Chasing the Real Me by Brom Hoban

Justin Jaworski is one of the best high-school track and cross-country runners in the country. Or is he an imposter? Newly transplanted from suburban Connecticut to the tiny hamlet of Ouray in the heart of Colorado’s San Juan mountains, Justin’s determined to prove he’s the real thing in love and in sports. That means earning the affections of Kylie Hart-gifted and wise-beyond-her-years-while setting his sights on the state championship and a much-needed college scholarship.

But he just can’t do better than second or third place behind Tommy Nichols, a spoiled bully from neighboring Telluride. Climbing the towering peaks that surround his new home, Justin realizes that to win at anything, he must conquer his self-doubts and break through his feelings of being a fraud.

Enter Danny Gonzalez, a legendary runner and former three-time state high-school champion. Danny takes Justin under his wing and in a series of epic mountain runs, shares his hard-earned wisdom on life and endurance. But it’s not until Justin visits his estranged father in New York City that he really gets to the root of what’s holding him back. There, he learns that the conflicts of father-son relationships can echo down the ages, and that just might be the key to his imposter syndrome.