Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher

I picked up this book as soon as my brother told me “Zoha you should read this book. It’s fantastic!” So I set off reading the book and believe it or not my brother was right! (He usually isn’t!)
This book was so good, I was glued to it constantly!

This book called Side Tracked by Diana Harmon Asher is a very uplifting story about a boy named Joseph Friedman who you can say is quite a “unique” child. He is diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and spends most of his time hiding out in the resource room and avoiding the big bully Charlie Kastner.

On the very first day of seventh grade two very extraordinary things happen. One, his resource room teacher encourages Joseph to join the cross-country team! Two he meets Heather, an athletic, and crazy fast runner who isn’t afraid of Charlie.

Unfortunately, Joseph is a terrible runner. He is often seen on the sidelines and out of breath! But he soon learns that working hard and achieving your personal best is what matters!

Why I enjoyed this book

I enjoyed this book because it was about running and I love to run myself! But more importantly, I liked it because of the moral behind it. Never give up! Whenever you fail, never be afraid to try again. Who knows? You might succeed! This book is very inspiring because it shows that friendship is very important. The whole cross-country team stood up for Joseph, and cheered him on! Heather congratulated Joseph at the finish line and Heather got that back in return. Every step of the way Joseph and Heather were there for each other, even if they had horrible days. That’s what I call true friendship!

Quote time

My favorite quote of the book is “The most important race is with yourself.” This shows that you don’t need to compare yourself with others.
Another quote that I thoroughly enjoyed is ” Stand up! Fight back!” This means to stand up for yourself! Be strong!

Let me know if you have read this book and enjoyed it!