Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately it’s not for me. Did not finish @ 18%.

With thanks to netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

This book is overall good, which I enjoyed a good road trip book.

this is a beautiful road trip book, with compelling writing and great characters! if you are interested its worth the read!

This was a great read and i thoroughly enjoyed the storyline, I love road trip books like this!

Mini Review
Book Title: Hit the Ground Running
Book Author: Alison Hughes
Publication Date: August 27, 2017
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
ASIN: B075759P3X
Rating: 2/5 stars

I was able to read this book from netgalley.

Synopsis:
This book is about a sixteen year old girl named Dee, and her seven year old brother Eddie. They have been on their own for six weeks, because their father decided to just leave and their mother had died years before. No parents, they packed up all that was necessary and all they could and left. Running away from the responsibilities they had and a social worker. They make their way to Canada to visit their aunt and uncle. On the way they encounter money rationing, a car that can barely get them anywhere, and eating just enough to keep them going in the hot desert.

Pros:
The characters were described very well when it came down to their appearance. It really showed how dirty they were from all the traveling in the desert and not being able to shower for days/weeks.
I could see the panic in Dee when certain problems made themselves prevelent. She handeled them quite well if I do say so myself. She was definitely a strong willed young lady and I do appreciate that about her. She did the best that she could for her little brother who didn't quite understand what was happening.
I'm glad that the author really described how innocent Eddie was. Being seven he never really grasped they their dad wasn't going to follow them to Canada.

Cons:
This is a short review so I am not going to go into great detail about the book. I'm just going to say it: I didn't like this book that much. It was cute don't get me wrong but it had very little detail. You had to really hold on to the descriptions that was there. It was a fast read but to me it was too fast. I would have liked more to the story. Whenever they ran into problems it was over in a page. I don't want to see characters struggle but I think it helps a story evolve into something better. It gives the reader something to hold on to. They traveled from one state to another in very few pages and they never really stopped to do anything. I just didn't find it as interesting as I found the synopsis.

Overall: The book was cute and it was a fun adventure. If you want a really fast read then I would recommend it to you. If you want more to a story then maybe this isn't the book for you.

These were the reasons that I gave it two. If there was a little more to the story I would have bumped it up to a 2.5-3.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of HIT THE GROUND RUNNING in exchange for my honest review.

A story of siblings whose father disappears, the book follows their struggles as they try to find a safe place to escape in an attempt to avoid being separated by the child welfare system. This story was a weak 4 stars for me (really more like a 3.5). It was a very simple and quick read, fitting of the YA genre. There are so few stories outside of the fantasy realm for young adults, so I was excited to pick this one up and read it, in hopes of having a new YA novel I could recommend for those looking for variety. I found the story to be easy, entertaining, and enjoyable. The reason for my not quite 4 star review is because I didn't enjoy the end. It lopped off at the end with no conclusion and so many holes were left unfilled. There was so much more I was left wondering and I felt like I put a book down three fourths of the way through, and never got back around to it. Left wondering and wanting more...

This book delivers exactly what it promises: a teenage girl hits the road for Canada with her brother and precious little money when their father disappears and social services is knocking at their door. And that's exactly what happens. They go to Canada. Along the way, they see some stuff and have a close call or two. But that's it. It's a quick read but not a particularly compelling one. There's no real underlying tension. We have no clear idea of what Dee thinks she's running towards. While the voices and characters are fairly strong, that's not enough to combat the slow drag of the plot.

Dee’s father hasn’t been home in six weeks, leaving 16 year old Dee and 7 year old Eddie to fend for themselves.
Dee does everything she can to keep them afloat but after a social worker comes by the house, she decides that they just have to leave for her aunt’s place, in Canada…

I really enjoyed this book. Dee was an interesting and loveable character, so was Eddie. I really loved Eddie.
And I always love a good roadtrip story.
I was disappointed by the ending though, that I found way too abrupt and left me wanting.
All in all, this was an interesting, cute and pretty short story.

This one is a 4.44, so close to a 5 but maybe only because I feel motherly towards a girl dealing with her absent dad and being such a good caregiver to her 8 year old brother. No one should have to be in that position! I would get mad at her father, who is obviously suffering from depression. But I still really have a hard time not blaming him for at least not finding a safe place for his kids while he deals with his problems, or leaving them where they were originally safe. And what about the other adults that went through their lives? No one noticed and intervened prior to Social Services? I would remind myself this is fiction and then remind myself that while this is fiction, the same situation happens daily, though perhaps not resulting in such a drastic reaction as we get from Dee. Admittedly a lot of feelings for a book that is a little over 200 pages. Parallel to all my feelings regarding parental responsibility is a story of a strong brave girl who sees her family being threatened and makes a dramatic move to protect it. While I would have suggested Dee spend a bit of time online mapping out her adventure and looking into options and resources, that wouldn't have made for as fun of a book. I also wish Ms. Hughes would have spent more time in the relationship between Dee and her brother Eddie. While Dee is obviously in a position of taking care of Eddie, we never see his attachment to her or any real distress that his father has been missing for a long period of time.

I loved this book! It's emotional,characters are well written and the story is captivating - when you take book in your hands you will not let it go until you're finished!

A great story about family, sinlings, and what we can do to protect them. The only thing I didn't like about this novel was the ending. I can see where it would be a great discussion point in a classroom, but as a reader, I was unsatisifed.

Synopsis - Sixteen-year-old Dee and her seven-year-old brother, Eddie, have been on their own for six weeks. Their father has seemingly vanished into the baking Arizona desert. Their money is drying up and the rent is coming due, but it's a visit from a social worker and the prospect of being separated from Eddie that scares Dee enough to flee. She dupes her brother into packing up and embarking on the long road trip to Canada, their birthplace and former home. Lacking a driver's license and facing a looming interrogation at the border, Dee rations their money and food as they burn down the interstate in their ancient, decrepit car.

Hit the Ground Running was a quick read, which I wasn't expecting. The story was fast paced, tense, and relatable.

I appreciated how Dee worked to take care of her younger brother and keep herself together at the same time.

The real treasure of the story was Eddie, the younger brother. His school stories were just hilarious. His interaction with Dee and other people were so cute. Be prepared to learn a lot about reptiles, rocks, and math from Eddie.

Some disappointments

I felt like there were a lot of loose ends. The story doesn't feel resolved. There's a lot more going on that a road trip, and yet the book just ends. Maybe it was too messy to tie up, too many details to work through.   But the ending was unsatisfying.

I also felt like there were some strange parts of their trip that didn't add up. I'll not list them here for spoilers, but I felt like some stuff was just a little over the top.

This book is really geared towards middle-school, so I was surprised at the language. I understand the pressure Dee is under, but it still seemed incongruous with the overall style and story. 

My rating.

I'm giving Hit the ground running 2 stars. If the plot was just a bit more fleshed out, it might have been a 3 star book.

I really enjoyed Hughes style of writing as the plot flowed well just like a road trip. It was easy to read and kept my interest so it didn't take long to finish.

I connected with the main characters. Dee was a thoughtful and resourceful teenager and a protective big sister. Eddie was the nerdy little brother who kept Dee grounded throughout the book. Together they made a great team making the best of a difficult situation.

My only disappointment was the unresolved question of what happened to the father.

A short, but gripping novel about a sixteen year old's nightmare scenario told beautifully in near real time.