Underrunners
by Margaret Mahy (Viking, 1992); audiobook read by Richard Mitchley (Brilliance, 2017)
![Book cover: “Underrunners” by Margaret Mahy](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Mahy_Underrunners-204x300.jpg)
Set in rural New Zealand, a down-to-earth middle-grade exploration of hope, disappointment and making the most of things; of using imagination as a coping mechanism yet still facing up to reality. Mahy plumps for realism and character development over clichéd happy endings.