I knew I had to read Away after reading the book Alone, as I wanted to know more about what happened to the individuals who were gone in Alone. I was ready for answers and more of the emotions and tension that had me speeding through the chapters of Alone.
In Away, this book gave me the answers that I was looking for, as an emergency relocation camp is set up for those who have been evacuated. With no warning or reason, residents in a section of Colorado had been rounded up and relocated to a temporary camp until a hazardous situation can be eliminated. The authorities keep the citizens up to date on the situation but the future of returning home starts to look hopeless. As the days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, a group of teens at the camp start to question exactly what this “emergency” really is.
The voices of four teens Ashanti, Grandin, Harmony, and Teddy use a variety of methods including prose, diary entries, movie script, letters, poetry and newspaper bulletins to describe the camp and their investigation into the emergency. I enjoyed this variety, and I felt it helped to keep the teens’ voices separate. This was an interesting and entertaining story. This book was more like a mystery than Alone was so unfortunately, I didn’t feel the emotions and tensions that I had felt with Alone. 4 stars
What if you lived your life without ______ every word that was spoken to ______? It’d be hard to fully engage _____ with others, as you’d have to either _____ what they said or just not ____ yourself in their conversation. Thea’s parents knew about her deafness, yet they did nothing to improve her situation. They had taught Thea to hide her impairment from others and so she had, missing out on bits and pieces of her life.
It’s her father’s rules that lands the family in the dust bowl. Her father saw opportunity, but did he really see the whole picture. It’s all around them……despair and dust. Every morning, the floor is coated before they give it a good sweep and the sandy pieces fall into every dish and surface, swallowing up their little house. Father wants them off the grid, he wants the family to be self-sufficient, but mother-earth has other plans. Experiencing her first dust storm, Thea becomes concerned with their new life and their future. Being isolated now, I liked how Thea began to take an active role in something, and she finally has something to focus on.
With money being tight, her father allows Thea and her mother to work outside the home. Thea’s boss sees a great opportunity and Thea meets Ray. Ray is a volunteer at the library, a wonderful guy, and is hearing impaired. To think that in this little dessert town, in the middle of nowhere, she meets someone like herself, Thea is thrilled! Thea begins helping Ray and Sam as they help others in the community. Thea just shines, as she finally starts breaking out of her shell with the help of Ray until her father gets wind of what Thea has been up to.
“My dads anger stuck to us, like dirt that would never wash off.”
I enjoyed the character of Thea as she grew inside the pages of this book. Her father tried to squash her; to mold her to his liking but she saw life outside his vision and wanted more. How can she have the best of both worlds: her family and the friends for which she has craved for her entire life? 5 stars
Sometimes a book tries too hard for me, and I find myself just reading along as the book pushes me through the motions. I felt this book was doing some of that as the book painted the picture that I wanted to create on my own. Inmate Eleven is living out her life in her cell with her dog, who “goes wolf” within their cell. Pacing back and forth, her dog acts as if there is more out of life than the 4 walls that surround them. A Blue, Inmate Eleven learns that in reality, Blues are not inferior to the Clones and that her “friend” (a Clone) hasn’t been completely honest with her. Her dog is right, there is more to life than the 4 walls that surround them and now, Inmate Eleven is determined to free them.
Flipping to the present day, Imogen is in the middle of the pandemic. Imogen feels confined and overwhelmed as things start closing in on her. As she begins experiencing phobias, the need to get a handle on the situation becomes increasingly urgent. With only her therapist and her mother available, Imogen tries to come to grips with what is happening and gain control of the situation.
I did like the two timelines and how the author tried to link the two events. Both characters had to take control of their own situation to move forward from somewhere they didn’t want to be. This desire pushed and strengthened them. 3.5 stars
Oh, my word! I’m not one to read much science fiction but when I do, I seem to reach for some fantastic ones. The synopsis for this one sounded perfect but the page-length looked too daunting but let me tell you, this book did not drag. It did take me a while to get into the flow of the story but then, I needed to know more about this new world and the individuals who lived there.
This book centers around an interesting concept as a barrier separates these citizens from the rest of the world. The community is further separated into islands based on their function. As you can imagine, this is a controlled environment and productivity is monitored. High productivity is key to remaining on the island of Prospera. Wealthy educated individuals live here and you must continue be a productive asset to the community to secure your existence. Should your monitor show low productivity, you’ll become retired. The Ferryman will then escort you to one of the other islands, which is called the Nursery and your existence on Proapera is no longer. I thought of the Nursery as being a place where individuals get rehauled. Call it a transformation but who knew what really happened while individuals lived at the Nursery. They did know that who you were when you landed at the Nursery was not who eventually left that island. When all the alternations are complete, a new teenager with a new body and mind will be transported back to Prospera. Back on Prospera, this teenager would reside with some of the residents, learning how their community works and growing up to become a high performing adult. There is a third island where individuals work to maintain the upkeep of all the islands. Annex keeps this community functioning.
Our Ferryman is Proctor. Proctor’s mother had a tragic death and it’s during one of Proctor’s shifts that he’s to take his own father to the Nursery. I can’t imagine doing that myself, but this is Proctor’s job and it’s during this trip that his father says something to him that really affects Proctor. I’m not going into much more detail but the whole concept around this book, the characters, and the implications this book has really makes this book so enjoyable. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Random House Publishing in exchange for an honest opinion. 5 stars
Dang folks! I fell all over this one. The more I read this story, the more I couldn’t put it down. The story was building on top of itself and what started off as something so innocent and sincere was falling apart. She loved her new job, this is something that she strived for and now, she finally had it. She felt that she was finally “someone.” I think that she had her head so high up in the clouds that she didn’t see what was in front of her face or what was in the mirror staring back at her. Until it was too late.
The main character is unnamed throughout the book which I found interesting. She needs money and she wants a job at Holistik, a beauty company. She feels that if she gets this job, she’ll be “someone.” She just needs this dream job: a position at Holistik. When she finally lands the job, she feels that all of her problems will be solved. She’ll have her status, friends, and of course, money. She needs the money to help pay her own bills and to keep her parents at their own facility.
She emerges herself into the Holistik culture and she sees it for what it is. She begins to see the negative pieces of the puzzle and she now wants to turn back time and start over. She wanted to be the simple girl, the girl who blends in, the girl who has no money but dear, it’s too late for that. She now has to pay the price for being a part of the Holistik team and now, it’s going to cost her. The staggering price tag on this dream job is so high that I literally scream at her. What is she going to do now?!?! Did you not see any of this before?!? I was literally worn out after reading this book. Feeling so connected and captivated by her actions, I couldn’t stop thinking about what was on the horizon for her as I tried to go about my day. Even now, the memory of this book still haunts me. 5 stars for sure!!
I don’t read a lot of fantasy but I thought this sounded interesting, “But Petra’s world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.”
What exactly would this world be like? I have to tell you after the first part of the book sets up the storyline, the rest of the book was action! Hailey’s Comet has been thrown off course leaving everyone in a panic. Evacuating Earth, they select only a few of scientists and their family to start over on new planet over 300 years away. Petra wants to be a story teller like her grandmother as she loves the stories she tells and she wants to pass them on. Yet, Petra learns that as they’re in flight, each of the participates will be listening to information that they will need to survive in their new surroundings. This new information will be vital to their success on the new planet, yet Petra knows that she will lose her grandmother’s stories if she is subjected to this vital information.
Arriving on the new planet, excitement and hope should have filled the air, yet that’s not the case. What this group thought and anticipated was not what waited for them. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as I needed to know what this new planet contained.
Like these participates, I wasn’t expecting what occurred. I felt relieved that they had finally made it yet to arrive and now what will happen? I felt a deep connection with the characters as they tried to figure things out. This was one book that I couldn’t put this book down until I finally finished it. I don’t read a lot of science fiction so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.
What if your “very bad day” suddenly became your worst nightmare? Frida’s drive to get a coffee and a few papers at the office ended up being a 2-hour excursion, which wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but she left her toddler at home, alone. Luckily, her daughter was okay but Frida was turned into authorities. For her irresponsible behavior, she must now face the consequences.
Welcome to The School for Good Mothers, a new rehabilitation program for mothers, who need help to become better mothers. There are many reasons why the mothers that attend this school have been listed on the roster. When Frida joins the ranks, she finds herself amongst a variety of different women which makes this story very interesting and intense at times. During their time at the facilities, the mothers are given rules which they must abide by or they will pay the consequences. The mothers are also given a variety of different tests which will be graded. They need to pass them or they will have to pay the consequences. These mothers will be pushed physically and mentally and the tension will run high as these mothers strive to succeed and prove to themselves and others just who they are. Frida’s 2-hour excursion cost her a year in this facility but the physical and mental cost will go beyond that time period.
I loved this book, I seriously did. I can’t stop thinking about it and I talk to everyone about it. I loved how all the genes of the book came together and I enjoyed how this book made me think. As I read, I kept thinking about how wrong the idea of this school was, yet I thought perhaps we should have schools like this for other criminal offenses. I also thought who were the people who ran these schools and put these individuals there? Do they make the rules based on personal decisions or is there a standard that everyone must abide by? There is so much going on in this book, from the father’s program, the phone privileges, the relationships, the evaluations, every part of this story and its characters, I enjoyed so much. Getting close to the end, the tears were falling down my face; I didn’t want this story to end but I wanted to know how it was going to end. This book was exactly what I needed and I really enjoyed it.
“You can’t just have the cow jump over the moon, Frida. You need to have the cow consider his place in society. If you’re telling the Red Riding Hood story, you need to talk about the kinds of woods, the kind of food in her basket.” ………” How was Little Red feeling as she made her journey in the woods? Ask those open-ended questions. Get the children thinking. You’re teaching her about being a girl.”
I have to admire an author that can take me on a journey using verse. The word selection, the sentence structure, the punctuation, everything about the story has to be carefully selected by the author so they can lead their reader on a magical journey. Set in Colorado, Megan introduces us to 12-year-old Maddie, who thought she was going to pull a fast-one on her parents but unfortunately, in the long-run Maddie ends up paying the price for what she did. Alone, is a fantastic book about a world in which Maddie finds herself alone in, which had plenty of emotions as Maddie tries to survive on her own.
I think we all have done something like this before but now, it was Maddie’s turn to try it. She was telling her mom that she was staying at her dad’s house and then, telling her dad that she was staying at her mom’s house. Her friends are telling similar lies. Goal: sleepover at Maddie’s grandparent’s empty apartment. Sounds like a great time but her friends get caught lying. Maddie is by herself at her grandparents’ empty house. There’s noise outside the apartment during the night, but she’s technically not there so she stays hidden. In the morning, with her phone charged, alerts and warnings pop up on her screen. Imminent threat? Alert? When no one picks up or returns her calls, Maddie races home. What is happening? Why isn’t anyone picking up their phone or returning Maddie’s phone calls?
Dang! What Maddie found is not good! Cell phones abandoned and individual houses look like people left in a hurry? What was so urgent? Maddie found the neighbor’s dog George, so at least she has someone to talk to but everyone, and I mean everyone is gone. Eventually, Maddie has to start looking for food and supplies. Searching in other people’s houses Maddie finds other pets that were left behind, some alive and some dead, they have been trapped in their houses. The two of them seem to be making it but for how much longer? When Maddie has a question, the internet is no longer an option nor can someone provide the answer for her so Maddie takes her questions to the library. Maddie looks up her questions at the library and while she’s there, Maddie begins to bring back books with her to read. I liked reading about her experiences with the library.
It’s Colorado and the days are getting shorter. Oh, I hate winter and just thinking about Maddie and winter, gave me the chills. There’s also no electricity so Maddie has this to consider. Would she be better off just packing some stuff and traveling to another city? A year has passed and Maddie still wonders “when” they will be coming back for her. I wonder, “if” they will be coming back.
I thought Maddie’s actions were typical for someone her age and I was happy to see that she didn’t get depressed or angry about her situation. She addressed it a few times but she knew that she couldn’t just sit around and wait for someone to come rescue her. She had to actively try to get food and supplies for herself and her dog so they could stay alive till someone came. For more than 3 years, Maddie fought the elements, from the weather, to food, to emotional, and onto physical factors. From snow and horrible rain storms, to fighting for food and hunting for it, to anger and being scared, and also enduring physical pain and exhaustion. I still had some questions at the end of the book about the whole emergency situation, why Maddie was left alone so long and I really felt that the ending was rushed but I really enjoyed this book and the author use of verse to do so. 4.25 stars.
Dang! I picked this book originally based on cover love and I’m so glad that it caught my eye. I absolutely loved it! I’m not normally a sci-fi reader and seeing the size of this book, I almost walked away but this book was amazing! This was one of those books that I couldn’t stop thinking about as I tried to close the book and walk away. I loved how the author weaved the story together and the second half of the book, was incredible,
I felt connected to Nico in this book and I enjoyed being a part of her journey. I can’t describe Nico and her father’s bond, as I feel that the word love doesn’t define it properly. It felt greater than love. As she sat with her father reminiscing and discussing their future, they didn’t have to see eye-to-eye but they did have to respect one another. You could tell that they appreciated each other and felt fortunate to have each other. From Nico watching The Deliverer, to walking with Harry, to her meeting the other survivors, and following the plan, I traveled with her as she made her way.
I did take a few side trips away from Nico where I met the other characters in the book on a more personal level. From when Nico first described him, I pictured The Deliverer as something from The Twilight Zone. This character was brilliant. Where do you come up with this stuff? This character was primo! I can’t go into too much detail The Deliverer but this character generated more, “What?!” “No way!” out of me then, anyone else.
Nico meets other survivors on her journey which amount to about a handful of individuals to remember. Remembering how Nico lived, I had to wonder what was going through her head when she first saw them. These individuals don’t realize how important they are to Nico and vice versa. Everyone knows what they need to do to keep the swarm away as they’re out in the open traveling. Letting their guard down, they would be able to hear the hum before they’re under attack, they just won’t have much time to do so. Each of them has seen what the swarm can do and they don’t want it to happen to them. There is a bit of romance in this book with the characters but nothing dramatic or heavy.
I was surprised how fast I read this book. There was this momentum throughout the book, yet as I got to the second half of this book, the momentum increased as little details began to appear and everything started to come together. It was entertaining as the author began slipping these subtle details into the story, it was like I had discovered a clue. I really hoped that I had caught all of these little details as I read the story. It would have been nice to reread the book now that I have the whole picture in front of me but I needed to return the book to the library as someone else had a hold on the book. I’m going to put this book on my birthday list and I hope to get my own copy because I definitely need to read this one again. I highly recommend it, even if you don’t read sci-fi, if you like apocalyptic, fantasy, or dystopia books, this is one you should read. 5 stars
One Chapter 