Luke Reid, the 15-year-old protagonist of British author Coleman's (Weirdo's War
) problem novel, has been arrested for theft more times than he can remember. But his talent for picking locks goes horribly awry when he attempts to steal a pair of running shoes from a 4x4: two neighborhood thugs known to Luke, Lee Young and Mig Russell, cut in and steal the car. Then, as the car's owner arrives on the scene, his teenage daughter in tow, Lee and Mig mow him down with the vehicle and miss the daughter only because of Luke's intervention. Luke is caught and eventually brought before a juvenile court, where the car's owner's daughter, Jodi—who has been blind since infancy—asks the judge to have Luke perform community service by acting as her guide runner in an upcoming marathon. Jodi inspires Luke by her example, and his exposure to organized sports apparently helps undo a lifetime of unwholesome influences. All along Lee and Mig (who have gone unpunished) tell Luke not to "grass" (snitch) on them or they will hurt Jodi. But by this time readers will already know that Luke can go the moral distance, and the climax, while tense at times, seems chiefly designed to put him through his paces. Ages 12-up. (May)
