Michael Williams (7) (1962–)

Heartbreaking, all too common immigrant story, but this one is about two young boys fleeing Zimbabwe for South Africa after soldiers destroy their town. One boy is Neurodiverse and beautifully written as such -- clearly a challenge for his brother and also a source of strength and joy. The other is a gifted soccer player. Gorgeous, and deeply moving.

The characters are still with me, days after finishing this story of a teen in modern day Zimbabwe. The contrast between a normal middle class life as a school boy, playing soccer and texting friends and the search for work with the diamond cartels creates a frightening glimpse into the start contrasts of Southern Africa.
Michael Williams is on my favorite author list now.

This book starts and ends with a soccer match. In the first match Deo is playing with his friends in his village in Zimbabwe. In the last match, he is playing in the Homeless World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. In between are soldiers, the loss of his family, his country, and his sense of belonging. “To lose your dream is one thing, but to lose your place in the world…..we have no future” (177)

Based on true events in 2008 in South Africa, Williams says he was inspired to write the show more book after hearing the stories of three Zimbabwean men he met at a refugee camp in Cape Town. The book would fit in nicely for lit. circles with titles by Canadian authors Sharon Mckay (War Brothers) and Deborah Ellis (Parvana’s Journey). show less

The author of Now Is The Time For Running is Michael Williams. Michael was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He is known for his dragon lance novels. Mr. Williams teaches creative writing at the University Of Louisville. He has lived in Ireland and England. I think that Now Is The Time For Running was an exciting book to read.
In Now Is The Time For Running the brothers Innocent and Deo flee from their village in Zimbabwe. They fled because soldiers were killing people in their village. They show more voted wrong in the presidential election. Deo and Innocent emigrated from Zimbabwe to South Africa. Along the way they had to do lots of dangerous things. One of the dangerous things they did was swim threw a river filled with alligators. They also had to pass threw a park filled with wild and hungry animals. There was also a tragedy in South Africa. Innocent is murdered.
I’ve never read another book like this because the book was set in a foreign country. Also the main characters lived in poverty. This book was similar to some of the other books I have read. It was similar to other books because it involved sports. Deo played soccer in the story.
Now Is The Time For Running is a exciting, and sad book. It is hard to stop reading it because as soon as you think it is going to get boring something unexpected happens. I think people ages 12 to adult would enjoy reading this book. I would rate this book 4.5 stars out of 5 stars. show less