Running on Eggs

by Anna Levine

It all starts when Karen and Yasmine trade lunch boxes. Such an act would hardly raise eyebrows anywhere else, but Karen lives on an Israeli kibbutz and Yasmine in a nearby Palestinian village, and distrust between the two cultures runs deep. Karen's father was killed several years ago in the war in Lebanon, and her family still hasn't fully accepted the loss. Karen focuses on running as a way to heal, and her place on the Arab-Israeli track team is something she holds dear. Yasmine's family disapproves of her love for track, and when the coach won't allow her to run in a long skirt, Yasmine's father forces her to drop out. But soon Yasmine and Karen begin meeting secretly to run together in "no man's land," a strip of woods that separates their communities. Karen is preparing for an important meet, and as Yasmine helps her train, she begins to view the sport as more than just an opportunity to win races. When their friendship is exposed, however, the consequences threaten to pull their communities even farther apart. Running on Eggs offers a frank portrayal of modern-day Israel and recounts the story of two girls whose loyalty to each other helps them overcome the obstacles in their path.

Genres: Young Adult

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 1999

About the author

FREEFALL (Greenwillow/HarperCollins) won the Sydney Taylor Honor’s Award the same year that JODIE’S HANUKKAH DIG won a Sydney Taylor Notable Award. Jodie has gone on to discover many new archaeological sites in Israel. Spring 2015 is the third in the series where Jodie goes to a park near Jerusalem, loses her dog Digger, discovers a wine press from the First Temple period and succeeds in rescuing her dog. RUNNING ON EGGS (Front Street/Cricket was on the NY Public Library’s best book list in the year 2000), I have also published short stories and poems in magazines and won the SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for both short stories and poetry. Most recently two poems were published in YARN (The Young Adult Review Network). I'm presently working on an adult novel, SURROGATE SISTERS, which is set in Montreal, Quebec. Will keep you posted!

Reviews

[Latifa Benessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Levine’s Running on Eggs is set in contemporary Israel and tells of the budding friendship between two girls, one Israeli and the other Palestinian, from the Israeli girl’s perspective. They befriend each other because of their shared love of track running. Although Levine attempts to create an 'integrating' friendship- integrative in the form of friendship overcoming the hurdles of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, the story isn't without a few problematic issues. In many instances it felt that the cultural nuances and difficulties of such a friendship were glossed over to push the integration.

One such issue is the fact that the girls attend the same school and both run track- Questions spring into mind- Is Yasmine (the Palestinian character) an Israeli citizen as well? How would this be different is she weren't? would she still be able to interact with the Israeli and attend the same school? Furthermore, I feel the novel does not consider (fully) the asymmetrical power relations that inform much of the conflict (and the friendship).

Another issue that was quite disappointing is the stereotypical male-Arab characterization. Except for one Arab male (Who is supposedly not liked by the Arab men in the village because of his progressive views), every Arab male in the novel is characterized as the suffocating Arab male... the 'uncivilized' who do not give the women the respect or rights they deserve as human beings.

Other issues that come to mind is the presentation and negotiation of 'no-man's land' in the story, both the Jewish & Palestinian characterizations in the novel, and the necessity of the coach and his function as mediator in the novel.

All in all, the story is lovely as it ends with the hopeful message of friendship, and I feel this is important in child and adolescent literature, but Running on Eggs definitely has its problems.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book some time ago. It's well-written and tells a good story - I like tales of kids coaching/teaching other kids and becoming friends in the process. But some things gave me pause.

First, the story is often described as that of a friendship between two girls, Israeli and Palestinian. In fact, it's the tale of two young Israeli citizens, one Jewish and one Palestinian Muslim. Palestinians (both Christian and Muslim) make up about 20 percent of the population of Israel proper, within the green line. If I'm remembering it correctly, this book takes place in northern Galilee, near the Lebanese border.

So. Imagine a story of two American girls, one an Anglo kid living near a reservation, one Native American. Imagine that there is a dispute over some grazing land near the reservation - actually, legally, on the reservation - and the Anglo community is claiming that the land should be theirs because "those people" aren't using it. Imagine the Anglo child yelling at the Native American (as the Jewish girl does at one point) that all the land belongs to the Anglos. Imagine that all the children went to segregated schools. Imagine that a visiting coach who wanted to recruit Native children for his track team called them "little goats".

Actually, none of this is hard to imagine at all. But you see the problem. Along with a good story about friendship and running track, there are a lot of unspoken, unexamined assumptions in this book. And those assumptions ought to be examined. In a way, the story enshrines and confirms prejudice on a deeper level, while on the surface it promotes friendship and understanding. That's problematic.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A close look at the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as well as grief and loss through the eyes of a teenage runner. This book does a great job of showing the conflicted views even among Israelis (and also among Palestinians).

[Daria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the only reason i liked this book is because i know some of the few people in the book personally ( because the characters in the book are an actual group of people ) and im quite proud of it because they are good people that are really worth knowing.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The unusual setting--the border between Israel and Lebanon--interested me.

[bookseverlasting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of 2 friends, one who happens to be Israeli, one who happens to be Palestinian. Timely, unique.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karen loves to run and Yasmine loves to run, barefoot.
Two girls from different cultures forming a friendship running.
A good read aloud.