A girl tries to outrun her demons in this searing, universal novel about the impact of gun violence, everyday sexism, rape culture, and internalizing--and overcoming--guilt.

Each step in Annabelle's 2,700-mile cross-country run brings her closer to facing a trauma from her past in National Book Award finalist Deb Caletti's novel about the heart, all the ways it breaks, and its journey to healing. Because sometimes against our will, against all odds, we go forward. Then ... Annabelle's life wasn't perfect, but it was full-full of friends, family, love. And a boy ... whose attention Anabelle found flattering and unsettling all at once. Until that attention intensified. Now ... Annabelle is running. Running from the pain and the tragedy from the past year. With only Grandpa Ed and the journal she fills with words she can't speak out loud, Anabelle runs from Seattle to Washington, DC and toward a destination she doesn't understand but is determined to reach. With every beat of her heart, every stride of her feet, Anabelle steps closer to healing-and the strength she discovers within herself to let love and hope back into her life. Annabelle's journey is the ul

Annabelle is running. From Seattle to Washington, DC, through mountain passes and suburban landscapes, from long lonely roads to college towns. She's not ready to think about the tragedy from the past year, or The Taker that haunts her. But Annablle can't outrun it, and becomes a reluctant activist as people connect her journey to the trauma from her past. Followed by Grandpa Ed in his RV and backed by her brother and two friends, she just keeps running. Will she finally face what lies behind her-- and what is to come? -- adapted from jacket.

"From Seattle to Washington, DC, Annabelle is running through mountain passes and suburban landscapes, from long lonely roads to college towns. She's not ready to think about the why yet, just the how -- muscles burning, heart pumping, feet pounding the earth. But no matter how hard she tries, she can't outrun the tragedy from the past year, or the person -- The Taker -- that haunts her. Followed by Grandpa Ed in his RV and backed by her brother and two friends (her self-appointed publicity team), Annabelle becomes a reluctant activist as people connect her journey to the trauma from her past. Her cross-country run gains media attention and she is cheered on as she crosses state borders, even thrown a block party and given gifts. The support would be nice, if Annabelle could escape the guilt and the shame from what happened back home. They say it isn't her fault, but she can't feel the truth of that. Through welcome and unwelcome distractions, she just keeps running to the destination