Time Out - Hardcover

Hill, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0812628993 ISBN 13: 9780812628999

Publisher: Cricket Books, 2001

Synopsis

Alienated at school and struggling with his parents’ separation, Kit takes his loneliness to the blacktop, where he loses himself in running until one day, an accident on the road catapults him into what seems to be a parallel universe. Names and places are strange yet oddly familiar, and Kit is torn between newfound popularity in this world and panic at the thought of never returning home. While Kit’s routine centers on training for an important cross-country race against a rival school, the reader is drawn into Kit’s predicament and his growing fascination with an enigmatic teammate, Alrika. She leads Kit to wonder if he is racing not only for his school but also for his life.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Gr 6-9-While training for a cross-country race, Kit has an accident. He loses consciousness, is near death, and his path to recovery becomes laden with multiple challenges and personal discovery. He seems to have slipped into a parallel universe, dropping through a black hole. A troubling thread of memory connects him to the world he's left behind. In Kit's new community, he's living with his aunt and uncle and has become a prized competitor for his school's cross-country team. All the while pent-up emotions are nagging for his attention. He wakes often during the night; a perpetual beeping noise sounds off and on in the muddled distance, and he's concerned about his parents and their struggling relationship. Far away, he thinks he hears their voices, and he's perplexed that his new friends and teachers all resemble the kids from his old school. Only one girl, his running partner Alrika, is new, someone he can't place. As the race date approaches, ominous black clouds gather, holding the threat of an impending storm. Symbolically and portentously, they loom over the racecourse. Alrika is strong and focused, and she has a mysterious elusiveness that attracts Kit. Her athletic stamina pulls him toward something larger than the upcoming competition, and she helps drive him toward a finish that carries more than a "win." In this well-written novella, Hill leaves the harsh details of hospital convalescence behind. While the pace of the plot is fast and urgent, quiet motivation and survival are the key to the story. Short chapters and a curious blend of paranormal and scientific ideas meld, and there's a satisfying conclusion for Kit, as well as for readers.

Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cricket Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0812628993
• ISBN 13: 9780812628999
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128