Patina, by Jason Reynolds

     Patina is book 2 in Jason Reynolds' Track series, which begins with the book Ghost (reviewed last month). The series is four books long, and each tells the story of the four "newbies" on The Defenders, an inner-city track team made up of kids from all across the area, each with more than their fair share of troubles and challenges, and each with their own ways of coping (and managing) their lives.

     Patina, or Patty, lives a life complicated by the fact that her mother is diabetic and lost her legs, so can no longer care for Patty or her younger sister. But her mom is still part of their lives. Instead Patty lives with her godparents, Emily and Tony, who have both girls attending a private school. At school, Patty constantly navigates the wealthier student body, but she builds a strong friendship with one girl, Becky, who proves to be something Patty wasn't expecting. At the same time she is a new member of the elite, local track team, and the metaphors of running (away from problems, towards her true self) continue on from Ghost. 

    Having just finished Ghost for the second time (my human used it in summer school this year, so I read it again, too!) I wanted to continue the series, as Reynolds is one of my favorite writers! He uses a bit of the same catch phrases and "slanguage" that Ghost used, and that was a little disappointing to me. I know the stories are going to cross, but I didn't think Ghost and Patty would have some of the same speech patterns. That seemed a little...easy. But other than that minor detail, I enjoyed Patina quite a bit. The book reads very quickly, and her story is a good one. I will continue on in the series with the books Sunny and Lu, and I never complete a series, so that says something for Patina! Because of the repetition at times, I rate this a little lower than Ghost...but not by much. Still a good read and worth your time! 4 paws!