Lu

Athletics star Lu is generally pretty sure of himself – who he is and what he’s good at. But there’s suddenly a lot of change in his life. The big end-of-season championships are looming; his parents have dropped the bombshell that they’re having another kid; Coach has got him running hurdles but, after an embarrassing fall, he doesn’t seem able to jump them anymore; and as some new things about his dad’s past are revealed, Lu’s faced with a lot of questions.

An incredibly real and relatable character, Lu is trying to figure out how to be himself as well as how to fit in. He’s got a good home but a lot of the families around him face lots of disadvantages, and his dad’s history of drug dealing – that he’s now trying to atone for – casts a shadow. Meanwhile, though the athletics team is like a family, like all families, not everyone always gets along. As Lu tries to find his pace again, can he get his head around the line between right and wrong, how easy (or not) it is to fix mistakes, and what being cool really means?

Although it’s the fourth title in the ‘Run’ series, Lu can be read as a standalone story. It’s an accessible story in a down-to-earth urban setting about the importance of taking that leap and believing in yourself.