Run Marco, Run
Run Marco, Run
by Norma Charles
$11.95
- September 2011
- print ISBN: 978-1-55380-131-3
- ebook ISBN: 978-1-55380-137-5
- 5-1/4″ x 7-5/8″ Trade Paperback, 186 pages
- Young Reader Novel – Ages 9 to 12
In this fast-paced novel for readers ten and up, James Graham, a Canadian journalist, is kidnapped in a market in Buenaventura, Colombia, right in front of Marco, his thirteen-year-old son. When the kidnappers try to grab Marco, his father yells at him, “Run Marco, run!” Marco manages to escape, and seeing no possibility of help in Colombia, he stows away on a freighter headed to Vancouver where a good friend of his father is living and who may be able to help.
During his search, Marco encounters what seem like insurmountable odds and learns that he must call upon his inner strength and nerve to keep going. “Valeroso; courage,” he keeps saying to himself as he evades drug dealers, security guards, the police and the authorities who would send him back to Colombia — straight into the arms of his father’s kidnappers.
Run Marco, Run is a riveting adventure about a plucky boy who will dare anything to save his father, and who learns that running away is sometimes the heroic thing to do.
Click here to read an excerpt from Run Marco, Run.
Reviews & Awards:
- Awarded Gold in General Pre-teen Fiction at the 2012 Moonbeam Awards
- Selected Best Books for Kids and Teens 2012
- Selected as Runner-Up for a 2013 Chocolate Lily Award
“Both timely and relevant, Marco’s story is told with the warmth and understanding we have come to expect from this popular author.”
—Beryl Young“Run Marco, Run is a good adventure story for younger readers who are looking for more mature themes. While it presents some of the horrors that can occur in countries with high crime rates, it is done in a way that does not exploit, describe, or dramatize them.”
—Resource Links“[Run Marco Run] will resonate with young people as well as older readers, and the themes of drug trafficking and immigration difficulties are timely and relevant. Norma Charles has written an enjoyable and important story that needs to be told.”
—CM Magazine“This fast-paced book is about a 13-year-old Colombian boy and his unshakable determination to find his kidnapped father. . . . We are scared for him as he wanders alone, and disheartened when he is deceived by those he trusts. An exciting read.”
—Calgary Herald“Run Marco Run would work well as an independent study novel for Grades 6 to 8. A social science approach could emphasize the cultural and economic differences evident between Buenaventura and Vancouver.”
—Canadian Children’s Book News“The legitimacy of Marco’s need to help his father takes him on a very purposeful adventure, which middle grade readers will appreciate.”
—CanLit for LittleCanadians
