Running Out of Time

Last weekend, Jessica and I hit the thrift stores for the purpose of buying books for classroom liberries. We each found some real good steals, but Jessica hit the gold mine with one particular find, Running out of Time. Take a moment to read the back cover:

"I may have to ask you to do something very dangerous," Ma said."

Jessie's mother is desperate, for the children of Clifton are dying, and in 1840, there is no medicine to help them. This leads her to reveal an enormous secret to Jessie: It is actually 1996, and they are living in a reconstructed village that serves as a tourist site. She asks Jessie to do something that will put her life in jeopardy: to escape into the outside world to get help, before the children run out of time.

This revelation turns the world as Jessie knows it upside down. Her odyssey becomes a gripping page-turner that combines the fascination of a mystery, the power of a historical fiction, and the wonderment of science fiction. Like Jessie, who must come to terms with a world she has never known, readers of Running Out of Time are challenged to look at their own world in a new way.

That is the most amazing plot I have ever heard of; even though Jessica has no spare time in her life right now, she made time to read this book and swears it is every bit as stupendous as the description might lead you to believe. Knowing that this piece of fiction exists makes me that much more excited to live in the world.

The following paragraph contains a movie spoiler. Highlight the white text if you're brave enough to read it:

When Kline got a rundown on the book's premise, she revealed that that was essentially the twist in the film, The Village. After doing some research, I found out that the publishers of Running Out of Time sued M. Night Shyamalan for stealing their story. I don't know the specifics, but it certainly was a story worth stealing! I remember when a friend of mine watched the movie, ey expressed thanks that I hadn't been able to watch it with em because I would have "made fun of it" the whole time. Indeed, I would have, because the premise is ridiculously enjoyable.