Running on Eggs

The main character is a young girl from Israel and her friend is from Palestine, the place that has been in war with Israel for years. She needs to race for a reason her friend can't understand, but her father was killed and he was a runner so she has to run. I liked this book because it was well written and had just enough detail. It's about a really interesting topic- you know, the wars in Israel, really, things that happened only a couple years ago. This is a book full of meaning and truth.

Written by Anna Levine, her inspiration for Running on Eggs was developed from her experience living on a kibbutz, an agricultural settlement, in Israel. It is a book about a hidden friendship between two 13-year-old girls. Their families do not approve of their friendship and they try to hide it. Karen and Yasmine are track teammates from very different backgrounds. Karen lives on an Israeli kibbutz as a Jewish girl. Her father was killed years ago in the war in Labanon. Her family is still struggling with the loss. She secretly meets Yasmine in "no man's land," a lot dividing Karen's kibbutz from Yasmine's village. Yasmine lives in an Arab village. Her parents are very strict. Her dad does not allow her to run in shorts and wants her to run in a long skirt. Yasmine's family does not support her love for track, and eventually her father forces her to drop out. Although they ride the bus together, the young Arabs and Jews have lived apart. On the bus, they purposely switch lunchboxes, giving them a reason to meet. The two are brought together by their passion for running. They both were hoping to do well in the Galilee Run so they could qualify for another race in Spain. After Yasmine is forced to quit, Karen continues to train with Yasmine's help. When Yasmine's brother discovers the girls' friendship, the punishment could divide the two communities even. This book is about loyalty and friendship during conflicts and distrust. The story ends peacefully. This book teaches readers about the Arab-Israeli dispute. It also teaches about the way people judge others and form opinions based on preconceived ideas instead of the real person.

This was a great book. It's hard to believe it is a kids book because you don't get many books for kids on this subject. I think it's great that kids can learn about the Arab-Israeli dispute in a mellow way. I really liked this because you start to understand what it must feel like to be 9 in Israel right now. I think the reason the Israelis and Arabs got over their fight (in the book) is because they relized they could share, and they could use it for something they had in common. And, in the end it all worked out, for everyone.

This is a great book on a subject that is not often written about for kids. It is written in language that draws them into the story, and lets them understand and experience another part of the world through the eyes of normal kids facing problems that are much bigger than they are. This book tackles the subject of distrust between Jews and Arabs in Israel. It is ultimately about friendship. American kids will be easily able to identify with the kids in this story even though the subject may be new to them.