Now Is the Time for Running

Name: Now Is the Time for Running
Brand: Hachette Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Michael Williams
ISBN: 9781668629390

Author: Michael Williams

Narrator: Sanmi Oguntunde

Unabridged: 5 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers

Published: 07/11/2023

Categories: Young Adult Fiction, Action & Adventure, Family

Synopsis

When tragedy strikes, Deo's love of soccer is all he has left. Can he use that gift to find hope once more?

Just down the road from their families, Deo and his friends play soccer in the dusty fields of Zimbabwe, cheered on by Deo's older brother, Innocent. It is a day like any other ..until the soldiers arrive and Deo and Innocent are forced to run for their lives, fleeing the wreckage of their village for the distant promise of safe haven. Along the way, they face the prejudice and poverty that await refugees everywhere, and must rely on the kindness of people they meet to make it through.

Relevant, timely, and accessibly written, Now Is the Time For Running is a staggering story of survival that follows Deo and his mentally handicapped older brother on a transformative journey that will stick with readers long after the last page.

About Michael Williams

Michael Williams (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) is Emeritus Senior Professor of Old Testament Studies at Calvin Theological Seminary, a member of the NIV Committee on Bible Translation and the Chairman of the NIrV Committee. He is the author of Deception in Genesis, The Prophet and His Message, Basics of Ancient Ugaritic, The Biblical Hebrew Companion for Bible Software Users, How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens, Hidden Prophets of the Bible and is editor and contributor of Mishneh Todah. His passion is to provide curious believers with knowledge of the Old Testament and its culture so that they may grow in their comprehension and appreciation of redemptive history and be adequately prepared to promote and defend the faith through word and action. Michael resides in Florida with his wife, Dawn.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sarah on April 13, 2013

Words cannot express how I feel about this book. This book attacks your emotions as well as your well-being. It literally hurt to read, yet changed my perspective on the African War history. Now is the Time for Running is a sobering story full of dramatic emotions left and right. This inspiring story......more

Goodreads review by Deanna on January 03, 2012

Realistic fiction, immigration, global, soccer, survival, xenophobic, South Africa Based on true events that occurred in 2008 this gripping novel will keep you awake till you finish it. This was another 2 hour book that I couldn't put down. Definitely one of the best books I read in 2011. One day some......more

Goodreads review by Barbara on February 21, 2016

This is a gripping story of what happens when a government and its leaders get out of hand. Fifteen-year-old Deo and his older brother Innocent flee their village in the Zimbabwe countryside when government soldiers kill everyone, including their mother and grandfather. They carry only a soccer ball......more

Goodreads review by Amber on March 09, 2015

At the beginning of the story, Deo, a fourteen-year-old Zimbabwean boy, has not seen much of the world. He plays soccer with his friends. He keeps an eye on his very special older brother Innocent, a sweet but damaged young man who suffered a brain injury at birth. Innocent is one of the most irresi......more

Quotes

Praise for Now Is the Time For Running:
"There is plenty of material to captivate readers: fast-paced soccer matches every bit as tough as the players; the determination of Deo and his fellow refugees to survive unthinkably harsh conditions; and raw depictions of violence... But it's the tender relationship between Deo and Innocent, along with some heartbreaking twists of fate, that will endure in readers' minds."—PW (starred review)

"A harrowing tale of modern Zimbabwe... gripping, suspenseful and deeply compassionate. Williams, a renowned dramatist, gives readers compelling characters and, in simple language, delivers a complicated story rooted - sadly and upliftingly - in very real events"—Kirkus (starred review)

"Williams skillfully draws the plight of these refugee brothers with both suspense and sympathy, and readers cannot help but root for them in their quest to rebuild their broken lives... Williams joins Beverly Naidoo and Allan Stratton with this incisive portrait of sub-Saharan Africa, a compelling mix of suspense, sports, and social injustice."—Horn Book