Away

Away

Megan E. Freeman

Aladdin, 2025

462 pages

Grades 5-8

Science Fiction/Adventure/Mystery

Four different points of view convey the backstory of the mass evacuation as seen in the novel-in-verse Alone. Ashanti (Maddie’s friend from Alone) tells her story through poetry and we see her frustration at the lack of schooling since she wants to be a physician like her mother. Farm kid, Grandin, also communicates through verse and is worried about his dad, who refused to leave the farm. Teddy is an aspiring filmmaker. He conveys his point of view through scriptwriting and we see the proceedings from this creative angle. Finally, Harmony is a young journalist. She writes news articles and letters to her professional international journalist Aunt Beckie. The tale is supplemented by new reports, memos, and notices to the evacuees. The adults either become despondent, complacent or angry, but no one is getting to the bottom of what is actually happening. With no internet it is unclear as to what is going on in the rest of the world and if what the “powers that be” are telling the evacuees is actually the truth. The young people form a friendship and then begin to see discrepancies in released communication. Are they being lied to? Is Colorado really a dangerous disaster site? Is there any way to try to communicate with the rest of the world? Team work and ingenuity get to the bottom of the situation and lead to the young people sticking out their necks to do the hard thing and save the day.

I loved Alone so much that I had to read the sequel. At first I was disappointed that there wasn’t more of the original character, Maddie, in Away, but this isn’t her story. Freeman cracks into the reason for the evacuation and the experiences of those forced to leave their homes. It answers all of the questions in a satisfactory and somewhat realistic manner. Money, of course, turns out to be the motivation of the mass evacuation, which seems to be on brand for many of the ills of the world historically and currently. Young people are resilient and can adapt to circumstances easier than their adult counterparts. Living in internment camps became the reality and the kids worked together to get to the truth. The action never stops with many surprises along the way. There is a mystery of who is behind the evacuation, which is solved by the kids. Readers will enjoy the unconventional format and appreciate the many devices used by the author to tell the tale. The length of the book makes it a hard sell, but much like Brian Selznick’s masterpieces, it reads quickly. Is the book fully realistic? Maybe not, but it is close enough and makes for a great story that kids will love. As a bonus we see how the young people turned out as adults and it is a relief to see them succeed and not deterred by their time at the camp. More of a companion than a sequel, fans of the first will enjoy this book that can also serve as a stand-alone.