Running Out of Time » (Reprint)

Margaret Peterson Haddix is the author of many critically and popularly acclaimed teen and middle-grade novels, all published by S&S. She lives in Powell, Ohio, with her husband and two children. A graduate of Miami University (of Ohio), she worked for several years as a reporter for The Indianapolis News. She also taught at the Danville (Illinois) Area Community College. She lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio.

Run For Your Life

Jessie lives with her family in the frontier village of Clifton, Indiana, in 1840 — or so she believes. When diphtheria strikes the village and the children of Clifton start dying, Jessie's mother reveals a shocking secret — it's actually 1996, and they are living in a reconstructed village that serves as a tourist site. In the world outside, medicine exists that can cure the dread disease, and Jessie's mother is sending her on a dangerous mission to bring back help.

But beyond the walls of Clifton, Jessie discovers a world even more alien and threatening than she could have imagined, and soon she finds her own life in jeopardy. Can she get help before the children of Clifton, and Jessie herself, run out of time?

Children's Literature

In an isolated village in 1840, the children are dying of diphtheria when Jessie's mother entrusts her with an important secret. The village is really an experiment, and it's really 1996. But something has gone terribly wrong, and if Jessie doesn't succeed, the villagers will die of diseases that were conquered over one hundred years ago. Haddix has made the experiment seem very real and very terrible. Without modern experiences, Jessie must try to save the only home she has ever known. A gripping story.