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Track #2
Patina
Patina, or Patty, runs like a flash. She runs for many reasons—to escape the taunts from the kids at the fancy-schmancy new school she’s been sent to since she and her little sister had to stop living with their mom. She runs from the reason WHY she’s not able to live with her “real” mom any more: 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. So Patty’s also running for her mom, who can’t. But can you ever really run away from any of this? As the stress builds up, it’s building up a pretty bad attitude as well. Coach won’t tolerate bad attitude. No day, no way. And now he wants Patty to run relay…where you have to depend on other people? How’s she going to do THAT?
233 pages, Hardcover
First published August 29, 2017
1175 people are currently reading
9805 people want to read
About the author
Jason Reynolds
71 books10.1k followersJason Reynolds is an American author of novels and poetry for young adult and middle-grade audience. After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, Jason Reynolds moved to Brooklyn, New York, where you can often find him walking the four blocks from the train to his apartment talking to himself. Well, not really talking to himself, but just repeating character names and plot lines he thought of on the train, over and over again, because he’s afraid he’ll forget it all before he gets home.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,904 reviews
October 4, 2017
Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
Fast-paced, emotionally riveting, and brimming with important messages for young readers. Patina is an outstanding addition to Jason Reynolds' new Track series.
Fast-paced, emotionally riveting, and brimming with important messages for young readers. Patina is an outstanding addition to Jason Reynolds' new Track series.
August 30, 2017
Even better than Ghost and I loved Ghost. I'm already exciting about the next book in the series. Sunny, perhaps?
August 11, 2017
You cannot be a children’s librarian or an adult children’s book reviewer if you do not constantly remind yourself that you have to read outside your comfort zone on a regular basis. Our current National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature, Gene Luen Yang, put this far more eloquently when he urged people to partake in the Reading Without Walls Challenge. The rules are simple. You can read about a character that doesn’t look like your, a topic you don’t know much about, and/or a format you don’t usually pick up. I often wonder what would have happened if I’d encountered this challenge as a child. When I was a 9-12 year old I went out of my way to avoid works of realistic fiction that could potentially depress me. But having finished the latest Jason Reynolds title in the Track series called Patina, if I could go back in time and hand my younger self one book that fell squarely outside her comfort zone, I’d probably hand her this. A companion novel to Ghost, Reynolds’s latest takes a long hard look at what it sometimes takes to trust the people around you. Even when they’ve given you absolutely no reason to do so.
Patina has lost a race. Patina is not a good loser. Not good at all. If you knew Patina, this would probably be the first thing you knew about her. The thing is, Patina’s already lost a lot of things in her life. Her dad died when she was pretty young, and her mom nearly died of diabetes after that. She lives with her aunt and uncle, helps take care of her younger sister, and attends this hoity toity school that may be good for her future but is death on her friendships. At least there’s track, though, right? Only now Patina has lost a race and, stranger still, she and her fellow runners are going to be forming relay teams. Now the trick to any team is to synchronize yourself with the people around you. Patina, however, can’t afford to synchronize with anyone in her life. She’s a loner (isn’t she?). Someone who doesn’t need help (are you sure?). And she’s not easily surprised. Not easily, but when it happens then maybe a lot of other things in her life will start to change as well.
Before we go any further today I would like us to consider the case of The Mighty Miss Malone. Author Christopher Paul Curtis was at the top of his game. Sure he’d had the occasional misfire here and there (his YA never really hit the heights and his Mr. Chickee series wasn’t quite up to his usual standards) but when it came to historical fiction nobody could match him. Bud Not Buddy? The Watsons Go to Birmingham? Elijah of Buxton? The dude was on fire! Of course, there was one thing that ALL his books had in common. They all starred boys. This is, of course, a good thing. Curtis knows boys. Also, do you know how many middle grade novels for 9-12 year olds star African-American boys in a given year? You can usually count the number on your own two hands. So we needed those boys on our shelves. But as he is an artist, Mr. Curtis felt compared to push himself into new territory. So in 2012 he produced the book The Mighty Miss Malone. The hope was to fully flesh out a minor character from Bud Not Buddy. The result was disappointing. Deza, the heroine, is never allowed to save the day. Instead she’s a fairly passive character who watches as her troublemaking younger brother single-handedly rescues the family from despair. So it was with great trepidation that I picked up Patina. The similarities were already in place. Like Curtis, Mr. Reynolds is an award-winning African-American author who had done us the great good of providing us with a plethora of memorable, wonderful black boy characters. And like Mr. Curtis, Jason decided to write a book from a girl’s perspective. So the question I hand to you today is this: Did it work?
Let’s talk a little bit about why Mr. Reynolds wrote Patina in the first place. When Jason was initially approached by a publisher to write a sports book, he was offered "street ball". A different publisher offered him a series deal where he could pick the sport himself. Sold! So right from the start it was clear that there were four kids in these books that would go on personal journeys. Ghost kicks it off, and Patina makes it clear that Reynolds isn’t afraid to dive into his first female heroine right from the start. Along the way he makes some very specific choices. For example, while there are men and boys in the book, the bulk of the focus, as well as the characters themselves, is on girls. Patina is surrounding by a strong support network of women. She has a birth mother and an adopted mom. She has female track friends, female school friends (by the end), old female friends with whom she keeps in touch, and a sister. At the same time, her life isn’t what you’d necessarily call easy. Patina has to keep an eye on her younger sister, deal with her fancy school, and try not to worry too much about her mom. The author once said about this book (and here I'm paraphrasing), “Patina is about someone who deserves to be a little girl and can’t be.” He’s purposefully working to make Patina the hero of her own book, and happily there are moments in the story where she takes steps to be proactive and solve her own problems.
There was one aspect of the book that bothered me though, and you might well write it off entirely. Now as a character Patina has a dead daddy, a mom with diabetes, and loving stepparents. But as a children’s librarian I’m very used to these overused, very regular, very predictable middle grade tropes. So when I see a female character with a tricky home life going to a posh private school, I’m going to expect one thing: bullying. Reynolds has all the right pieces in place, but he doesn’t go in that direction. It made me pause and think. Bullying in children’s books is all about the mustache twirling (so to speak). But there are different levels in reality. In this book there is a kind of unspoken assumption that Patina is going to shoulder the bulk of the group project she's assigned. Sometimes the merest of assumptions are the most effective methods of keeping people under your control.
Which is all well and good but it doesn’t lead to a whole lot of conflict for Patina. In Ghost we had a boy trying to outrun his own demons (and failing). Patina, in contrast, isn’t running away from anything specifically. Cleverly, Reynolds changes the focus slightly so that her challenge is working well with others. When you’ve been micromanaging your life, you may have a hard time relinquishing power (or what you interpret to be power) to others around you. The struggle to trust is inherently less exciting than the struggle to maintain control over the self. As a result, Patina” is significantly less exciting than Ghost. In Ghost you had shoplifting, past trauma, bullies at school, fights, and showboating. In Patina there’s a car crash, but very little in the way of interpersonal problems. Patina is told from the start of the book to get a handle on her anger. Which she does. You might expect there’d be a scene where she goes off on someone, and there is one on the track. That moment is then resolved neatly and almost immediately with no long-term repercussions. Heck, her family is 100% supportive of her track running. Even the early chapter book Izzy Barr, Running Star by Claudia Mills made it so that Izzy has to compete for parental interest and attention. So Reynolds is very big on the learning and growing with this book. Not so much the immediate conflicts before that.
Not that it isn’t still a great book. You know that palpable sense of relief you feel as an adult when you’re reading through a title for kids and you come to a part where you realize the book is packed full of amazing writing? I got that here. Owing to its aversion to conflict Patina probably couldn’t be called Mr. Reynolds’s strongest work to date, but at the same time it’s enormously satisfying to read an author that works hard to give a female character a voice, impetus, smarts, and insecurities. In other words, he makes her a real person. A great book for kids that are into realistic fiction, as well as those kids that are willing to trek out of their comfort zones a little to look at a truly great read. A book with a kick.
For ages 9-12.
Patina has lost a race. Patina is not a good loser. Not good at all. If you knew Patina, this would probably be the first thing you knew about her. The thing is, Patina’s already lost a lot of things in her life. Her dad died when she was pretty young, and her mom nearly died of diabetes after that. She lives with her aunt and uncle, helps take care of her younger sister, and attends this hoity toity school that may be good for her future but is death on her friendships. At least there’s track, though, right? Only now Patina has lost a race and, stranger still, she and her fellow runners are going to be forming relay teams. Now the trick to any team is to synchronize yourself with the people around you. Patina, however, can’t afford to synchronize with anyone in her life. She’s a loner (isn’t she?). Someone who doesn’t need help (are you sure?). And she’s not easily surprised. Not easily, but when it happens then maybe a lot of other things in her life will start to change as well.
Before we go any further today I would like us to consider the case of The Mighty Miss Malone. Author Christopher Paul Curtis was at the top of his game. Sure he’d had the occasional misfire here and there (his YA never really hit the heights and his Mr. Chickee series wasn’t quite up to his usual standards) but when it came to historical fiction nobody could match him. Bud Not Buddy? The Watsons Go to Birmingham? Elijah of Buxton? The dude was on fire! Of course, there was one thing that ALL his books had in common. They all starred boys. This is, of course, a good thing. Curtis knows boys. Also, do you know how many middle grade novels for 9-12 year olds star African-American boys in a given year? You can usually count the number on your own two hands. So we needed those boys on our shelves. But as he is an artist, Mr. Curtis felt compared to push himself into new territory. So in 2012 he produced the book The Mighty Miss Malone. The hope was to fully flesh out a minor character from Bud Not Buddy. The result was disappointing. Deza, the heroine, is never allowed to save the day. Instead she’s a fairly passive character who watches as her troublemaking younger brother single-handedly rescues the family from despair. So it was with great trepidation that I picked up Patina. The similarities were already in place. Like Curtis, Mr. Reynolds is an award-winning African-American author who had done us the great good of providing us with a plethora of memorable, wonderful black boy characters. And like Mr. Curtis, Jason decided to write a book from a girl’s perspective. So the question I hand to you today is this: Did it work?
Let’s talk a little bit about why Mr. Reynolds wrote Patina in the first place. When Jason was initially approached by a publisher to write a sports book, he was offered "street ball". A different publisher offered him a series deal where he could pick the sport himself. Sold! So right from the start it was clear that there were four kids in these books that would go on personal journeys. Ghost kicks it off, and Patina makes it clear that Reynolds isn’t afraid to dive into his first female heroine right from the start. Along the way he makes some very specific choices. For example, while there are men and boys in the book, the bulk of the focus, as well as the characters themselves, is on girls. Patina is surrounding by a strong support network of women. She has a birth mother and an adopted mom. She has female track friends, female school friends (by the end), old female friends with whom she keeps in touch, and a sister. At the same time, her life isn’t what you’d necessarily call easy. Patina has to keep an eye on her younger sister, deal with her fancy school, and try not to worry too much about her mom. The author once said about this book (and here I'm paraphrasing), “Patina is about someone who deserves to be a little girl and can’t be.” He’s purposefully working to make Patina the hero of her own book, and happily there are moments in the story where she takes steps to be proactive and solve her own problems.
There was one aspect of the book that bothered me though, and you might well write it off entirely. Now as a character Patina has a dead daddy, a mom with diabetes, and loving stepparents. But as a children’s librarian I’m very used to these overused, very regular, very predictable middle grade tropes. So when I see a female character with a tricky home life going to a posh private school, I’m going to expect one thing: bullying. Reynolds has all the right pieces in place, but he doesn’t go in that direction. It made me pause and think. Bullying in children’s books is all about the mustache twirling (so to speak). But there are different levels in reality. In this book there is a kind of unspoken assumption that Patina is going to shoulder the bulk of the group project she's assigned. Sometimes the merest of assumptions are the most effective methods of keeping people under your control.
Which is all well and good but it doesn’t lead to a whole lot of conflict for Patina. In Ghost we had a boy trying to outrun his own demons (and failing). Patina, in contrast, isn’t running away from anything specifically. Cleverly, Reynolds changes the focus slightly so that her challenge is working well with others. When you’ve been micromanaging your life, you may have a hard time relinquishing power (or what you interpret to be power) to others around you. The struggle to trust is inherently less exciting than the struggle to maintain control over the self. As a result, Patina” is significantly less exciting than Ghost. In Ghost you had shoplifting, past trauma, bullies at school, fights, and showboating. In Patina there’s a car crash, but very little in the way of interpersonal problems. Patina is told from the start of the book to get a handle on her anger. Which she does. You might expect there’d be a scene where she goes off on someone, and there is one on the track. That moment is then resolved neatly and almost immediately with no long-term repercussions. Heck, her family is 100% supportive of her track running. Even the early chapter book Izzy Barr, Running Star by Claudia Mills made it so that Izzy has to compete for parental interest and attention. So Reynolds is very big on the learning and growing with this book. Not so much the immediate conflicts before that.
Not that it isn’t still a great book. You know that palpable sense of relief you feel as an adult when you’re reading through a title for kids and you come to a part where you realize the book is packed full of amazing writing? I got that here. Owing to its aversion to conflict Patina probably couldn’t be called Mr. Reynolds’s strongest work to date, but at the same time it’s enormously satisfying to read an author that works hard to give a female character a voice, impetus, smarts, and insecurities. In other words, he makes her a real person. A great book for kids that are into realistic fiction, as well as those kids that are willing to trek out of their comfort zones a little to look at a truly great read. A book with a kick.
For ages 9-12.
April 2, 2019
3.5-4 stars
Jason Reynolds is such an amazing writer! I was skeptical about grown man writing from the perspective of a young girl, but he nailed it! Patina was such an incredible character, and one I think so man young girls can relate to.
Similar to the first book in this series, the main character joins a track team and runs from all their problems in life. For Patina it's her mother who cannot care for her and her sister, so they live with family. She also runs from a new school with new kids that she's having trouble making friends with.
I hope more kids and adults read this series, while I had issues with the overall plot I really think this series is something special.
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Jason Reynolds is such an amazing writer! I was skeptical about grown man writing from the perspective of a young girl, but he nailed it! Patina was such an incredible character, and one I think so man young girls can relate to.
Similar to the first book in this series, the main character joins a track team and runs from all their problems in life. For Patina it's her mother who cannot care for her and her sister, so they live with family. She also runs from a new school with new kids that she's having trouble making friends with.
I hope more kids and adults read this series, while I had issues with the overall plot I really think this series is something special.
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September 4, 2025
The second book in the series and it’s just as wonderful as the first!
September 4, 2025
jason reynolds never ceases to surprise me !!
patina is the second book in the track series and focuses on the only girl in the group — patty, or patina. i’ve read almost every single book reynolds has ever written, and i’m 99.5% sure that this is the only novel he’s written in the pov of a young girl, and honestly? i wish he wrote more! he captured the sisterhood between patina and her baby sister maddy beautifully — patina is not the mean older sister and maddy is not the irritating younger sister; of course, they have their quirks, but both sisters have such a strong bond as they clearly love, respect, and care for one another.
reynolds also focuses on the importance of health — patina’s mom has the sugar (diabetes) and lost both her legs, resulting in patina and maddy living with their uncle tony and aunt emily, or momily, as maddy calls her. while momily is not meant to replace patina’s mother, she is extremely important as the girls’ main caretaker, and when she gets into a serious car accident, patina realizes how much she appreciates everything momily does and how she may have taken momily for granted.
there’s soooo much more i could say about this book, but ultimately i would be retelling the story!! all in all, another (unsurprising) hit!!
patina is the second book in the track series and focuses on the only girl in the group — patty, or patina. i’ve read almost every single book reynolds has ever written, and i’m 99.5% sure that this is the only novel he’s written in the pov of a young girl, and honestly? i wish he wrote more! he captured the sisterhood between patina and her baby sister maddy beautifully — patina is not the mean older sister and maddy is not the irritating younger sister; of course, they have their quirks, but both sisters have such a strong bond as they clearly love, respect, and care for one another.
reynolds also focuses on the importance of health — patina’s mom has the sugar (diabetes) and lost both her legs, resulting in patina and maddy living with their uncle tony and aunt emily, or momily, as maddy calls her. while momily is not meant to replace patina’s mother, she is extremely important as the girls’ main caretaker, and when she gets into a serious car accident, patina realizes how much she appreciates everything momily does and how she may have taken momily for granted.
there’s soooo much more i could say about this book, but ultimately i would be retelling the story!! all in all, another (unsurprising) hit!!
May 21, 2018
And I turned back toward the track to join my boys.
Patty is incredible. She is one of my favorite characters that I have ever gotten to know and it pains me that I will never meet her in real life. The relationship between her and her family, friends, team, and herself are just incredible and forever growing. Patty ain’t no junk.
Patty is incredible. She is one of my favorite characters that I have ever gotten to know and it pains me that I will never meet her in real life. The relationship between her and her family, friends, team, and herself are just incredible and forever growing. Patty ain’t no junk.
July 21, 2021
Easy to read YA book. It shows itself as a follow-up to Ghost but I missed some of the connection.
The social problems are very well handled.
Fast paced story.
Recommend
The social problems are very well handled.
Fast paced story.
Recommend
October 29, 2017
OK, I liked it. I really did. But I loved Ghost so much, that you couldn't help but be slightly disappointed by this one. It was great, it just wasn't AS great as Ghost's story.
There was very little track or running involved in this one. The story seemed to revolve around Patina's day to day activities in an almost - dare I say it? - tedious manner. She woke up, she had breakfast, she went to school, avoided all the snobby people at school, had to sit through her silly group of girls for the group project on Frida Kahlo, went to get her younger sister, then their aunt picked them up from school, dropped her off to track rehearsals, where she had minimal conversations, then was picked up again by her aunt where they sat through the car ride and had the exact same conversation they have every single day, then they got home where she goes to finish her homework, and asks her sister if she needed help with any assignments, then was called down for dinner, the same dinner they have every single evening, with their aunt running the conversation around the table, then off to bed.
Sundays were different. Sundays they go pick up their mom, who had her legs amputated due to the spread of Diabetes, and they go to church.
There were also a couple of changes to the routine when she had to go to a girl's house to work on the group project, and another time when she had to go to the hospital.
Otherwise, that's basically all there was to it. And that was disappointing.
I wanted to see more, read more, find out more. I wanted more interactions with Patina and the track kids. I wanted more Ghost, more Sunny, more Lou. More coach. I finished the book, but didn't feel like I knew Patina well yet. I was hoping I would, but I didn't.
So now, I'm sitting here wondering how to review it properly, and I can't. I just found out the next book will be about Sunny, and that's exciting. Sunny is a character we know, and we've seen, so it must be good! I hope.
There was very little track or running involved in this one. The story seemed to revolve around Patina's day to day activities in an almost - dare I say it? - tedious manner. She woke up, she had breakfast, she went to school, avoided all the snobby people at school, had to sit through her silly group of girls for the group project on Frida Kahlo, went to get her younger sister, then their aunt picked them up from school, dropped her off to track rehearsals, where she had minimal conversations, then was picked up again by her aunt where they sat through the car ride and had the exact same conversation they have every single day, then they got home where she goes to finish her homework, and asks her sister if she needed help with any assignments, then was called down for dinner, the same dinner they have every single evening, with their aunt running the conversation around the table, then off to bed.
Sundays were different. Sundays they go pick up their mom, who had her legs amputated due to the spread of Diabetes, and they go to church.
There were also a couple of changes to the routine when she had to go to a girl's house to work on the group project, and another time when she had to go to the hospital.
Otherwise, that's basically all there was to it. And that was disappointing.
I wanted to see more, read more, find out more. I wanted more interactions with Patina and the track kids. I wanted more Ghost, more Sunny, more Lou. More coach. I finished the book, but didn't feel like I knew Patina well yet. I was hoping I would, but I didn't.
So now, I'm sitting here wondering how to review it properly, and I can't. I just found out the next book will be about Sunny, and that's exciting. Sunny is a character we know, and we've seen, so it must be good! I hope.
June 13, 2024
Go Patti, go Patti, come on Patti! Patina is a really good runner. what pushes her is her mothers loss of legs. she runs for both of them. she wins for both of them. She starts off angry and finishes the story happy. basically, she a girl in cultural transition. her god mother is white, and she goes to a private school. she misses her old life and has not excepted her new one. but when her god mother is in a car accident, she realizes everything she does for them. both world are combined and she conform better like a relay race or a waltz!
December 31, 2017
This book was shelved in the YA section at my library, but I'm not sure why, because it's solidly middle-grade. So it skewed younger than I was expecting.
I'm not sure how to summarize this story. It doesn't really have a plot, as it covers a week or so in the life of Patina Jones, from one track meet to the next. Her life is pretty complicated, as she and her little sister live with their adoptive parents who are also their aunt and uncle. The girls' father died in his sleep, and their mother has severe Type II diabetes which resulted in the loss of her legs, plus she's on kidney dialysis and tired all the time, hence the adoption situation. Patty attends a mostly-white charter school near her aunt and uncle's house, but runs track for a club in her old neighborhood.
I enjoyed this book, so don't think my 3-star rating is lukewarm. Patty goes through quite a bit in the period of the story, grows up a little, and gains some insights into other people around her, all in a definitely not-preachy way. I thought the track aspect of the story was really well done, woven through every other thread in the book because that's how sports work in a person's life. Whatever else is going on, you go to practice, and you put it all aside and just concentrate on doing what your coach tells you. But while you're doing everything else, you're also focused on the next practice, the next meet, the next goal. It's all intertwined.
I plan to read the first book in this series, and then my understanding is that there will be two more. Each book focuses on a different member of the same track club, so they're only tangentially related, not direct sequels.
Patina had a great voice and really clever and funny observations of the world around her, so I'm looking forward to getting more of the same from the other books in this series.
I'm not sure how to summarize this story. It doesn't really have a plot, as it covers a week or so in the life of Patina Jones, from one track meet to the next. Her life is pretty complicated, as she and her little sister live with their adoptive parents who are also their aunt and uncle. The girls' father died in his sleep, and their mother has severe Type II diabetes which resulted in the loss of her legs, plus she's on kidney dialysis and tired all the time, hence the adoption situation. Patty attends a mostly-white charter school near her aunt and uncle's house, but runs track for a club in her old neighborhood.
I enjoyed this book, so don't think my 3-star rating is lukewarm. Patty goes through quite a bit in the period of the story, grows up a little, and gains some insights into other people around her, all in a definitely not-preachy way. I thought the track aspect of the story was really well done, woven through every other thread in the book because that's how sports work in a person's life. Whatever else is going on, you go to practice, and you put it all aside and just concentrate on doing what your coach tells you. But while you're doing everything else, you're also focused on the next practice, the next meet, the next goal. It's all intertwined.
I plan to read the first book in this series, and then my understanding is that there will be two more. Each book focuses on a different member of the same track club, so they're only tangentially related, not direct sequels.
Patina had a great voice and really clever and funny observations of the world around her, so I'm looking forward to getting more of the same from the other books in this series.
Read
August 21, 2025I liked this although not QUITE as much as Ghost
January 25, 2022
Patina for a Newbery sticker this January! This is pretty close to perfect - it's got wonderful family interactions, different interesting friend groups, a protagonist who is struggling in day-to-day recognizable ways. One thing I love about this is the lack of a central conflict. Instead, Patty deals with everyday life and the inherent conflict being around other people brings. She reaches out. She compartmentalizes. She's ambitious and hardworking and open to new ideas.
Reynolds is so assured and confident and competent as a writer. This reads like a book that could have been famous for the past three decades - or will be famous for the next three decades - because it is so classic and will keep being read. I don't know that I can list any praise higher than "pretty close to perfect," so I'll stop now; my one quibble is that I don't want the ending to become a gimmick! It was spectacular at the end of Ghost, slightly less so here. It fits Patty's story fairly well, and the intent - that the outcome isn't what matters! - can apply, too. But it isn't as surprising and clever when it's repeated, and I want the ending to match how smart and warm and full of heart this book is.
Reynolds is so assured and confident and competent as a writer. This reads like a book that could have been famous for the past three decades - or will be famous for the next three decades - because it is so classic and will keep being read. I don't know that I can list any praise higher than "pretty close to perfect," so I'll stop now; my one quibble is that I don't want the ending to become a gimmick! It was spectacular at the end of Ghost, slightly less so here. It fits Patty's story fairly well, and the intent - that the outcome isn't what matters! - can apply, too. But it isn't as surprising and clever when it's repeated, and I want the ending to match how smart and warm and full of heart this book is.
Read
August 30, 2017The follow-up to the wonderful National Book Award finalist Ghost. This time, it’s about Patina, a different star runner on the elite middle school track team. Patina has a lot to run from in her life, and a lot to run for – like her mom, who cannot run. But her resentments about her situation are starting to build up, and the coach is not going to put up with Patina’s bad attitude much longer. Can she find a balance and learn to work with others in order to run on the relay team. This is a wonderful story of overcoming obstacles and learning to face your problems.
Backlist bump: Ghost (Track) by Jason Reynolds
Tune in to our weekly podcast dedicated to all things new books, All The Books: http://bookriot.com/listen/shows/allt...
Backlist bump: Ghost (Track) by Jason Reynolds
Tune in to our weekly podcast dedicated to all things new books, All The Books: http://bookriot.com/listen/shows/allt...
December 6, 2018
This was a really good book that consisted of Patty persevering through many trials. Such as having her dad die and her mother losing her legs. She has to go with a foster family with her little sister Maddy. Patty's foster mom and sister Maddy also get in an accident. Through all these hard times the only wat Patty can forget about her past, is running.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2025
Beter dan deel 1, zeker geen bagger.
3,5 ⭐️
3,5 ⭐️
July 7, 2017
My blog review:
A year ago I received a box of ARCs from Simon & Schuster and, poking around, came across Jason Reynolds' Ghost. While I'd heard a great deal about wunderkind Reynolds and read with respect some of his YA work, that he had a middle grade book coming out was a complete surprise to me. About track --- my one competitive sport --- no less. And so I jumped right in and fell madly in love with it. (You can read my gushy review here.) And so now here we are a year later with the next in the Track series, featuring team mate Patty aka Patina.
On the very first page of Patina we are brought back to the track meet that ended Ghost, Patty telling us what happened and why. No spoilers from me though! Just moving on as this story is Patty's not Ghost's. It is one of legs, strong ones, missing ones, relay race ones, and more. These real and metaphoric legs make their way through the novel, effectively raising and highlighting important themes. They serve beautifully as Patty watches, acts, considers, and grows in her understanding of the world.
Where Ghost was about racing for and against yourself, Patina is about teamwork. There is teamwork practice of all kinds for the track team members who will be running relays in an upcoming meet. As well there is the group assignment at school where Patty is resigned to doing the bulk of the work, as usual, sensing no action on at least two of the group members. There is the teamwork of her family -- her little sister, her diabetic and legless mother, and the aunt and uncle the siblings live with. The adults around them are good and caring, supporting the girls in the best ways they can. Reynolds' scenes are beautifully done full of sensory details. You can just see those family meals, smell the uncle's nasty truck, hear authentic conversations, and feel Patty's body as she pushes it as hard as she can in workouts. The relationship between the sisters, Patty and Maddy is especially warm and delightful.
What for me elevates this book and its predecessor to such a high level (goodreads five stars:) is Reynolds' fabulous writing. He's got a way with a few sentences that stops me in total admiration, again and again. Say these:
I highly, highly recommend this book and eagerly await the next in the series.
A year ago I received a box of ARCs from Simon & Schuster and, poking around, came across Jason Reynolds' Ghost. While I'd heard a great deal about wunderkind Reynolds and read with respect some of his YA work, that he had a middle grade book coming out was a complete surprise to me. About track --- my one competitive sport --- no less. And so I jumped right in and fell madly in love with it. (You can read my gushy review here.) And so now here we are a year later with the next in the Track series, featuring team mate Patty aka Patina.
On the very first page of Patina we are brought back to the track meet that ended Ghost, Patty telling us what happened and why. No spoilers from me though! Just moving on as this story is Patty's not Ghost's. It is one of legs, strong ones, missing ones, relay race ones, and more. These real and metaphoric legs make their way through the novel, effectively raising and highlighting important themes. They serve beautifully as Patty watches, acts, considers, and grows in her understanding of the world.
Where Ghost was about racing for and against yourself, Patina is about teamwork. There is teamwork practice of all kinds for the track team members who will be running relays in an upcoming meet. As well there is the group assignment at school where Patty is resigned to doing the bulk of the work, as usual, sensing no action on at least two of the group members. There is the teamwork of her family -- her little sister, her diabetic and legless mother, and the aunt and uncle the siblings live with. The adults around them are good and caring, supporting the girls in the best ways they can. Reynolds' scenes are beautifully done full of sensory details. You can just see those family meals, smell the uncle's nasty truck, hear authentic conversations, and feel Patty's body as she pushes it as hard as she can in workouts. The relationship between the sisters, Patty and Maddy is especially warm and delightful.
What for me elevates this book and its predecessor to such a high level (goodreads five stars:) is Reynolds' fabulous writing. He's got a way with a few sentences that stops me in total admiration, again and again. Say these:
Deep breaths, Patty, my mad slowly mellowing. This temper ain't a new temper. Breaking invisible teacups. Smashing them everywhere. No this ain't new. I just be keeping it pushed down, all the way down in my legs.
I highly, highly recommend this book and eagerly await the next in the series.
August 26, 2017
Cannot wait to share this with kids. Reynolds' writing explodes during race scenes. And Patty's character is richly drawn. She carries such a load, so much responsibility, taking care of her little sister, caring for her mom, navigating school scene that isn't comfortable or rooted in her own culture. She's vulnerable and strong at the same time.
At times I felt like I was hearing Patty tell the story too much instead of seeing it unfold. But this brought me right into Patty's head, helping me hear her voice, understand her thoughts.
Loved the track and teamwork elements of this story, with the importance of supporting each other and being in tune, in step with one another.
At times I felt like I was hearing Patty tell the story too much instead of seeing it unfold. But this brought me right into Patty's head, helping me hear her voice, understand her thoughts.
Loved the track and teamwork elements of this story, with the importance of supporting each other and being in tune, in step with one another.
October 5, 2017
Loved this more than Ghost. The writing in Patina was full of lines that made me stop, write, doodle, and snap photos for Instagram. I think Patty might be my favorite Jason Reynolds character to date. A satisfying, feel-good, lovely sequel to a beloved book.
November 28, 2017
strong female protagonist, diverse family and it's about running. I liked Ghost better, but Jason Reynolds is solid.
September 21, 2018
I really liked Ghost, but I liked this less. I'm not a big fan of series which change main characters with each book. I'm also not a fan of series which end on cliffhangers. This series is both. I am listening to Sunny, so it's not that I dislike the series or wouldn't recommend it. It's just that there are things that drop the rating for me. At least Ghost felt mostly resolved, even though there was a detail we didn't know at the end of the book. Patina feels much more unresolved.
I simply didn't connect as much to Patina's story. Many of her struggles were not presented in a way that felt universal, which is unlike Ghost. Ghost felt relateable, even though I haven't really experienced much similar to what he has. There also isn't much to the other characters in Patina, which felt weird after how big of a role other people played in Ghost's life. This book isn't is strong as Ghost and I'm not sure it's exactly worth it to read the entire series. But I'll leave my verdict until after I finish Sunny.
I listened to the audiobook version, which was well done.
I simply didn't connect as much to Patina's story. Many of her struggles were not presented in a way that felt universal, which is unlike Ghost. Ghost felt relateable, even though I haven't really experienced much similar to what he has. There also isn't much to the other characters in Patina, which felt weird after how big of a role other people played in Ghost's life. This book isn't is strong as Ghost and I'm not sure it's exactly worth it to read the entire series. But I'll leave my verdict until after I finish Sunny.
I listened to the audiobook version, which was well done.
June 27, 2018
Not as good as Ghost. Like Ghost, Patina (Patty) Jones is a newbie on the Defenders track team, with a ton of family and social issues. Her father died, her mother has lost her feet to diabetes, and her little sister Maddie is center of her life. She lives with her aunt (Momly) and her uncle. Unfortunately, while she has common teenage problems, there was not the same connection with others that made the first book compelling. There is simply too much daily routine, such as school, chores, mean girls, lazy classmates, etc.
January 14, 2018
4.5 stars
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
I enjoyed Ghost, the first book in Jason Reynolds' series about the new kids on an elite track team. It was excellent just as everything published so far by Reynolds has been. In 2017 I made his YA book my priority because I do tend to love his YA works slightly more. As a result, reading Patina got pushed into the start of 2018. I hate that I waited, but also I'm happy to start of a new year of reading on such a high note. This book is fabulous.
Patty is always running even off the truck. She runs from one thing to another as she tries to do all and be all to the people around her. She has to help take care of her sister because she always has, even though now they live with their aunt and uncle who are wonderful. She has to help take care of mom, because her mom lost both of her legs to diabetes. She has a group project at school and is doing all the work because someone has to. She has to win at her track meets because she ain't no junk, and that's what she's supposed to do. Win. Over a week when life blows up for her more ways than one, Patty learns a lot about community, relying on other people, and exactly what's most important.
One thing Jason Reynolds always excels at is voice. This is, I believe, the first time he's tackled a female narrator though. He got it right here too. One thing I'm appreciating about this series now there are two books out is also how much Reynolds is getting the middle school voice. Ghost was exactly the right combination of impulsive, aggressive, and skeptical. Patty is the right combination of attitude, superiority, and cynicism. Both are exactly as self-centered as middle schoolers often are in that they often don't see past their own noses. Everything is about them. These kids embody all the reasons people say they don't enjoy hanging out with or teaching middle schoolers. (And all the reasons I LOVE to do both of those.) The thing about middle schoolers is, with the right sort of guidance, that's when they start learning how to be not only themselves but part of a wider community too. Patty is struggling with a lot. Though she is loved (and knows it) and well cared for, her father is dead and her mother is gravely ill. Her aunt and uncle are wonderful, but this girl has experienced trauma and it shows. She has started a new fancy school where she is a black girl surrounded by white people-people have far more wealth than the people in her previous school. She is trying to figure out how and where to fit into that. She is one of the new kids on the Defenders and has just been chosen to race with some of the veterans on the 800 relay. She has put a lot of expectations on herself, and she refuses to accept failure of any kind-even if it isn't really failure and coming in second rather than first in a race.
The book begins at the first track meet where Patty comes in second and is none to happy about it. Then follows a week that would wear any person down. I really enjoyed what Reynolds did with the plotting here. This is a character focused work. We follow Patty through an incredibly stressful and intense week. There isn't any one major thing. It's all the vagaries of life we experience from one day to the next with the sudden unexpected punches that seem to come at the worst times. We live Patty's life with her as she learns to appreciate the people around her in new ways through it all at home, at school, and at the track. The way Reynolds pulled it all together and packed every day life full of so much meaning and intensity in so few pages is really quite extraordinary.
Can I also say that I really like the way Reynolds is ending these so far? I won't go too much into the whys of that because spoilers. Suffice it to say that I think it's super clever and meaningful in so many ways.
This series is a must read for any kids who enjoy realistic stories featuring school, friends, and family. No other series comes close to touching all of these things as well and realistically as this one does. Even better, you don't necessarily have to read them in order. All told there will be four books, each featuring one of the newbies on the track team. The new one up is Sunny. His book releases April 10, 2018.
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
I enjoyed Ghost, the first book in Jason Reynolds' series about the new kids on an elite track team. It was excellent just as everything published so far by Reynolds has been. In 2017 I made his YA book my priority because I do tend to love his YA works slightly more. As a result, reading Patina got pushed into the start of 2018. I hate that I waited, but also I'm happy to start of a new year of reading on such a high note. This book is fabulous.
Patty is always running even off the truck. She runs from one thing to another as she tries to do all and be all to the people around her. She has to help take care of her sister because she always has, even though now they live with their aunt and uncle who are wonderful. She has to help take care of mom, because her mom lost both of her legs to diabetes. She has a group project at school and is doing all the work because someone has to. She has to win at her track meets because she ain't no junk, and that's what she's supposed to do. Win. Over a week when life blows up for her more ways than one, Patty learns a lot about community, relying on other people, and exactly what's most important.
One thing Jason Reynolds always excels at is voice. This is, I believe, the first time he's tackled a female narrator though. He got it right here too. One thing I'm appreciating about this series now there are two books out is also how much Reynolds is getting the middle school voice. Ghost was exactly the right combination of impulsive, aggressive, and skeptical. Patty is the right combination of attitude, superiority, and cynicism. Both are exactly as self-centered as middle schoolers often are in that they often don't see past their own noses. Everything is about them. These kids embody all the reasons people say they don't enjoy hanging out with or teaching middle schoolers. (And all the reasons I LOVE to do both of those.) The thing about middle schoolers is, with the right sort of guidance, that's when they start learning how to be not only themselves but part of a wider community too. Patty is struggling with a lot. Though she is loved (and knows it) and well cared for, her father is dead and her mother is gravely ill. Her aunt and uncle are wonderful, but this girl has experienced trauma and it shows. She has started a new fancy school where she is a black girl surrounded by white people-people have far more wealth than the people in her previous school. She is trying to figure out how and where to fit into that. She is one of the new kids on the Defenders and has just been chosen to race with some of the veterans on the 800 relay. She has put a lot of expectations on herself, and she refuses to accept failure of any kind-even if it isn't really failure and coming in second rather than first in a race.
The book begins at the first track meet where Patty comes in second and is none to happy about it. Then follows a week that would wear any person down. I really enjoyed what Reynolds did with the plotting here. This is a character focused work. We follow Patty through an incredibly stressful and intense week. There isn't any one major thing. It's all the vagaries of life we experience from one day to the next with the sudden unexpected punches that seem to come at the worst times. We live Patty's life with her as she learns to appreciate the people around her in new ways through it all at home, at school, and at the track. The way Reynolds pulled it all together and packed every day life full of so much meaning and intensity in so few pages is really quite extraordinary.
Can I also say that I really like the way Reynolds is ending these so far? I won't go too much into the whys of that because spoilers. Suffice it to say that I think it's super clever and meaningful in so many ways.
This series is a must read for any kids who enjoy realistic stories featuring school, friends, and family. No other series comes close to touching all of these things as well and realistically as this one does. Even better, you don't necessarily have to read them in order. All told there will be four books, each featuring one of the newbies on the track team. The new one up is Sunny. His book releases April 10, 2018.
August 12, 2017
A perfectly written follow up to Reynolds’ middle grade smash hit GHOST, this title is narrated by Patina, another member of the Defenders Track team.
Thank you to Atheneum/Simon Kids for providing me with a review copy of this book – all opinions are my own.
I’ll start by saying to please read GHOST first, or encourage the kids/students in your life to read GHOST first. Of course, you CAN read PATINA first, and the story won’t be ruined, but then GHOST will be ruined for you and I 100% guarantee you that after reading PATINA, you’ll want to have read GHOST. So, if you haven’t read it yet, go grab yourself a copy of GHOST, settle in, read it, then come back to PATINA.
In GHOST, Reynolds introduced readers to a middle school boy nicknamed Ghost, who ends up joining the Defenders track team. It is an excellent story – go read the summary and reviews of it – I gave it 5 stars. It ends with Ghost running a track race……and seriously just ENDS. You finish the book not knowing how the race ends, and it is excruciating!
Patina picks up where Ghost left off, with Ghost’s race. This time, however, Patty (Patina) is narrating the story as another member of the Defenders. I absolutely fell in love with Patina, maybe even more than I fell in love with Ghost. I’m not sure if it’s because as a female protagonist it’s easier to relate, or if Reynolds just wrote her so exquisitely that it was inevitable, but I LOVE this character. You learn quickly that her family life is pretty complicated and she’s struggling a bit to assimilate to a fancier school and living with her aunt and uncle. As she describes being a caretaker for both her sister and her mother (I won’t tell you why – go read the book!) I could relate to her even as a 30-something adult – caretaking is a universal issue and it is heartbreaking when kids have to fill that role.
Patty is achingly sincere and sweet, but she has a tough side that comes out as a defense in certain situations, sometimes getting her into trouble. As she tries to reconcile her new academy school with her old public school, and describes the neighborhoods in the city she lives in, readers can tell just how aware of class she is. Race too, for that matter. Patty ain’t no junk, as she says, but running may be the only way to prove that.
This series is required for middle grade libraries and classrooms – my students just loved Ghost last year and have been eagerly awaiting Patina’s story. When I took my own kids to see Reynolds speak at a local library last winter, they were SO excited to hear him talk about the continuation of the Defenders team story – I can’t wait to see who the next Track book is based on! And there had better be a next book since this one ends……….just like that.
Thank you to Atheneum/Simon Kids for providing me with a review copy of this book – all opinions are my own.
I’ll start by saying to please read GHOST first, or encourage the kids/students in your life to read GHOST first. Of course, you CAN read PATINA first, and the story won’t be ruined, but then GHOST will be ruined for you and I 100% guarantee you that after reading PATINA, you’ll want to have read GHOST. So, if you haven’t read it yet, go grab yourself a copy of GHOST, settle in, read it, then come back to PATINA.
In GHOST, Reynolds introduced readers to a middle school boy nicknamed Ghost, who ends up joining the Defenders track team. It is an excellent story – go read the summary and reviews of it – I gave it 5 stars. It ends with Ghost running a track race……and seriously just ENDS. You finish the book not knowing how the race ends, and it is excruciating!
Patina picks up where Ghost left off, with Ghost’s race. This time, however, Patty (Patina) is narrating the story as another member of the Defenders. I absolutely fell in love with Patina, maybe even more than I fell in love with Ghost. I’m not sure if it’s because as a female protagonist it’s easier to relate, or if Reynolds just wrote her so exquisitely that it was inevitable, but I LOVE this character. You learn quickly that her family life is pretty complicated and she’s struggling a bit to assimilate to a fancier school and living with her aunt and uncle. As she describes being a caretaker for both her sister and her mother (I won’t tell you why – go read the book!) I could relate to her even as a 30-something adult – caretaking is a universal issue and it is heartbreaking when kids have to fill that role.
Patty is achingly sincere and sweet, but she has a tough side that comes out as a defense in certain situations, sometimes getting her into trouble. As she tries to reconcile her new academy school with her old public school, and describes the neighborhoods in the city she lives in, readers can tell just how aware of class she is. Race too, for that matter. Patty ain’t no junk, as she says, but running may be the only way to prove that.
This series is required for middle grade libraries and classrooms – my students just loved Ghost last year and have been eagerly awaiting Patina’s story. When I took my own kids to see Reynolds speak at a local library last winter, they were SO excited to hear him talk about the continuation of the Defenders team story – I can’t wait to see who the next Track book is based on! And there had better be a next book since this one ends……….just like that.
October 8, 2025
Patty is geen bagger. Ze heeft zeker haar twijfels, overdenkingen en bedenkingen, maar ik zie haar als iemand die zoekt naar haar weg in de estafetteloop van het leven.
Eigenlijk is daar al heel erg veel mee gezegd.
Ik ga toch nog iets schrijven, misschien meer voor mezelf voor als ik niet meer helemaal weet waar het over ging, ik dit terug kan lezen. Doe er je voordeel mee 😉
Mooie woordspelingen rondom de aanwezige thema’s in het boek (overleden ouder, adoptie door familie, zorgen voor jonger zusje, verlies/rouw, verantwoordelijkheidsgevoel, rassen- en klasseverschil, omkijken naar elkaar, ergens goed in zijn, thuis voelen, vriendschap, amputatie ledematen door suikerziekte, samenwerken als team sport/school). Het lijken veel thema’s zo op een rij, maar dat is soms wel wat het leven is. Aan Reynolds de ‘taak’ om dat zo in een verhaal te verwerken dat het nergens een opstapeling van problemen wordt waardoor het aanvoelt als het leven van een opsomming. Dat is eigenlijk geen taak voor Reynolds, want hij kan dit. Het is nergens zwaar, leest luchtig en als de realiteit, maar toch met liefde en zorg.
Moest wel even inkomen, vanaf de helft las het nog iets soepeler.
De personages voelen als warme betrokken personen waarmee ze Patty en de lezer het gevoel geven dat iedereen ertoe doet.
Patty rent voor twee. Voor zichzelf. Voor haar moeder. Je kan wegrennen van je situatie, maar Patty navigeert door situaties heen die niet makkelijk zijn. Op weg naar situaties waar ze het gevoel heeft erbij te horen.
Mooi vind ik, net als in Ghost, dat een sportteam en/of de atletiekbaan als thuis kan voelen. En dat samenwerken niet alleen op school met groepsprojecten (of vaak een eenling-groepsproject) belangrijk is, maar zeker ook op de atletiekbaan om teamgevoel te krijgen.
En deze zin, zonder context, vond ik mooi: Weet je, Emilie zou gezegd hebben dat je geen ruzie om haar zou moeten maken. Ze zou gezegd hebben dat je niet voor haar op hoeft te komen, omdat zij de volwassene is en dat het haar taak is om voor jóú op te komen.
Eigenlijk is daar al heel erg veel mee gezegd.
Ik ga toch nog iets schrijven, misschien meer voor mezelf voor als ik niet meer helemaal weet waar het over ging, ik dit terug kan lezen. Doe er je voordeel mee 😉
Mooie woordspelingen rondom de aanwezige thema’s in het boek (overleden ouder, adoptie door familie, zorgen voor jonger zusje, verlies/rouw, verantwoordelijkheidsgevoel, rassen- en klasseverschil, omkijken naar elkaar, ergens goed in zijn, thuis voelen, vriendschap, amputatie ledematen door suikerziekte, samenwerken als team sport/school). Het lijken veel thema’s zo op een rij, maar dat is soms wel wat het leven is. Aan Reynolds de ‘taak’ om dat zo in een verhaal te verwerken dat het nergens een opstapeling van problemen wordt waardoor het aanvoelt als het leven van een opsomming. Dat is eigenlijk geen taak voor Reynolds, want hij kan dit. Het is nergens zwaar, leest luchtig en als de realiteit, maar toch met liefde en zorg.
Moest wel even inkomen, vanaf de helft las het nog iets soepeler.
De personages voelen als warme betrokken personen waarmee ze Patty en de lezer het gevoel geven dat iedereen ertoe doet.
Patty rent voor twee. Voor zichzelf. Voor haar moeder. Je kan wegrennen van je situatie, maar Patty navigeert door situaties heen die niet makkelijk zijn. Op weg naar situaties waar ze het gevoel heeft erbij te horen.
Mooi vind ik, net als in Ghost, dat een sportteam en/of de atletiekbaan als thuis kan voelen. En dat samenwerken niet alleen op school met groepsprojecten (of vaak een eenling-groepsproject) belangrijk is, maar zeker ook op de atletiekbaan om teamgevoel te krijgen.
En deze zin, zonder context, vond ik mooi: Weet je, Emilie zou gezegd hebben dat je geen ruzie om haar zou moeten maken. Ze zou gezegd hebben dat je niet voor haar op hoeft te komen, omdat zij de volwassene is en dat het haar taak is om voor jóú op te komen.
August 4, 2017
Another fantastic book from Jason Reynolds! Loved Ghost, and now seeing the perspective of a second member of the track team, I'm especially eager to hear the next two after this. This is the kind of series, about kids doing their thing and dealing with their lives and showing their resilient spirits, that kids in our classrooms and in our lives need to be reading. The books are engaging and speak to kids in a realistic voice, which will have them clamoring for more. Love!
June 17, 2019
A solid sequel to Ghost highlighting the importance of family, friends and fast running. Patina needs her time with her track team to balance out her week. She learns valuable lessons about loss, teamwork in school and on the track. Readers may see themselves in Patina or meet someone who has struggles they have not been exposed to previously. Really liked it, although I was very surprised to hear about Mamily eating oatmeal minutes before being taken into surgery. Sloppy editing?
August 12, 2019
Second in the brilliant RUN series from Jason Reynolds, this is another thoughtful, funny, fantastic story about Patina, a girl who's desperate to win at all costs. (7+)
*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. If you use it in any marketing material, online or anywhere on a published book without asking permission from me first, I will ask you to remove that use immediately. Thank you!*
*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. If you use it in any marketing material, online or anywhere on a published book without asking permission from me first, I will ask you to remove that use immediately. Thank you!*
March 9, 2025
I loved this sweet second installment in the track series. Jason Reynolds has created unique, wonderful, characters that jump off the page.
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