![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I encourage all students, grade 6 and up to read this novel. Deo’s story is based on the reality of many refugees who fled to South Africa from all over Africa seeking asylum. Just when Deo believes all is lost and he cannot face another day of trauma and sadness, he gets recruited to join a street soccer team and has a chance to play in the Homeless World Cup (a real tournament)! This story was inspired by a 2008 photo of a man burning alive in the xenophobic attacks in South Africa. Faced again with horrifying violence, the boys live on the streets, barely surviving each day. They arrive in Cape Town, at first amazed by the modern cities, but soon learn that xenophobia is rampant, and they are not welcome. He and his brother, Innocent, escape, just barely, to South Africa. In Now is the Time for Running, Michael Williams tells the story of Deo Nyandoro, a boy forced to flee Zimbabwe when the cruel and violent government kills his family and entire village. Since closing the book, I have been sitting on my couch for a very long time, staring at my computer screen, trying to find the words to share with you just how special and important this story is. Friends, I am truly speechless after finishing this novel. ![]()
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