Title: Away (Sept 2011), sequel to The LineAuthor: Teri Hall (USA)
Age group in store: 12
Briefly, its about:
In The Line, Rachel crossed the border of the book's title (the one separating the Unified States from the dreaded Away, home to Others with mysterious gifts). Smuggling modern antibiotics into their primitive camp, she helped save the life of Malgam, the long-lost son of her mother's employer. The sequel begins shortly after the first book left off, with Rachel getting to know a community she has only ever heard about in chilling rumours. However, Rachel's main concern is her father, Daniel. Having grown up believing that he was killed in the War, Rachel learns that Daniel is alive and imprisoned by a barbaric group called The Roberts. Rachel and the leaders of the Others set off on a dangerous mission to rescue Daniel.
Having never actually read The Line, I was surprised how quickly I got sucked into the sequel. The excitement begins almost immediately with a pretty good hook. The story hurdles along from there, occasionally breaking away from Rachel's experiences at the camp to check in on her mother, who is anxiously waiting for news back at home. Rachel is everything you could hope for in a young heroine: quick-witted and brave, she also has the sense to be scared of the enormous obstacles she and her newfound friends will have to overcome. She begins to fall in love for the first time, but doesn't let her new feelings interfere with the task at hand; instead, they learn to support each other. Without giving any more away, I'll just say that this book has it all: nerve-wracking adventure, heart-wrenching reunion, tear-jerking romance. Teri Hall has crafted an eerie, entirely believable dystopian landscape that isn't bloated with too many unnecessary details. All in all, it was a quick and exciting read.
It's perfect for:
Fans of The Hunger Games trilogy, fans of Michael Grant's Gone series (reviewed here), fans of Divergent by Veronica Roth (reviewed here), fans of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, fans of XVI by Julia Karr (reviewed here), fans of dystopian fiction.
# of Stars: ****
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