Taming the Star Runner
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| Author | S. E. Hinton |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult fiction |
| Publisher | Dell/Laurel-Leaf |
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Publication date
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1988 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 192pp |
| ISBN | |
Taming the Star Runner (1988) is a young adult coming-of-age novel written by S. E. Hinton, author of The Outsiders. Unlike her previous young adult novels, this novel has not been made into a film yet.
The novel is the last of her series of novels that take place in and around her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma (see Continuity within S.E. Hinton Novels) and the only one of that series written in the third-person perspective.This is also S.E. Hinton's only novel that was not made into a movie. Like her first book, The Outsiders, it is implied at the end of the book that the protagonist is the actual author. In reality, many of Travis' experiences trying to publish his book parallel those of S.E. Hinton's while trying to publish her first book (having to clean up the language, starting a second book before the first is published, being only 16) It could also be that Travis' book is deliberately similar to Hinton's first book, as it is stated that a major plot point of his book is a title character (the Star Runner) dying in a car accident, similar to Johnny in The Outsiders dying due to injuries sustained in a fire.
Travis is a tough kid living in a big city. When he comes home to find his stepfather cramming the fireplace with his writing, Travis assaults him with a fireplace poker. As a result, he is sent to live with his paternal uncle, Ken, on his ranch outside of Tulsa. Travis, used to living in the city, soon finds country life to be boring. Formerly the coolest, toughest kid in school, he is now an out-of-place loner, torn between his desire to fit in and his contempt for country living. Even Ken seems too busy for him, between work at his law-firm and his divorce; he is often too busy to even keep food in the house. Travis continues work on his book while maintaining a correspondence with Joe, the only one of his friends to even occasionally write back.
He also meets Casey Kencaide, who runs a riding school on Ken's ranch and is the only one brave enough to ride the Star Runner, a creature who, like Travis, was never meant to be tamed. Soon Travis is working for Casey as a stable boy, and he receives an offer to publish his book. In response he takes a trip into town to celebrate. While in town he gets drunk and is beat up by the bouncer when his true age is discovered. In bad shape, he contacts his uncle to bring him home and reveals his book deal to Ken, a surprise for Ken, as he was unaware that Travis was even fully literate.
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