Away is the companion novel to Megan E. Freeman’s bestselling, Alone. Readers of Alone may remember that Maddie woke up one day to find herself alone in her small Colorado town. Whereas Alone takes reader on Maddie’s survival journey in an abandoned town, Away explores what happened in that Colorado town to force evacuations and four kids’ efforts to unravel what was really behind all of it.
Told from the point of view of four kids in the same Colorado evacuation camp, readers learn how life their lives were upended one day due to the government’s vague allegations of contamination. The kids are forced into evacuation camps where they start to notice some things about the contamination story aren’t adding up. They decide to investigate, and readers are taken along on their journey to uncover the truth.
WHAT I LIKED
- Each character point of view was written in a different narrative form: verse, newspaper stories, letters, screenplay, etc.
- The verse perspectives were particularly well-written and strong
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
- I found it a little slow in the middle
- The story at times seemed a little too farfetched
- I wish there was a little more individual character growth
Overall, I think this was a solid read, and readers who enjoyed Alone will particularly like Away.
Have you read Away? What did you think?
Birdie's Bookshelf 