The latest episode of Down the Rabbit Hole aired last week, and one of this month’s featured books was Running on Empty, the new novel by S.E. Durrant, author of the highly-acclaimed Little Bits of Sky. And if you didn’t manage to catch it live, you can listen to the episode on catch-up now!
A beautifully told story of unorthodox families, grief, adolescence and running, Running on Empty tells the story of AJ. AJ’s grandfather has always been the one to keep his unusual family together, so when he dies things start to unravel at the edges. AJ is worried about his parents but they don’t really seem to notice. In order to deal with his grief and to keep his anxiety at bay, AJ does what he and his grandfather did best: running. Round and round the Olympic Park, aiming for the cross country trials, running to escape, AJ only seems be heading ever closer to disaster.
Hugely compelling fiction for 9+ readers, The Sunday Times recently named Running on Empty their Children’s Book of the Week, calling it “lyrical, moving and realistic”.
You can listen to the latest episode of Down the Rabbit Hole below, or at this page.
And here’s a look inside Running on Empty:
You can find an archive of previous Down the Rabbit Hole episodes here, and you can find out more about the show at the Down the Rabbit Hole website and Twitter account.
