up a Runner from six years of age) where she then questions the standards she has grown up to live by comparable to her outward actions could it have been a much more compelling character fleshing from an internal standpoint. By essentially downplaying the Runner aspect, an entire creative element becomes moot and unfortunately questions the difference it would have made if it was not included at all. The elephant in the room suggests that if she wasn’t a runner than things wouldn’t have panned out the way they have – and it’s absolutely right but I certainly beg the question of the value it adds.

This isn’t to say that there weren’t any creative elements as well. The coming of Rome (the village) and its Amish lifestyle was one that was neat; a historical lesson if I ever saw one. Additionally, the Mall was an interesting approach albeit farfetched at times. I’m sure there are upkeep costs (i.e. rent) to keep a business in the Mall but for Troy who presumably earns one silver coin for a service that operates basically once a day, you start to question if some aspects have been thought through. It is well advised that there is a new standard of currency but the value itself isn’t explicitly dictated. While this is just a simple nuance in detailing, the effect translates toward events in the mall, in pacing, would relate back to the value of survival (i.e. value of one animal pelt).

There is a great deal of wishful thinking and questionable behaviour of individuals in this narrative. It isn’t even the fact that I’m likely cynical and see the worst in people. It’s just that in many instances, the scenes stray from past behavior and dialogue (remembering the world they now live in) and as a reader you certainly question the logic behind the actions taken through playing devil’s advocate.

Exhibit A: When Avi is stopped by a gang and inadvertently drags a random passer (Ziggy) into the situation, she disapproves of his use of a gun and goes blazing in with her katana (I still don’t know how and why she has a Katana as opposed to a sword) after suggesting to Ziggy that “nobody is going to die”. Her logic was to negotiate and sweet talk her way out of the predicament. But what if they had not let her go? Would she have done the unthinkable and cut the throat of the man she fought and thus the bullet would have been the same result. Hmmm. In its truest form, it’s unbelievable that they would snag up playthings in other villages but had a revelation and an immediate change of heart and let Avi go free.

[Continue reading the full review at thoughts and afterthoughts.]

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ten years ago the president of the United States declared that global warming had reached a tipping point from which it would not recover. In answer to this dilemma, modern technology was shut down. The elderly and other volunteers could opt to live out the rest of their lives in a virtual world, but all others were left to fend for themselves.

Avi Bloom lives in a world in which each family must contribute one child as a runner. A runner risks life and limb to travel from village to village delivering news and other small items. Avi is one run shy of retiring when she discovers that whole villages are disappearing, leaving only a few dead bodies and the youngest children behind. Now, Avi must find out who or what is responsible for these missing people as she goes on a journey and discovers friendship, love, and betrayal. She also discovers that the forces behind these disappearances are much larger and more frightening than she could ever have imagined.
I received this book for free by the author for an honest opinion so here's my honest opinion.

The book starts out really well. It has interesting characters and interesting plot for the most part. I like what the author is trying to convey through the storyline, but it often falls short. I find the characters are often flat and their relationships newfound. The next chapter you find that they are already in love, when they have not even built a relationship with each other. One days at the Mall Avi meets Troy and then the next day their on a trail together! He's in love with her the next day which I find a very huge leap to follow. There is simply not enough history between the characters for this to move that fast. The same goes for the character Ziggy. He meets her one day, by chance, and then the next day he is simply in love with her. Why not have the main character and Ziggy have a relationship since childhood and then all of a sudden they meet? This would make the relationship between them a little bit more convincing.
The world in which she lives in after the Shift is simply not believable with the other character relationships. We are to believe that everyone is this helpful after the Shift? Human nature dictates otherwise. If her ability affects other people it needs to be a little bit more dramatic for the reader. I would be curious as to why all of a sudden they changed their minds. Some of the communication between the characters is very awkward at times. So this doesn't help the relationships between the characters to be believable to the reader.
There are bits and pieces about the plot that are confusing to the reader as well. Things just all of a sudden shut shut off? If this was actually believable there would be more chaos then what is described in the book. We are to believe that everything just ran smoothly into the Shift, I think not. Things need to be desperate in the world to train and send out a 15-year-old on "runs". Why not the adults? How did these adults arrive at this decision to send a 15-year-old out? The world has to be desperate in order to send younger people out to do the work of adults. Where as the world before the shift did not send young people out like that so what change their minds? The author just moved too fast with the reader when it came to describing and understanding this world in which Avi lived in.
One last thing, the book really needs editing. There are quite a bit of typos.
I hope this author does some revision. The story is very promising and not to be given up on. Just needs to be fleshed out with the comments from myself and other readers.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a world where all technology has been turned off because global warming has threatened the Earth, each family must provide a runner. A runner is a person between 15 and 18 years old who goes from town to town to deliver news, and exchange small things such as seeds and maps. Runners don’t have a long life expectancy and usually don’t live long enough to fulfil the required number of runs before retiring.
Avi Bloom has not only run all of her runs but has almost run enough for two. On her final mission she realizes that someone is responsible for attacking towns, kidnapping the adults and leaving the small children behind. Avi retires as a runner and sets of on new mission to find out who is responsible and where all these people are being held. She is also looking for her father who disappeared several years before.

Avi has been a runner for about 3 years and hasn’t had time to make friends but now that she is retired she sets out with two new friends, Veronica and Ziggy. Veronica reminds me of a child, I don’t think her age was ever stated but she acted about 10 years old with her giggling and inability to be mature. I guess she was likeable enough but just kind of annoying. Ziggy is supposed to be somewhat of a love interest for Avi but I just don’t see it. He did the honorable thing by attempting to save Avi and seems to be generally interested in her but his problem is being interested in everyone else as well. Avi herself seems to be a bit preoccupied with boys as well. She never misses the chance to ogle any available male in her vicinity.

I liked the idea for the book. The world has been essentially turned off. Avi and the people in her town of Rome have survived because before the shut down her father teamed up with the Amish to learn how to live without electricity and modern conveniences. They are able to make their own soap, clothing, housing, and have gardens. The Amish storyline made The Runner much more believable and understandable. The transition wasn’t as hard for these people as it was for many others. The world has turned into a cruel place where gangs, rivaling towns, and trading posts are normal.

Honestly, I don’t think many adults would like The Runner. I think a good age group for this book would be between 11 and 16. I enjoyed it but I do think this book is for younger kids. There were some questions that were left unanswered for example, why are teens sent out as runners, how was the world just turned off and why has the government not tried to rebuild the nation? This book is the first in the series and leaves a cliff hanger for another book, maybe some of the questions will be answered in the next book. Or maybe, the target audience won’t be all that interested in the government or how the power was turned off. I think the target audience will be more interested in the relationships between the characters. All the characters in the books seemed to be way too preoccupied with girls and boys. It was as if I were reading a book about kids just realizing there aren’t any cooties….and GO! I gave The Runner 3.5 stars and would have been harsher if I had not been reviewing while keeping in mind this book was definitely written for younger readers. With that being said, I was given a copy of this book by the author for my honest review, that fact in no way affects my review.

Read this review and others like it on Casey's Got Books on Books

[Sara Lunardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling book, I couldn't put it down!
The actions will keep you absolutely glued to the story, reading as quickly as you can in order to turn to the next page.
The book is easy to read, the language is fast-paced and modern.

The Runner is a post-apocalyptic adventure mixed to classical fantasy elements.
The world collapses when the technology was shut down due to the global warming. The new world is cruel, and only strong people can survive. The reader is literally transported into this new way of life as he is part of the story.
I love the description of the Mall: the commercial city is vivid and chaotic, you can feel the crowd, noises and smells, and the details about people and things are catchy.

Avi, the protagonist, is a strong and determined heroine, but her mother's death torments her, hiding from her some secrets about who she really is. During the journey to find out who is the responsible for the abduction of a lot of people and also the missing of her father, she grows confident and opened up to other people around her.
She finds new friends and love. The author manages to surprise the reader because the relationships between the main characters change throughout the story. Two girls for one boy, then two boys for one girl... it's not predictable how it'll end.
Troy is my favourite male character because he isn't the stereotype of the hero, but he is smart, kind and generous. I hope he'll have a bigger importance in the following books.
Can't wait for the second part of the story!

[D.S. McKnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

There are several characters in this story and the author knows them well. Johnson did a good job giving each character a distinct personality and voice.

The main character is Avi Bloom, a runner for her village. Her mother is dead. Her father is missing and she knows statistically a runner's life expectancy isn't very good. When it comes to danger, she knows how to handle herself. Avi is no fainting flower. She's tough and smart.

Johnson did a great job imagining her world. The descriptions are vivid and compelling. I particularly liked the inclusion of the Amish as well as what seems to be "preppers." It was easy to believe that these folks would be prepared to survive.

I like a story where the author swiftly introduces the action and Johnson did precisely that. She moves the tale at a quick pace but in doing so, I felt as though some of the relationships weren't as developed as they needed to be. For me, this created a bit of a disconnect. I wish that the author had spent just a little more time showing how certain relationships/feelings evolved.

The Runner is the first book in the series. The ending was a bit disappointing in that it was more of a set up for the next book in the series. That being said, the author leaves the reader curious as to where the story will lead.

[Sharon Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Runner' is the story of teenager Avi as she comes close to retiring from her dangerous job as a runner in a dystopian future landscape where townspeople are disappearing in large numbers. Avi is tasked with finding out what's happening and so she sets off on another perilous journey.

The story is very easy to get into, with plenty of action, drama and romance to hold my interest throughout. I liked Avi and was intrigued by her backstory as it was uncovered in bits and pieces. Veronica was a very entertaining character and often amused me. There were two guys interested in Avi by the end and (unusually for me with these love triangles in YA novels) I wouldn't have any preference on which one I'd rather see her with.

The story took some unusual turns which I appreciated as there was also quite a lot of the usual YA tropes so I felt this helped the story stand out more for me. The world Johnson has created here felt real and was interesting. I look forward to finding out more about it and the characters in the next book!

Overall this is an interesting start to an action-packed dystopian adventure series. Recommended for fans of YA, paranormal romance and dystopian novels.

[Jodi Woody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. I liked this book. I would have liked it more if the characters were a little more rounded out. There are several secondary characters that make appearances, stick around but we don,t find out much about them. I liked the premise if the story. Dystopian future, brave youth, budding romance with a mystery thrown in. There is some elements that may be found offensive to some Christians. I give it 3 stars. My age rating would be for age 16 and up.

[J.M. Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote it. I love it!

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had a really good premise. The plot was good. The characters were diverse. There is some magical realism that was unepected. I just felt that this story was really under developed.