Running Man Bauer,Michael,Gerard

Joseph Davidson can't speak. Hasn't said a word in years. His silence isolates him at school, at home, in a life that feels frozen in place. Then he meets Tom Leyton — the Running Man — a solitary figure who runs the streets every day, moving through the neighborhood like a ghost with a purpose. Tom doesn't need words either. As Joseph begins to follow him, a strange friendship forms between the boy who won't speak and the man who can't stop running. What starts as curiosity becomes something deeper: a shared understanding of pain, guilt, and the weight of things left unsaid. Set in suburban Australia, this is a quiet, devastating story about grief, redemption, and the courage it takes to start healing. For readers who loved *Wonder* or *The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time* — thoughtful middle-grade fiction with real emotional heft.