Run by Sarah Armstrong

From his early childhood Casper (known as Cas, who is now 12-years-old) has known what it is to be abandoned and to eke out an existence with little support from an emotionally absent father and a completely absent mother. His Aunt Mel, and her immediate neighbourhood, has provided the only love and stability for him for some time, but his father now wants to re-enter Cas’ life.  Cas is far from ready to accept him back into his life and takes the opportunity to run. But in doing so he places himself into danger in the bush, far from any support. A chance rescue, from another father and his daughters living a re-wilding life in the bush, saves his life. But they too are on the run, and before he knows it he must run again. Can he survive the wild? Or is there hope for a future for any of them? 

Initially this was a distressing tale of distrust and emotional abandonment for a young pre-teen, but quickly it moved into a chase through densely wooded mountains to evade re-capture and a survival story with new companions who had their own escape story.  There were many tense moments when ‘run!’ was the response to the stress of new uncertainty. This was a compelling adventure story and although the heart-breaking background for Cas and his rescuers would be troubling for some young readers, it is reminiscent of some of the works of Tristan Bancks, Nat Amoore and even Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet.  Hard social stories are not softened, they are not given intricate or intrusive detail but are combined with a gripping ‘lost’ experience in the Australian bush setting in difficult dangerous terrain. The emotional journey for Cas has a growth trajectory that enables hope for a future. Readers aged 9-14 will enjoy the story and the impressive way Sarah Armstrong escalates tension from almost the first page.

Themes: Dysfunctional families, neglect, trust and distrust, runaways, reconciliation, whistleblowers, LGBTIQ characters.

Carolyn Hull