Hit and Run
By Lurene McDaniel
       The book Hit and Run by Lurene McDaniel is a fictional but only because it is not a true story. It relates to real life in that it does not have things like flying cars or talking monkeys (just a quick example off the top of my head), and it shows the pressures that many teens face along with some more extreme possibilities.
      Analise Bower and her boyfriend Jeremy are just like any other seniors at school but in one night all that changes. Analise goes from babysitting for a little extra money to being the victim of a hit and run. Analise is in a coma for a long time with her parents and Jeremy never giving up hope, always staying close.  Quintin Palmer son of Spencer Palmer is king of the school and headed to the big leagues in his father’s footsteps. Quin is a baseball star and has a bright future ahead of him but one accident could potentially end his career. Laurie Stark is your average sophomore until the night that Quin takes her on a date that will change everything.
      Driving home from a party (down a mountain) Quin hits what he claims was a deer but neither he nor Laurie (who was in the passenger’s seat at the time) could see what he actually hit but on the same night Analise went missing. Coincidence? Laurie didn’t think so. It took a while for her to figure out what was staring her straight in the face but when she did she didn’t know what to do. Laurie confided in her best friend Judie who came up with a plan for her to become the most popular girl in the school like her mother had always dreamed for her (since she had been in her day). Laurie told Quin what she thought had happened and what she wanted him to do and in return she wouldn’t tell anyone what happened. Basically she had information that could ruin his career so she blackmailed him. In the end she couldn’t live with the guilt and she told her mom who told her that telling the truth might not make anything better and she had to think about what she wanted to do but she left Laurie to deal with it alone. Analise was in a long term care unit and was still in a coma when she got pneumonia and was transferred back to ICU (intensive care unit) in the hospital. Shortly after she passed away. Laurie could no longer take the guilt and sent an email explaining everything to Analise’s friend Amy who was saving a few tribute pages for Analise in the yearbook.  The story got out and Spencer Palmer was prosecuted for having helped cover is up when he got rid of the wrecked vehicle. The police went through the story and everything lined up, and I mean that in the literal sense too, they found the vehicle and the tire tracks matched perfectly like the rest of Laurie’s story.
The end of the book just kind of dropped off leaving you to wonder what happened to Quin and his dad and what happened to Laurie who would still be in high school. The book was definitely sad but it was still a well written story up until the end where like I said it dropped off without much closure. Maybe that’s what Lurene McDaniels was going for however I personally would be liked to know what happened after Laurie released her tell all story. Overall it was a good book that I enjoyed reading however I don’t think it could ever have a sequel.