Rachel wonders about The Others, the mutated creatures that exist across The Line. That invisible barrier still protects the Unified States from the results of a terrible war. No one crosses it now; no one worries about the Unified citizens who were trapped outside The Line when the experimental bombs landed.
She and her mother are safe here on The Property, working for Ms. Moore, growing orchids. After Rachel’s dad was lost in the war, they were lucky to find Gainful Employment away from the city – where joining the ranks of the Labor Pool means inescapable poverty, where government agents remove those who are “security threats”.
But when a voice recorder gets past The Line with a plea from The Others for medical assistance, Rachel must decide if she can help – and how she can get the medicines through The Line. Her mother reminds Rachel that the government-controlled news isn’t always the truth and reveals secrets about her father’s past. Ms. Moore explains her connection to The Line as they try to work out what they can do to help The Others without alerting the government agents.
Why did the government close The Line so fast that many of their own citizens were trapped outside? How did anyone survive those attacks? Why doesn’t anyone come back when the agents take them away?
Join Rachel in this dystopian future as she weighs the options – stay safe on her side of The Line or do what’s right despite the danger. First in a series, followed by Away.
Recommended by: Katy Manck, Librarian-at-Large (retired academic/corporate/school librarian), Gilmer, Texas, USA
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The Property is right by The Line that is an invisible border for the Unified States. Korusal, a hostile force attacked the area with atomic bombs and the invisible Line has been rigidly maintained since then to keep out the Others (people who were trapped on the outside when the Line went up leaving them in the bomb’s fallout.)
One day Rachel finds a recorder with a voice from Away (the area outside of the Line) asking for help. Even though the recording has been damaged she understands enough to know that a boy will be waiting at the Line by the greenhouse for help. As Rachel goes about helping this boy a series of events is triggered that endangers all their lives and reveals dangerous secrets that have been hidden for years.
What will happen as Rachel embarks on her mission to help this boy and learn more about the Others in Away? Will they all survive? Will some be imprisoned?
Don’t miss book #2 “Away” where the reader will learn more about the outside and the Others.
