“The light woke Jessie, though it was just a glimmer downstairs.”

From Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Running Out of Time.

Growing up in Indiana in 1840 has been far from easy for thirteen-year-old Jessie, but the recent diphtheria outbreak posses the biggest danger to the village of Clifton.  As more and more children, including Jessie’s own sister Katie, fall sick with diphtheria, Jessie’s mother pulls her aside and tells the girl that it is actually the year 1996, that all the residents of Clifton are trapped in the dangerous historic reenactment tourist attraction, and control is maintained with hidden cameras and patrolling guards.  Jessie’s mother tells how the reenactment settlement owner, Miles Clifton, was originally kind, only instructing the adults to keep the truth secret from the village’s children, but Miles now refuses to let modern medicine in or anyone to leave.  Jessie’s mother shows her how to escape and tells her to seek out, Isaac Neeley, an adversary of the Clifton attraction, and bring a cure back for Katie and the others.  As Jessie struggles to find Isaac, she faces extreme culture shock to the outside, modern world.  However, when she learns the unsettling truth about Isaac, Jessie realizes that it is up to her, and only her, to find a way to show the world the truth about Clifton and the people trapped inside.

This captivating story is sure to keep readers, both young and old, captivated from start to finish.  Haddix creates a story the is constantly developing through daring and twisting happenings, but the book’s strength comes from the young main character’s genuine heart.  Running Out of Time is a must-read for fans of quick, unexpected, and action-packed stories.