Away We Go

Gr 10 Up—In the future, children and young adults are contracting the Peter Pan Virus by the hundreds and thousands. The disease is airborne, and to protect the population, infected youths are sequestered in recovery centers and clinics. Noah Falls has just been transferred to the Ivy League of recovery centers, Westing Academy. Away from parents and his boyfriend, he pins his affections on a boy who doesn't reciprocate, tarnishing his other relationships and increasing his feelings of self-loathing. Surrounded by people who love him, Noah is miserably alone. The emphasis in this work is not on the dystopian future disease but on character development and philosophical questions about life, death, and meaning. Noah is a nihilistic existentialist to the world, but inside he's searching for something to reassure him that he is truly alive. His search for meaning is universal and will resonate with readers beginning to question their future.