Who are "Them" and "Us"?

Rachel has crossed into Away with the Others to bring medicine to save the son of the woman her mother works for. What she isn't letting on is that she hopes to find her father too. In a fallen United States, now the Unified States, something irrevocable happened- war and fear caused the country to tighten its borders with an impenetrable border that cut off a huge population of the country, leaving them to fend for themselves. In Teri Hall's sequel Away, we see the other side of this post-war dystopia- the people forgotten on the other side of the border.

Rachel feels safe with Pathik, Ms. Moore's grandson, but she isn't so sure about the rest of the Others. Some of them have developed gifts, such as Pathik's ability to read people's minds and moods. Some of the gifts aren't nice, like Jab who can give you pain without even touching you. But Rachel is willing to risk her own life to bring medicine to Malgam, Pathik's father, and to find information about her own father, Daniel. She brings with her to Away an ideal of who these Others are, but what she wasn't expecting was the fact that the Others don't trust the people from her side of the border either. These are the people who abandoned them, and they have never looked back.

Ms. Moore's medicine works, and Rachel finds out her father is alive... possibly. He has been taken by a group of very bad Others who want to trade him back to the government for supplies. When they rescue him, he can't believe he is seeing his daughter, his grown up daughter who risked her life to cross the border. Now all the group can think about is getting Rachel's mom and Ms. Moore to the right side of the line, the side with their families. Can they succeed, or will they lose everything?

With a dystopia like this, you always wonder about both sides and the first book, The Line, didn't have much information about the other side. This follow-up was a brilliant balance to that information. I loved the idea that both sides have misinformation about the other side, and neither trusts one another. It was a good example of propaganda, fear, and an oppressive government. This would be an excellent series to accompany a history lesson on divided Germany. You would be able to directly correlate sides of the book with sides of Germany and discuss the distrust and misinformation thanks to the government. This aid of a work of fiction could put real life situations into perspective for students who are 40-50 years removed from the events you are trying to teach them about.

The beauty of this story is that it is a very simply written story that is perfect for any middle reader, but the interest level would appeal to older students as well. It might not be the most sophisticated book for kids who read a lot of dystopian literature, but could be a good balance to a kid who is new to the genre but is low skilled. And since the books are relatively short, they can enjoy the success of reading two books with relative ease. I love this story both for its simplicity and its complexity- a great series for anyone and everyone!

Where do You Draw the Line?

With a huge amount of dystopian and post-apocalyptic YA fiction out there, it is no wonder I found this little gem! After reading Birthmarked, I wasn't sure how another dystopia would sit, but The Line, by Teri Hall, was such a page-turner I finished it in one sitting!

Rachel and her mother live on The Property and work for Ms. Moore. The Property boarders The Line- the protected and sealed boundary line of the Unified States (US). When the US sealed the boarder without any warning to protect their country from war, they left a fair amount of citizens outside the border who could never return and were doomed to live in Away if they could survive the bombings and radiation. Rumors are rampant about what has happened to the Others in Away, but Rachel isn't prepared when an other makes contact and begs for help for his father.

When Rachel's mom and Ms. Moore learn of the cry for help, a story unravels that reveals more about Rachel's parents and Ms. Moore than Rachel could ever have imagined. Now they must somehow find a way to take down The Line in order to get the medicine and supplies across to Pathik in Away so he can save his father. Can they do so before the Enforcement Officers arrive at the Property?

The Line is a fast-paced read and is relatively short compared to most YA these days (just over 200 pages). The characters are interesting and multidimensional, which draws the reader in quickly: you know everyone in this book is hiding something! The history of the Unified States is delivered in a very interesting way- Rachel is quizzed on the history of her country by her mother who home schools her. This saves from endless back story that could get boring, yet still gives enough history to understand how things have gotten this oppressive.

The writing is fairly simple and I would suggest this book for any middle school to high school student. It would be particularly good for a low-skilled 9-12 grader because the story is very interesting while the reading level is rather accessible. As a dystopia, it isn't overwhelming with background, but is still easily understood with the information given. While any dystopia is kind of grim, it still has the hope of the Others in Away. My only complaint about this book is it just ended. With a sequel coming out next year, I understand keeping the reader wanting more, but this was so abrupt! Just as one action sequence ended, 50 more questions were developed and then.... The End. Now we have to wait for the next book! I don't know if I can do it!