I picked this book for my "banned book" category in my FB reading challenge. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why it was on the 100 most banned books list - until I read the author's afterward. It's his first book and because the protagonist is a 12 year old boy, he didn't want the book tagged as a young adult (this was before the Harry Potter phenom). So he filled the book with lots of objectionable language to make it more "adult". However, it was so praised that libraries & schools bought it but parents objected to their kids reading that kind of language. This edition has been cleaned up and the book now reads as an adult-young adult book. The book is excellent - very well written with lots of action. You know from the beginning that the boy committed the killing - the rest of the story is the why and the process of the police trying to catch him and the luck he has in avoiding them. My only complaint about the book is the often abrupt changes in perspective. Usually when the author changes from one character's viewpoint to another's, there's a triple space between paragraphs with a decorative element or a chapter change, or something. There was nothing. You're reading along from Nathan's perspective, then the next paragraph has you in the thoughts of the police captain. Very disconcerting. But that wasn't enough of a deterrent to keep me from enjoying the story. Recommended
Nathan's Run was written by John Gilstrap about 20 years but it has not aged badly at all. There were almost no occasions on I thought, "Gee, this is really dated." I actually do say "Gee" to myself. The book is about a 12 year boy who is an inmate in a young offenders correctional facility where he has been brutally raped and abused in a variety of ways by both the other inmates and the staff. After a staff member tries to kill him and is killed by Nathan instead, the boy takes off on his "run." He becomes a media celebrity largely through a talk radio program and generates a good deal of support. Gilstrap is an excellent story teller as his plot is plausible but has enough twists to maintain the reader's interest. Most of the characters are realistic and the major characters are three dimensional. While not being an "edge of the seat" thriller throughout, Gilstrap develops a great deal of tension and suspense as the story reaches its conclusion.This was not a great book but rather a very solid and enjoyable read. On my 1 to 10 pure enjoyment scale (1 = didn't enjoy it; 10 = couldn't wait to get back to it each evening), I would give Nathan's Run a 7.
Un libro que me llamó la atención desde que leí la sipnosis. Cuenta la historia de un chico de 12 años, perseguido por la policía debido a que asesinó a un guardia de una "prisión para menores". Todo el mundo le odia por hacer dicho acto y la policía pretende juzgarlo como adulto. No es hasta que este chico llama al programa de radio, de opinión más escuchado en el país para contar su versión de los hechos, que se gana la simpatía de muchos. No suelo leer novelas policiales, pero esta esta te atrapa todo el momento e incluso es emocionante hasta la última página del libro, no me cansaré de recomendarlo y creo que va directo a mis lecturas favoritas de todo el tiempo.
—José
I read this book because the synopsis intrigued me. I've read quite a few 'man on the run' novels but never one about a child. I felt that this novel was ok for what it was. Some things were a bit unrealistic. For instance, child or not, when you are in that much danger, I don't think cartoons are high on the list of importance. I can look past this type of thing however.The most difficult thing for me was jumping characters constantly. Sometimes I had difficulty keeping everyone straight. Especially when you jump to the perspective of the people who had their houses broken into. I don't feel that reading things from their POV was particularly necessary.Aside from those things, I thought the book was well written and I enjoyed it.
—Stryker
What a page-turning, heart-thumping thrill ride this book was! My empathy factor was off the charts as I read about poor Nathan and the trials that seemed to constantly befall him. By the end (and a reminder that this is a big spoiler so stop reading now if you don't want to know... Seriously, stop now... Still reading?? Okay, but you were warned), I was crying right along with Warren and Nathan as they sat on the kerb. This was an exceedingly well-written thriller, and I have come to realise th
—Dee Haddrill
