The Girl Who Loved To Run

by G.P. Schultz

The Girl Who Loved to Run is a lyrically written love story full of heartache and heroism, mystery and romance.

Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

About the author

Bio Smash
G.P. Schultz was born in Longacre, West Virginia to a coal mining family. He grew up in wild, wonderful West Virginia, where he loved to play sports. He then served with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii where he met his wife, Vicki, who was attending the University of Hawaii. They have two daughters and currently reside in Kansas City.
His writing career began in mid-life, with the publication of his first novel, Gully Town. His idea for the novel came from years of working with the Irish and the Itailans in the River Quay area of Kansas City, and he wanted to revive the city’s rich history in a novel.
He currently divides his time between his one man marketing business and writing, but also enjoys golf and gardening, and follows any sporting event that requires the use of a ball.
He writes fiction, but combines it with years of research to make his novels accurate in time and place. His writing philosophy is, that you can’t have a compelling story, without a compelling romance.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Girl Who Loved to Run by G.P. Schultz is the type of story that is so vivid and truthful, that as a reader, you can see it all play out before your eyes. Schultz tells the reader that the first 100 pages are autobiographical, but it's the following 300 pages that I became attached to. I think that everyone can relate to this book, regardless of where you were born and raised, your age, your gender, or your religion. Greg Benner grapples with love, loss, friendship, faith, and ambition from the time we meet him in the summer of 1950 until the time we say goodbye in May of 2001. The Girl Who Loved to Run is exactly what the back cover says: "...a lyrically written love story full of heartache and heroism, mystery and romance." I'd also argue that there's a lot of beauty and truth written in this book as well.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Schultz gave me a copy of this for free in exchange for a review.

This book takes place from 1950 until 1964. The beginning of the book is very choppy because it jumps from one thing to another without knowing how much time is being skiped. It smooths out once Greg meets Jack and Beth. There is a mystery about who is bombing the chemical plant in town. I was very surprised at the outcome. This is going on as the three of them are growing up from middle schoool until their senior year of high school.

The other major plot is the friendship and romance between Greg and Beth. Greg loves Beth and puts her first. Beth loves him, but she puts her love and wanting to help others first.

Overall I liked this book. It even made me tear up more than once.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was truly amazing and suspenseful. Very cleverly written. Love, drama, romance, tears. Felt like I was there, part of the gang. Very hard to put down once I got started. True friendship throughout child hood and teenage years. So many books are predictable as to the outcome, this book was full of unexpected twists and turns, which made it more exciting. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a great book! Thanks for this wonderful book!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this story from Goodreads and am so grateful. I found this authors writing style to be almost like poetry. He had a way of moving the prose along in a way that you got caught up in the movement and felt as though you were there. I didn't particularly like the end of the book, because I was hoping for a happier ending, but it was consistent with real life and Mr. Schultz did a great job of handling it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book a little difficult to get through and I think that's mainly because it is not the type of book that I would normally read. I usually stick to Young Adult Science Fiction novels. However, I did enjoy this author's writing style and felt priviledged that he sent me a copy in order to do a review. But as I said before, the subject matter is not what I am accustomed to and I think that this book would be more enjoyable to someone who has a wider range of books that they read.

[Sandy Tennant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts off slow which is fitting because it starts in the main character,Greg Benner's, childhood and we all know that time moves slower for children. The book picks up speed as he gets older and moves faster and faster as you get closer to the end with lots of excitement. As I close this book I understand completely why the author, Schultz, gave us such a long lead in. He wants you to fall in love with these characters and its impossible not to.

[Jenee Rager · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with many parts of the book. While it was well written for the most part I didn't think it flowed very well at all. Great gaps of time were passed in a page or two and left me wondering what in the world had happened.

[Katharine Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love his writing style and this book didn't disappoint. This book transported me to another world where I felt like I was physically there with every character. Greg's obsession with Beth made me want to scream sometimes, but to create that emotion within me is a credit to his great writing.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not terrible, but not great.