Running Barefoot is a difficult book for me to rate. There was far too much religion, scripture, talk of god, etc. in this book for my taste. It's one thing for the character to believe in god and have some religious stuff wrapped up in how the character is portrayed, but at times I felt this was exceeded and preachy. I'm not religious. I don't knock others for their beliefs but I certainly don't want it crammed down my throat and at times this was a bit much to take with a grain of salt and keep going without throwing out a "Really!?!". There were times when it disrupted the flow of the story for me. That being said, I really enjoyed the other aspects of the story and thought it was a good book for everything else. 
 I liked all of the characters in Running Barefoot, especially Josie and Samuel. Something I felt was lacking, however, was the interactions between Josie and her father and brothers at home during the first half of the book. It would have been beneficial for a complete picture of Josie during those first several years (view spoiler)[ after Josie's mom died (hide spoiler)]. They made appearances but not enough to get a good feel for her life. Also, there wasn't enough reunion time between Josie and Samuel before (view spoiler)[ they fell in love and were together. It was clearly bound to happen and meant to be but it came off as insta-love rather than the true lifelong love story it should have been (hide spoiler)] . A few things never got followed up on, such a Sonja and stuff with family members, so that is kind of a bummer. I really truly loved the ending though. The stuff with her dad was pretty fucking great. 
 Overall, I liked Running Barefoot. It was a good story. Far too much religious discussion for my taste (though for many that may push it to 5 stars) but the Navajo stories were interesting and cool. I am still struggling with the huge conflict for rating this book, so I will give it 2.5 - 3 stars.