Away

This is a great story for upper middle graders and teens who enjoyed City of Ember and The Tomorrow Girls series. The writing is simple, the story line moves at an even pace, and it is perfect for a reluctant reader. This is not a story that delves deeply into the subject and the characters are all one dimensional, but the story is the important motivator here. It is clear that there is no good side of the line vs bad side. It's more like there are good and bad people on BOTH sides. I liked that message! The action scenes were well drawn, although I would have liked to know more about the animals in the Away. Nipper was cool, and I wanted more. There are lots of great “father figures” in this story which is a nice balance from The Line which was filled with “mother figures”.
I think this is ramping up to be a series, so I would expect a third one.
If you need romance with end of the world tale, you need to look elsewhere. There is no development of a relationship here, just a kind of awkward sputtering of emotion at a bad time between two kids who have more important things on their minds (like surviving), and some alpha male posturing. So there was no eye rolling from me!