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One-2-one
A Time to Run: Stuart and Sam
Stuart can run like the wind. It’s a skill that has come in handy for him all his life. Born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), Stuart has learned to run away from all kinds of trouble—at least, if he can recognize it. Sometimes it’s hard for him to know when a friend really is a friend or when he’s just bad news.
Sam is a basketball star destined to play on a university varsity team until he’s sidelined by a dangerous heart condition. After losing the one thing that centres his world, Sam focuses his energy on helping his Best Buddy, Stuart, make the school track-and-field team.
But first, both Stuart and Sam must come to understand that there is a time to run and a time to stay where they belong.
Sam is a basketball star destined to play on a university varsity team until he’s sidelined by a dangerous heart condition. After losing the one thing that centres his world, Sam focuses his energy on helping his Best Buddy, Stuart, make the school track-and-field team.
But first, both Stuart and Sam must come to understand that there is a time to run and a time to stay where they belong.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 31, 2018
5 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Lorna Schultz Nicholson
69 books79 followersLorna Schultz Nicholson is an award winning author who has published over 50 books, including children's picture books, middle grade, YA fiction and sports non-fiction. Lorna divides her time between Edmonton and Penticton, where she and her husband share their homes with their Mexican rescue dog.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 24, 2019
I like this one-2-one series. Each book tells the story on an intellectually challenged teen and their cognitively normal friend. It would be easy to slip into sounding preachy with such characters but Schultz Nicholson walks the line well, telling a great story and letting her characters speak for themselves.
November 12, 2018
This series continues to impress me. Not only does each novel within the series focus on a different relationship within the Best Buddies program, it extends the reader's understanding and acceptance of students/people with different abilities. I really like how both "buddies" benefit from the perspective each brings to the relationship. In this story, Sam, really learns from working with Stuart. These are important books.
August 15, 2018
I love this series so much!! Best Buddies is an amazing program and I loved being in Best Buddies in high school and college! This book was really good! Stuart is a runner and he learns there is a time and a place for running!! Seeing the growth in not only Stuart but his Best Buddy Sam after having his dream turned upside down after a heart issue was really something amazing!! I loved this book and would absolutely recommend this book to others!
April 18, 2019
This was a vary vary good book and i personal love the character of Bethany, Stuart and Sam it is one of the best books I have read this year
December 16, 2021
Basketball and track and field. This is what someone reading the back cover of this book might think that a time to run is mainly focusing on sports. A person that doesn’t enjoy sports would love this book because it is mostly focusing on two kids Stuart’s and Sam’s lives changing. There are still many good sports scenes in this book for people who like sports. A person that doesn’t like sports would love this because of the scenes. This is way more than a sportsbook. It has a nice plot, and everyone has a great relationship with each other. It also has some intense sports scenes that basketball, and track and field players would love! I liked how I could relate with Bethany because I also am a fan of the Toronto Raptors!
This book is about two kids (Stuart and Sam) both going through hard times. We get to get the perspective of both kids. They are both going through hard times and it was obvious there were some dismal moments. There was Sam, a kid who had a cardiac disorder, and his dreams of being a professional basketball player were crushed. There was also Stuart, a kid with FESD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder) who had learned that sometimes there is a time to run, and a time not to run. A time to run affected me by teaching me that sometimes there are moments in life where you go through some hard times. Sometimes you have to fix it by distracting yourself from the bad past. A great example is how Sam distracted himself from the cardiac arrest by becoming Stuart’s coach.
Lorna Schultz Nicholson, the author used many writing techniques to enhance the experience of reading this book for the readers. I have collected some of the many techniques she used to make this story. The noise in the gym sounding like a booming bass drum, sneakers were screeching on the floor, my eyes felt so itchy and my mouth was unbelievably dry. I like how Lorna added many sentences that helped us visualize what was happening in our heads. I feel like without the techniques this book would be very boring to me. I feel like the scenes felt way more intense with the descriptive details that the author added.
I learned that you shouldn’t let the bad things in life take over you. You just have to move on. The book showed me this with the experience of Sam. Since his dreams were crushed he felt really depressed inside, but he didn’t let that control him, he was still there for Stuart and was a great friend by teaching Stuart that what he was doing was wrong. I think people 12+ should read this because it does have some graphic scenes. It also has some swear words in it which I think most parents wouldn’t want their kids to read. But it gives a good message to this age group and is entertaining in some parts too!
This book is about two kids (Stuart and Sam) both going through hard times. We get to get the perspective of both kids. They are both going through hard times and it was obvious there were some dismal moments. There was Sam, a kid who had a cardiac disorder, and his dreams of being a professional basketball player were crushed. There was also Stuart, a kid with FESD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder) who had learned that sometimes there is a time to run, and a time not to run. A time to run affected me by teaching me that sometimes there are moments in life where you go through some hard times. Sometimes you have to fix it by distracting yourself from the bad past. A great example is how Sam distracted himself from the cardiac arrest by becoming Stuart’s coach.
Lorna Schultz Nicholson, the author used many writing techniques to enhance the experience of reading this book for the readers. I have collected some of the many techniques she used to make this story. The noise in the gym sounding like a booming bass drum, sneakers were screeching on the floor, my eyes felt so itchy and my mouth was unbelievably dry. I like how Lorna added many sentences that helped us visualize what was happening in our heads. I feel like without the techniques this book would be very boring to me. I feel like the scenes felt way more intense with the descriptive details that the author added.
I learned that you shouldn’t let the bad things in life take over you. You just have to move on. The book showed me this with the experience of Sam. Since his dreams were crushed he felt really depressed inside, but he didn’t let that control him, he was still there for Stuart and was a great friend by teaching Stuart that what he was doing was wrong. I think people 12+ should read this because it does have some graphic scenes. It also has some swear words in it which I think most parents wouldn’t want their kids to read. But it gives a good message to this age group and is entertaining in some parts too!
March 14, 2019
I loved this book. There are so many great things to say about this book but I think what I loved most about it was the friendship everyone had with each throughout the entire book. First of all, Sam and Stuart's friendship was probably my favourite part of this book. Without each other, they wouldn't be happy, they wouldn't be themselves at all and when they're together, it's like nothing can get in their way of upsetting either of them. And it wasn't just their friendship that I loved, it was everyone's love and support that they showed to both Sam and Stuart when they were both feeling down. Their friends were just so kind and caring and they never neglected them. Basically, what all of these people shared was an unbreakable kind of bond/friendship and I found it really nice to have read something about true friends and how much you need them in your life.
September 4, 2023
I loved this book. There are so many great things to say about this book but I think what I loved most about it was the friendship everyone had with each throughout the entire book. First of all, Sam and Stuart's friendship was probably my favourite part of this book. Without each other, they wouldn't be happy, they wouldn't be themselves at all and when they're together, it's like nothing can get in their way of upsetting either of them. And it wasn't just their friendship that I loved, it was everyone's love and support that they showed to both Sam and Stuart when they were both feeling down. Their friends were just so kind and caring and they never neglected them. Basically, what all of these people shared was an unbreakable kind of bond/friendship and I found it really nice to have read something about true friends and how much you need them in your life.
April 8, 2019
Sam and Stuart are the most unlikeliest of friends. Sam is the star basketball player, whos on every sports team. Stuart is born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and has a hard time making friends. When the two are paired up as best buddies, Sam enjoys helping Stuart, but when Sam developpees a heart condition, he thinks his whole life is over. Maybe helping Stuart join the track team will help take things off his mind.
I loved reading this book, I couldn't put it down. It's a FANTASTIC read and easy to connect with the characters. .
I loved reading this book, I couldn't put it down. It's a FANTASTIC read and easy to connect with the characters. .
December 17, 2021
Do you like running? Well this is a book for you. A Time To Run is a well written book that portrays two main characters named Sam and Stuart. The author wrote about Sam and Stuart very well and described all of the struggles and adventures that Sam and Stuart go on. The author did a good job explaining how it was with Sam having to take care of Stuart and the struggles that came with Stuart having fetal alcohol syndrome. Overall this book was written very well and is an exciting and detailed read for young or old readers.
February 23, 2019
The book was good. I liked how one chapter was about Sam, and the next chapter was about Stuart. It had lots of amazing parts. I rated it 4 stars because it had a good ending how Stuart went to do track and field even though his best friend couldn't do it with him. I would recommend it to others because it shows how Stuart was very brave even though his friend couldn't do activities with him anymore.
March 22, 2019
I really enjoyed this book! It took a while to get into it, but it became more and more enjoyable. It was very interesting to see how each character developed and how Sam’s heart injury turned him into an amazing coach and mentor to Stuart.
3.5 stars! ⭐️
3.5 stars! ⭐️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2022
This book was really good because there are some nerve-racking parts in their but it was the book that kept me wanting to read more and more each day. This book is medical but not that much medical stuff.
February 20, 2025
stuarts is so annoying. sam pov is better. i like sam and bethany relationship. stuart cant understand whats right and what isnt he just does what he wants. stuart is ok near the end i guess. how does sam have that much patience with that little kid
February 1, 2019
stuart was really annoying and i honestly feel bad for his parents.
February 12, 2019
This was a very good story I just wish the beginning moved at a faster pace.
February 20, 2019
This book sucks. There’s no plot and it’s not realistic. No not waste your money
March 27, 2019
It was good. I guess the only problem was that it was boring. It's nice to see people with different conditions, and to see how they act.
April 17, 2019
i really enjoyed it
October 20, 2021
I remember not hating this either.
November 22, 2023
I read this to my 7/8 class. While I like the theme of empathy, it wasn’t very engaging for them. It felt over written and a little young.
April 14, 2024
It had a great meaning behind the book but I found it to be boring and drag on.
January 9, 2019
Reviewed & read by Rolando
Rating: 5/5
After reading "A Time To Run" I felt happy and excited and felt like reading this book was a really good choice, The whole plot is really believable from kids being mixed in with drug-related happenings and all the lengths people will go through just to save their kids. The book starts off with Sam's basketball game in Stuart's perspective and introduces him to the whole story. After that Sam shows his perspective and how he felt when got into the hospital he just felt deflated which made me sad and reminded me of what happened to my dad. The reason I think Stuart got in the car with Donny is that Stuart probably felt let down by Sam and thought no one liked/understood him. Then he thought if I do something for Donny I'll get to play Video games (and FASD) caused him to keep it a secret for a while. Sam still feeling sad makes him leave the party and the reason Sam felt better after helping Stuart do track and field is that helping someone accomplish something gives you this nice warm feeling inside and by Sam helping Stuart, Stuart ended up winning the 400-meter race everything so good because a baby is born which makes me feel so happy.
Rating: 5/5
After reading "A Time To Run" I felt happy and excited and felt like reading this book was a really good choice, The whole plot is really believable from kids being mixed in with drug-related happenings and all the lengths people will go through just to save their kids. The book starts off with Sam's basketball game in Stuart's perspective and introduces him to the whole story. After that Sam shows his perspective and how he felt when got into the hospital he just felt deflated which made me sad and reminded me of what happened to my dad. The reason I think Stuart got in the car with Donny is that Stuart probably felt let down by Sam and thought no one liked/understood him. Then he thought if I do something for Donny I'll get to play Video games (and FASD) caused him to keep it a secret for a while. Sam still feeling sad makes him leave the party and the reason Sam felt better after helping Stuart do track and field is that helping someone accomplish something gives you this nice warm feeling inside and by Sam helping Stuart, Stuart ended up winning the 400-meter race everything so good because a baby is born which makes me feel so happy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2020
Honestly loved this book, although I preferred Sam's view better partly because I can relate better. But I love Stuart's innocence. I'm also glad the author was able to differentiate between love and lust. So many books make characters fall in love at first site or a few days after meeting them, like wtf, that's obviously lust. I remember just reading a book about two characters getting intimate after litterally a day... Like wtf dude let it settle don't just pounce on the girl already, you've only said three words to her, and you think you can just sleep with her, wtf crazy creep(that's a "perfect" reference).
February 16, 2019
This is a good book because it's telling a story of Stuart and Sam. Sam got injured which made him not play any sports anymore. What's wrong with Stuart your wondering he has a disorder called FASD(Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) so he had a lot of anger issues and more effects. It's really nice how he was very determined to do racing and track and field but the really interesting part is the Donny guy and stuff and what he turns out to be a drug dealer and worse things. But overall the book is well, funny and interesting.
February 7, 2019
A Time To Run
A Time To Run is a very touching story that bounces between the perspectives of two best friends, Stuart and Sam.
Stuart has F.A.S.D. (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) which means sometimes he forgets what is OK and not OK, or, occasionally he throws temper tantrums. Sam is a star player and is used to always being active and playing sports. However, when he finds out he has a heart condition, he faces the challenges of learning how to deal with it.
With these factors; Stuart often finding himself in trouble without knowing why, and Sam's recent heart condition, the boys have to figure out when to run away from your problems and when to face your fears.
A Time To Run is a very touching story that bounces between the perspectives of two best friends, Stuart and Sam.
Stuart has F.A.S.D. (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) which means sometimes he forgets what is OK and not OK, or, occasionally he throws temper tantrums. Sam is a star player and is used to always being active and playing sports. However, when he finds out he has a heart condition, he faces the challenges of learning how to deal with it.
With these factors; Stuart often finding himself in trouble without knowing why, and Sam's recent heart condition, the boys have to figure out when to run away from your problems and when to face your fears.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews