Running out of Time

The story of a boy named Alex and his father fleeing their home country to seek asylum in England, this book splits the plot between 'Before' (the events that occurred while Alex and his father were fleeing their home) and 'After' (what Alex is ‘currently’ experiencing in England).

‘Before’, Alex was just a normal child, living his life and going to school…well, mostly normal – Alex had inherited his family’s ancestral ability to ‘steal time’, allowing him to witness the outcome of actions and events before they occur. He could only ‘steal’ about 15 seconds himself, but his grandmother had been able to take up to 3 minutes in her youth!

Everything was fine for Alex and his family until, one day, things started to change. It wasn’t noticeable at first, but before long everything was very different, and Alex and his family no longer felt safe in their own country. Alex’s dad, a postal worker, had been meticulously gathering evidence of their country’s shocking changes and actions and, finally having collected substantial evidence, had mailed it out of the country to England. Now, he and Alex were leaving the country, desperate to reach the post office and the parcel being delivered there before the agents of their country. Despite some trouble along the way, they eventually make it to a boat in France that would smuggle them into England. Unfortunately, Alex’s dad is recognised before he can board and he is captured. A desperate Alex must use his abilities to save him, or they could be separated forever.

‘After’, Alex has arrived in England without his Dad, and must somehow reach the post office first thing Monday morning to collect their package. After getting involved with the people smugglers and a deal gone wrong, Alex meets Rachel, an undercover police officer working to take down the people smuggling operation, who decides to help the young man. Unfortunately, while Alex does retrieve the envelope, he is unable to discover his dad’s whereabouts and, what’s more, Rachel’s operation is discovered and she ends up getting kidnapped as well. Rachel’s daughter Hayley helps Alex attempt to rescue her, but they end up getting caught in the process. Sure that this is the end for them all, Alex makes an incredible discovery: the secret to his time stealing ability, a secret that his Grandmother had been trying to teach him. Alex is finally able to steal all the time in the world. Having learned all he can about the people smugglers and Rachel’s operation, Alex manages to change time and rescue his dad all the way back on the beach in France. He uses his knowledge of the future to shut down the smuggling operation once and for all, getting his dad’s information into the right hands, and assuring a safe future for himself and his dad.

A very unique and engaging story, this book is an exciting read from beginning to end. The split nature of the plot allows both ‘ends’ of Alex’s story to unravel at the same time, keeping the reader engaged without being overly confusing. The concept of Alex’s time stealing ability is well developed throughout, adding just a hint of the sci-fi to this fast-paced action adventure, and the eventual reveal where Alex manages to alter the past is unexpected and well done.

asylum seekers, immigration, corruption, escape, working undercover, time, doing the right thing

1. Violence: There are several scenes with fighting/physical threats throughout the story. Alex is threatened with guns several times by the people smugglers (notably p. 39, 43-49, 60, 134-140). A soldier is shot and described to be bleeding at p. 139, while Rachel is shot at p. 256 and Alex’s dad is shot at p. 263-264. Alex himself is ‘shot’ at p. 138, however this is something Alex sees when he is stealing time and doesn’t actually occur. None of these instances are overly graphic. There are some additional altercations, including Alex referencing getting beaten up at school for standing against the new regime at p. 192, Alex seeing himself injured in different ways while stealing time to escape Stripes at p. 173-176, and Ronnie getting hit in the face at p. 274. 2. People smuggling: The story heavily features people struggling and the harsh conditions faced by asylum seekers both in their home countries and on their journeys to escape. While not overly graphic, this content may be distressing to readers who have experienced aspects of similar situations themselves. 3. Language: ‘hell’ (p. 8, 9, 11, 84, 137).