''The Running Man'' is a 2004

young adult novel Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

by Australian author

Michael Gerard Bauer Michael Gerard Bauer (born 1955 in Brisbane) is an Australian full-time children's and young adult author, and was formerly an English teacher. Biography Bauer was born in Brisbane and attended Marist College Ashgrove before attending the Univ ...

. It was the 2005 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers, and also won the Courier Mail 2005 People's Choice Award for Younger Readers.

Plot summary

Joseph Davidson is a quiet, self-conscious fourteen-year-old boy and a talented artist. His world changes, however, when he is asked to draw a portrait of his mysterious neighbour Tom Leyton who was a Vietnam veteran who for thirty years has lived alone with his sister Caroline, raising his silkworms and hiding from prying eyes. Because of this he is the subject of ugly gossip and rumour, much of it led by neighbour Mrs. Mossop, who views Leyton's brief teaching career with suspicion. When Joseph finally meets his reclusive neighbour he discovers a cold, brooding man lost deep within his own cocoon of silence. He soon realises that in order to truly draw Tom Leyton, he must find the courage to unlock the man's dark and perhaps dangerous secrets. But Joseph has his own secrets, including the pain of his damaged relationship with his absent father and his childhood fear of the Running Man – a local character whose wild appearance and strange manner of moving everywhere at a frantic pace terrified him when he was a small boy. These dreams suddenly return when Joseph is forced to face his fears and doubts regarding Tom Leyton. As Joseph moves deeper and deeper into his neighbour's world, he confronts not only Tom Leyton's private hell, but also his own relationship with his father, and ultimately the dishevelled, lurching figure of the Running Man.

Awards and recognition

''The Running Man'' was named

Children's Book Council of Australia A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

Book of the Year for Older Readers in 2005. It also won the Courier Mail 2006 People's Choice Award for Younger Readers, was listed as one of the top 10 books for young adults for 2004 in Magpies magazine and was short-listed for the 2006 NSW Premier's Award and Victorian Premier's Award and the 2006 South Australian Festival Awards for Literature.Authors & Illustrators
''Department of Education and Training, Government of Western Australia''.

References

External links

Books From Our Backyard review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Running Man 2004 Australian novels Australian young adult novels Novels by Michael Gerard Bauer CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award–winning works Omnibus Books books