Running Out of Time

Running Out of Time, not to be confused with the song or the film, is a 1995 Science Fiction Young Adult novel by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Jessie Keyser has lived 13 years thinking that she lives in a rural village called Clifton in 1840s Indiana. When her village is struck with a bout of diphtheria, her mother tells her the truth: The year is really 1996, and Clifton is nothing but a replica of a historic village, or a tourist attraction. Jessie is sent to go get the cure for diphtheria in secret in the outside world from a scientist named Mr. Neely. But Mr. Neely isn't going to let that happen.

Rumors exist that The Village is an adaptation of this. For the trope that means "running out of time", see Race Against the Clock.

Tropes used by the novel:

 * Big Brother Is Watching: Since the tourists obviously can't interact with the villagers, special portraits of the President, trick mirrors, and similar tactics are used to let them observe from afar. At least one tourist has commented on how voyeuristic it all is, but the tour guides cheerfully explain that the villagers are aware of the surveillance and have all consented to it, so if no one has any further questions, we'll be moving right along...
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
 * Born in the Wrong Century
 * Chekhov's Gun - The fat environmentalist's comment about how you can't trust the water, referring to a ditch that Jessie was about to drink out of,
 * The Disease That Shall Not Be Named: Averted. Diphtheria and its symptoms are thoroughly described.
 * Evilutionary Biologist: Frank Lyle
 * Fish Out of Temporal Water
 * Infant Immortality:
 * Innocent Bigot: When Jessie gets to the outside world, she meets a black girl and briefly considers commenting on how surprisingly smart she is and asking her what it's like to be a "Negro." Fortunately she doesn't get a chance to actually say it.
 * Masquerade: The adults who joined Clifton when it was founded obviously know the truth, but they raised their children to believe it was the 1840s. They were initially meant to explain everything to the kids once they were old enough to understand, but that ended up being forbidden before any of the children could find out. The odd anachronism, such as the word "okay," still manages to creep in, which does not please the men in charge.
 * The Nineties: The book describes trends from the real present day and how they seem strange.
 * Playing with Syringes:
 * Science Marches On: Jessie is astounded by new technologies.
 * She Knows Too Much
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: