As Fast As I Can: A blog tour post!

To celebrate the release of As Fast As I Can by Penny Tangey, here's my blog tour stop for the #AusYABloggers tour (more stops here)!

Here's a brief synopsis:

From CBCA-shortlisted author Penny Tangey comes this funny, heartfelt novel about ten-year-old Vivian and her quest to one day become an Olympic middle-distance runner. Dealing with themes around chronic illness, persistence and acceptance.

One girl. One dream. A few hurdles.

Ten-year-old Vivian is determined to win a medal at the Olympic Games one day. Problem is, she hasn’t found a sport she’s any good at yet. But everyone says if you work hard enough you can achieve anything, right? So when Vivian discovers she has a talent for cross country running, finally, her Olympic dream might actually come true.

But then a family illness is uncovered and all of Vivian’s plans begin to unravel. Can she keep her dream alive? Or will she be stopped in her tracks?

A funny, heartfelt novel about resilience, acceptance and dreaming big.

My review:

Diving into this book, I instantly found myself cheering for Viviam, despite all the setbacks that she hits within this book. I loved just how real the ambition she displayed was, and I really enjoyed seeing her character develop.

At the start of the book, I wasn't so sure where this takes place, however, I quickly learnt that it is primarily set at Wallaby Flat Primary. Wallaby Flat Primary is a school that is somewhere in regional Victoria, in the Bendigo region. I also loved the descriptiveness and informality of how the school runs, as it sounds like that of a typical country school. I could imagine myself (a younger version obviously) running around the school, that has all the space a young'un could ever want. The characters were written in such a way that made you emphasise with each one, and it made for both happy and sad feelings whilst reading.

The way Penny touched on heartbreak and medical issues was well written, especially for a middle grade audience. It appreciates that sometimes things do happen, as well as making sure that the reader understands the serious parts of the story.

I rate this title a 4/5.

About the author:

Penny Tangey writes humorous books for young people. Penny studied Arts/Science at Melbourne University majoring in Chemistry and Indonesian. While at university Penny performed stand-up comedy, including in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Penny now works as a researcher for television quiz shows Hard Quiz and The Chase, but is still terrible at trivia.

Penny's latest book As Fast As I Can, is her fourth book published by University of Queensland Press. Her three previous novels being; Loving Richard Feynman, Clara in Washington, and Stay Well Soon.

Links to check out:
Website | Twitter | Penny's Goodreads | UQP | Book's Goodreads