Away - Teri Hall
NOTE: It is important to read THE LINE before jumping into this book. Click HERE for the link to my review from January 2010. Rachel is in the Away. Years of reading about it on the net books didn't prepare her for the actual experience. The thing that occupies most of her thoughts is her father. Pathik knows him, but won't tell her anything about him. She feels hopeful, but worried at the same time. When they finally reach the camp, most aren't thrilled to see her. As a Reg, she isn't welcome since she is a reminder of what the government did to them when they activated The Line. The Others have been forced to live for generations in the wilds of Away by primitive means. Rachel is amazed. It is hard for her to imagine life without electricity and modern conveniences like running water and medicine.After delivering the antibiotics to the people looking after Malgam (Pathik's father), Rachel tries to remain patient for news of her father. Finally, after Malgam is out of the woods, Indigo explains what happened. They suspect Daniel has been taken prisoner by another group of people called The Roberts. The Roberts are a violent and vile group that split away from them when the children in the camp started developing "gifts." It will take careful planning to rescue Daniel, but Indigo promises to do everything he can to get him back.In addition to the stress of living away from home with a group of people she's long feared, Rachel is also coming to terms with her feelings for Pathik. She is forced to alter her lifestyle without having time to prepare. She worries about her mother, Ms. Moore, and Jonathan who are still on The Property. Have Enforcement Officers come for them yet? Will they be safe now that she "ran away?" Will she ever see her mother again?Teri Hall has written a satisfying sequel to a great dystopian series. I couldn't rate it a 5 Glasses for a couple of reasons though. We needed more of the dystopian/government control part of the story. There are only a couple of instances where we see government officials at all. While I enjoyed reading about Away I still felt like I needed to know what was happening in the Unified States on the other side of The Line. Also, I think the very end of the book was great. It really leaves the reader ready for the next installment of the series, but the part leading up to the end I was where I was a little disappointed. I think Teri Hall could have done something different and still ended up where she wanted.All that said, I couldn't put the book down. I loved it and can't wait for the third. Of course, I'll probably have to wait over a year for it like I did AWAY. Grrrr.