I was captivated from page 1. This story grabs you and keeps you going to the end. It was an emotional, suspenseful ride.
The siblings relationship was so real. And the family dynamics were really sharply drawn so you could really imagine their feelings.
I loved the Last Run. Hopefully this is only one of many runs for the author.

An easy fast read. I enjoyed the way that the author wrote Mac in this story. It was an intriguing easy read that I’d recommend.

This was a great read and fast. This books shows how one event can effect each person differently and how they cope with it. Here, the main character feels guilt from his fathers death because he asked his dad to do something for him and the dad dies in a shooting. Because of this guilt, it affects his relationships with his twin and even his mom. When his mom announces that she is going to remarry, it sends Mac into a spiral and runs away. This choice leads to more problems for Mac that become life threatening and his mom and sister have no way to know that he is not ok. This book is about struggles both emotional and physical and how to push through when thinks look dim. It would be a great classroom book that would be able to invoke much discussion.

What a breathtaking page turner.

It was the first time I have read a survival story but now I get the thrill that comes with it.

I just had to know what happens next and that made me fly through the pages.

The dynamic between the family members was so real and heartbreaking that I was thrown right back to my teenage years. Especially the relationship between Tessa and her mother and Tessa’s role within the family reminded me so much of myself. That’s probably the reason why I got so invested in the story. But this won’t happen to everyone. But I do hope that others will connect just as well with the characters as I have.

Some might argue that there is too much bad luck in this story, but we have to remind ourselves that this is meant to go haywire so that we can feel the desperation and thrill. And I find that it worked out well.

This is a more adventurous middle-grade read and nothing for sensitive minds. But if you like the thrill and a bit of darkness this book will be right up your alley.

A quick read that has a dual narrative. It has a story that I think a lot of middle graders, teens and ya's could find relatable. An enjoyable read

MacKenzie’s Last Run by Gayle Rosengren.
Thirteen-year-old MacKenzie (Mac) Lawrence blames himself for his father’s death.
When his mum says she is going to remarry he is furious and runs away.
A good read. Slow but readable. 3*.

MacKenzie’s Last Run came up as a title I may be interested in.

After reading the synopsis, I requested it.

The chapters go back and forth between Tessa and MacKenzie’s stories.

13 year old MacKenzie runs away after his mom announces her engagement to another man after his father passed 2 years ago.

He has a twin, Tessa who thinks Mac is being a brat about the whole situation.

Mac runs away and ends up getting into trouble with no way to get home, it’s now up to his twin Tessa to follow clues to find him and bring him home.

This book was a fast paced and quick read.

(It does touch on gun violence and grief. )

MacKenzie's Last Run.

I really enjoyed the plot of this book and enjoyed the perspectives of the two siblings going back and forth chapter by chapter. What I wasn't super happy about was the lack of punctuation and grammatical errors that caught my eye. However, the story was well told and very emotional in parts.

I appreciate that I could resonate with Mackenzie and the loss that he felt when his father passed away so suddenly and tragically. It was interesting to see myself mirrored in this young teenager's reaction, and really made me think about the effects of grief and how our emotions can drive us to do things we never imagined.

Overall, this is a beautifully told story of love and loss, and how a family can move forward in the face of these events that can, and do, alter lives indefinitely.