It’s no secret I’m a huge Kathryn Cushman fan. Which means I also have high expectations for her novels.
Chasing Hope exceeded those expectations.
Sabrina was an Olympic-calibre runner whose career was cut short by a medical condition. She immediately changed focus and poured all her energies into her college major, determined to succeed at her new goal.
Brandy is an at-risk teenager trying to outrun her past and stay out of juvie.
Sabrina’s grandmother convinces her to coach Brandy. Sabrina reluctantly agrees, never dreaming how her life will change in the weeks ahead.

Cushman does a great job giving two sides to an issue. Chasing Hope gives us both characters’ perspectives on their own athletic abilities. Sabrina loved running and misses it so much that she avoids even watching college sports because it’s a stabbing reminder of what she’s lost. Brandy sees running as her ticket out of juvie and that’s about it. They each grow to see that running is both more and less than an athletic endeavor.

As Sabrina struggles to finish her senior year of college with additional medical challenges, she takes the reader along her journey. We travel out of Egypt with Sabrina and the ancient Israelites. We cross the Red Sea on dry land. We thirst for God. I found myself holding my breath and flexing my legs during the running scenes and thirsty while Sabrina mused about three days without water.
Another reviewer commented that Chasing Hope didn’t contain anything explicitly Christian that made it a Christian book. I disagree. I found faith woven throughout the book but so skillfully done that someone who says they “never read Christian fiction” could be converted to loving Inspirational novels.

Chasing Hope wins the gold! I loved it and highly recommend it.

**I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Done and done.