Compare Runner with another one of Deuker’s books, like Heart of a Champion or On the Devil’s Court. What do the stories have in common? What separates them?

Chance and Melissa regularly express criticism of the United States government and how it addresses the September 11 attacks and the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Research real-life criticisms of the War on Terror and connect them back to Deuker’s novel.

How does Brent Miller symbolize the simplified narrative that developed after September 11? Why does Chance think of him as a “really bad actor in some really bad war movie” (10)? Whose story is he perpetuating?