Reviewed by Karin Librarian for TeensReadToo.com
Alis lives with her mother and father in the strict religious community of Freeborne. She spends her days helping her mother with household chores, tending the sick, and serving The Maker. At fourteen, she hasn't given much thought to her future. She just assumes that one day she will get married, have children, and become a respected Elder of the community like her mother.
But Alis gets a shocking surprise. Her parents announce she is to be married to the minister of Freeborne. A man she has grown up fearing and respecting, a man who is more than double her age.
Alis immediately sets to making plans to escape her fate. Years ago, her brother ran away to the City. Alis just needs to find a way to get there, because it is much too far to walk.
Her journey turns out to be both dangerous and enlightening. She meets people she never would have if she'd remained in Freeborne all her life. Alis even meets her true love, but in a world of strict religious rules and corrupted men, it won't be easy to hang on to the one she loves.
ALIS is so much more than a love story. It is a story of developing you own beliefs, questioning absolute authority, and finding out what is really important in life.
Alis lives with her mother and father in the strict religious community of Freeborne. She spends her days helping her mother with household chores, tending the sick, and serving The Maker. At fourteen, she hasn't given much thought to her future. She just assumes that one day she will get married, have children, and become a respected Elder of the community like her mother.
But Alis gets a shocking surprise. Her parents announce she is to be married to the minister of Freeborne. A man she has grown up fearing and respecting, a man who is more than double her age.
Alis immediately sets to making plans to escape her fate. Years ago, her brother ran away to the City. Alis just needs to find a way to get there, because it is much too far to walk.
Her journey turns out to be both dangerous and enlightening. She meets people she never would have if she'd remained in Freeborne all her life. Alis even meets her true love, but in a world of strict religious rules and corrupted men, it won't be easy to hang on to the one she loves.
ALIS is so much more than a love story. It is a story of developing you own beliefs, questioning absolute authority, and finding out what is really important in life.
