An Interview with Megan E. Freeman, Author of Away

Please tell us about your book.

AWAY tells the story of four kids whose families are all evacuated after a mysterious “imminent threat.” The kids become friends at the shelter and begin to question the reasons for the evacuation. They decide to work together to try to solve the mystery of the imminent threat. Each character has different interests and skillsets, and they draw on those skills as they unravel the truth. Those skills and interests also informed the way I wrote the book as a hybrid novel. I used many types of writing, including verse, prose, newspaper articles, diary entries, screenplay, and more.

AWAY is a companion novel to your wildly successful verse novel, ALONE. You’ve dedicated it to “the readers who kept insisting there was more to the story.” I’d love to hear how your creative process came together from those questions readers initially posed all the way to the final book. 

Since ALONE came out in 2021, I’ve visited many schools and talked with many young readers. They consistently asked about the mysterious threat that causes the twelve-year-old main character to be left behind in the evacuation. Their curiosity was contagious, so I decided to write a companion novel to address some of those questions. First, I outlined the story and wrote a long, detailed synopsis. I had never worked in such a deliberate way before, so it was a new creative experience. I was surprised how inspiring and efficient the process was. Once I had the story sketched out, I began drafting. The story evolved and morphed as I worked on it, but the basic outline remained pretty consistent. And of course, once I had a draft written, it went through many revisions. Some of the best feedback I received came from middle grade beta readers. Their suggestions and observations made the book much stronger.

AWAY is narrated by four different kids who end up at a relocation camp together. You’ve used poetry, screenplay, news reports, diary entries, letters, and press releases to tell their story. What were the challenges in telling a cohesive story through so many different forms? 

You know from being a verse novelist that page turns are critical to readers’ experience of the story, just like in a picture book. With a hybrid novel, that’s still hugely important, but having so many varied forms meant that balancing the rhythm and pace of the story was even more challenging. I also had to consider the cognitive experience of the reader as the narrative unfolds. Are we connecting dots enough for the story to be clear? Is each character getting enough time on the page? Are we tracking on their individual story arcs as well as the larger goals of the group? Are we effectively conveying the passage of time? It was a lot to wrap my head around, but writing in Scrivener was helpful because it allows for nimble manipulation of scenes within the manuscript. All that said, the process felt a lot like assembling a giant jigsaw puzzle. A lot of trial and error.

Teamwork, support, and the power of community are key elements in AWAY. It’s an interesting contrast to Maddie and her isolated world in ALONE. Could you talk to us about the differences in drafting the story of a group of kids vs. one solitary voice?

It was really liberating to play with multiple points of view. The saying “many hands make light work” applies here, because getting to the truth behind the threat would be challenging for any one kid, but having these four with their varied life experiences and areas of expertise allowed them to connect pieces of the puzzle in ways none of them could have accomplished alone. I could look at a scene and think about which character might know something that would be a helpful contribution in moving the investigation forward. Characters also provided conflicting perspectives and opinions that became useful obstacles in their attempts to collaborate. Having multiple POVs also offered opportunities to hear the characters talk about each other, as well as invitations to greater empathy and compassion. Each kid is on their own personal journey, and as they grow to trust each other, we learn more about who they are and what they care about. None of those opportunities existed in ALONE, where Maddie is the singular character reflecting and commenting on herself and her experiences.

Fans of ALONE will find tidbits of Maddie’s story in AWAY. Can readers who haven’t read the first book enjoy this one on its own?

I hope so! The stories take place simultaneously, so the new book isn’t a sequel or a prequel. My goal with AWAY was to write a stand-alone companion novel, so readers could read either one and still enjoy the other book. And some of the young people I’ve been meeting this month have told me I was successful, so I’ve been very happy to hear that! 

Anything I’ve left out that you’d like to include? Please add it in!

I am so enormously grateful to all the teachers and librarians who introduce readers to new books, and who have embraced forms like verse novels, hybrid novels, and graphic novels. These kinds of books can be gateways for readers who might otherwise be overwhelmed by big blocks of text found in more traditional prose novels. The more variety we can provide in classrooms and libraries, the more readers we’ll be able to hook!

Find out more about Megan at meganefreeman.com.