Genre
Young Adult Fiction
Setting and Context
Predominantly within a high school setting, after Jessica has lost a leg in a road accident.
Narrator and Point of View
Jessica Carlisle is the first person narrator and the story is told from her point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone is at first angry, bitter and filled with frustration; gradually, it shifts to become a mood of hope, possibility and love.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Jessica is the protagonist; the antagonist is the unisured driver who collides with the team bus , causing the accident.
Major Conflict
There is enormous conflict within Jessica herself because being a runner and being Jessica are the same thing to her. Her view of her own identity is wrapped up in her being a runner. There is conflict within herself as she learns to see herself in a different way and to work through the unimaginable trauma she has experienced.
Climax
Jessica and Rosa finish the ten mile race and Jessica realizes that this is just the start of her new running dream.
Foreshadowing
The fact that the driver who caused the accident was uninsured foreshadows the fact that Jessica is not able to get a running prosthetic on insurance; this is why her teammates and her friends have to fundraise to purchase if for her.
Understatement
A number of times Jessica says that what happened to her was unfair, but this would seem to be a huge understatement, because her entire life and future have been upended due to somebody else's carelessness and lack of responsibility.
Allusions
Jessica alludes to statistics about uninsured drivers and the danger they pose on the road.
Imagery
No specific examples.
Paradox
Rosa is somewhat of a paradox to Jessica; she is physically disabled but she has a sharper brain than the rest of the class. They complement each other in what their strengths have been.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the way in which Rosa first reaches out to Jessica and the way in which Jessica includes Rosa in her running dream; both girls want to show the other that they can achieve more than they know they can.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The track team is the way in which all of the members of it are described and it is also part of the way in which Jessica views herself too.
Personification
No specific examples.
