Running out of Time

Simon Fox's Running out of Time is a tense thriller for 11 year olds about a boy who can steal fifteen seconds.

What happens

Alex has a strange gift. If he goes very still and concentrates, he can see what's about to happen, then go back and choose again. His grandmother taught him (she could manage nearly three minutes). Alex can only do fifteen seconds, and he really wishes he'd practised more.

The book opens on a beach in England, in the dark. Alex has just crossed the sea, the police are everywhere, and his dad is missing. The only person left with him is Ronnie, the man who helped bring them over, and he's clearly no angel.

The chapters swap between AFTER and BEFORE. After is Alex on his own in England, desperate to reach some papers his dad needs from a post office in London. Before is home, in a country that's slowly turning dangerous. His English teacher leaves, lessons change, a friend turns on him and the neighbours are arrested. His dad has been taking documents that prove what's going on, and one day they have to run.

The gift makes the action really clever to read. You watch Alex try a plan, get caught, then snap back and try it a different way (sometimes three times over). It's like a game with a restart button, except the danger is very real!

And Alex is great company. He's quick and cheeky, winding up his teacher by answering her questions before she's finished asking them. Underneath, though, he misses his dad and his grandmother terribly. It's impossible not to root for him.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

This one is for the older end of the shelf. Ronnie's world is properly criminal, with stolen jewellery, fake passports and guns, and at one point a gun is aimed straight at Alex's head. Alex is badly beaten up by other boys back home, and his grandmother is dying. None of it is gory, but it's tense and quite grown-up.

For a confident older reader who loves a fast plot with a real-world heart, it's gripping. It could also be a good way into talking about why families have to leave their homes.

What to read next

If Alex's story gets under their skin, Refugee Boy starts with another boy landing at Heathrow with his dad and a story about a holiday that the customs officer doesn't quite believe.