Published: 2025
Author: Megan E. Freeman
Genre: YA Dystopian / Novel in Verse
Audience: Grades 5–8
Number of Stars: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Goodreads Link: Away
Content Warnings: Forced evacuation, separation from family, animal death, and significant emotional distress.
Publisher’s Summary
A group of children investigate the threat that prompted large-scale evacuations in this powerful and dramatic companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Alone told in multiple POVs.
After an imminent yet unnamed danger forces people across Colorado to leave their homes, a group of kids including an aspiring filmmaker and a budding journalist find themselves in the same evacuation camp. As they cope with the aftermath of having their world upended, they grow curious about the mysterious threat.
And as they begin to investigate, they start to discover that there’s less truth and more cover-up to what they’re being told. Can they get to the root of the conspiracy, expose the bad actors, and bring an end to the upheaval before it’s too late?
Full Review
Away is a companion novel to Alone, occurring during the same timeframe but from a totally different point of view. While Alone follows Maddie as she survives on her own in an evacuated town, Away focuses on those forced to leave, specifically those living in government-run camps.
The story follows a group of characters dealing with confusion, fear, and family separation after a sudden emergency forces an evacuation. As they navigate life in the camps, they encounter strict rules, misinformation, and the profound difficulty of being cut off from loved ones.
The themes echo Alone—particularly resilience and persistence in the face of uncertainty—but Away leans heavily into friendship, community, and questioning authority. It is fascinating to see how the two books explore the same crisis from such contrasting angles. The novel is written in verse, which makes it a quick, high-impact read with strong character voices. It is particularly powerful as an audiobook, where the rhythmic format amplifies the emotional stakes.
Away is an emotional, thought-provoking companion that expands the world while standing on its own. It is a must-read for fans of Alone, offering a deeper look at the conspiracy unfolding behind the evacuation.
🌐 The “Companion Novel” Perspective
Away and Alone provide a “multi-perspective” look at a dystopian event. This narrative technique helps readers understand that no single person has the full story during a crisis.
- Individual vs. Collective: Alone explores the individual experience of survival (self-reliance), while Away explores the collective experience (community and resistance).
- The “Reliable” Narrator: Because the characters in the camps are being fed misinformation by the authorities, the book teaches readers to question the “official story.”
🎒 Classroom & Curricular Connections
- ELA (Novel in Verse): Use the verse format to teach “economy of language.”
- Activity Idea: Compare a passage from Alone (Maddie’s isolation) with a passage from Away (the group in the camp). How does the spacing and line break choice reflect the characters’ different emotional states?
- Critical Thinking (Media Literacy): The characters in Away are aspiring filmmakers and journalists.
- Activity Idea: Discuss the role of the “journalist” character. How do they use their skills to uncover the truth? Have students identify “the truth vs. the cover-up” as the plot unfolds.
- Social Studies (Emergency Preparedness & Rights):
- Activity Idea: Research the legal concept of “Emergency Powers.” When is the government allowed to evacuate citizens? What rights do citizens retain in an evacuation camp?
- Creative Writing (Parallel Narratives): * Activity Idea: Have students choose a historical event and write two “vignettes” from it: one from the perspective of someone who stayed behind and one from someone who was forced to flee.
