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The Running Dream

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The Running Dream
The Real Rosa In the book The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, the main character Jessica is trying to adjust to a new life without one of her legs. Another character, Rosa, helps her through this while facing a disability of her own. Rosa was born with cerebral palsy. Even though some people don’t take the time to really get to know her, she has some great qualities that should make people want to. In the book, Rosa gets those close to her to see her real self instead of just seeing her as the girl in the wheelchair that has trouble talking. She manages this through using some of her best qualities: her friendliness, joy in helping others, and optimism. Even when others are not friendly to her, Rosa seems to be friendly to them. The book really shows this first hand through her notes to Jessica, and the time she takes to tutors others in her math class. When Jessica is in a wheelchair, and asked to sit in the back of the room with Rosa, Rosa was open and friendly to her. Her notes help Jessica through the mental portion of her rehabilitation whether they were questions, quotes, girl talk, or just words that made her think. Rosa’s notes have such an effect on Jessica that she saves them because she can’t seem to bear to throw them away. For example, in one note conversation they have, Jessica brings up her concerns about how the running leg might just be a pipe dream. Rosa then passes her a note that reads, “So was walking.” In The Running Dream, Rosa tutors two of her classmates. First, she tutors her new friend Jessica, then a boy in their class after Jessica encourages him to ask her for help. Jessica even gets the highest math test score she has ever gotten! Over all, Rosa’s friendliness and openness to others may have been her best trait. Rosa’s joy in helping others helps her connect to others at her school. This mainly happens with her tutoring. In the book, when Jessica is sitting in the back of the math class with her, Rosa realizes that
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