MACKENZIE'S LAST RUN

Rosengren’s middle-grade novel aptly explores the aftermath of a tragedy and its impact on one family.

One evening, Wisconsinite Mackenzie “Mac” Lawrence goes for a run and returns home late for dinner. Although that’s typical behavior for Mac since his father, a paramedic, was shot at Prairie View Mall two years ago, his twin sister Tessa is angry that he’s not at home, and his mother and grandparents fear that he’s gotten into some kind of trouble. Soon after his return, the twins’ mother announces her engagement to her partner, Simon, and Mac becomes enraged, threatening to leave if she goes through with it. Soon, Mac runs away, leaving a striking note on his laptop: “I MEANT WHAT I SAID!” The book then separately follows the close third-person perspectives of Mac and Tessa in alternating chapters. Rosengren offers a story that illustrates how family relationships undergo change following trauma and loss. Specifically, the narrative emphasizes how Tessa and Mac’s once-close relationship has become distant and tense and how each processes their father’s death and their mother’s engagement differently. Rosengren uses subtle linking strategies—such as a motif of darkness at the end of one section and the beginning of another—to show how the two main characters remain connected. The alternating storytelling style also works well to move the plot forward, although there are moments when Mac’s reactions feel extreme, and Tessa is always cast as the maternal, responsible person in her family. Overall, though, the work effectively shows how the twins’ relationships with their father have shaped how each teen thinks. At the end, Rosengren ties up loose ends in a satisfying manner.

An emotionally authentic representation of the legacy of gun violence.