When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She’s alone – left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned.
With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. After a rough start, Maddie learns to trust her own ingenuity and invents clever ways to survive in a place that has been deserted and forgotten.
As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie’s most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day. Can Maddie’s stubborn will to survive carry her through the most frightening experience of her life?
Genre: Middle Grade / Young Adults
Age appropriate: 10+
Number of Pages: 416 pages
Date of Publication: 12/01/2021
Author/Illustrator/Publisher:
‘ALONE’ was written by Megan E. Freeman who writes middle grade and young adult fiction. Published by Simone & Schuster / Aladdin.
Rating: 4.5/5
Review:
ALONE by Megan E. Freeman
Wow…
I absolutely love this book, it was surprisingly quick to read and I just didn’t want to put it down. This is an excellent book for middle grade kids, young adults and also adults as while it is suitable for younger readers it is so well written and the topics of loneliness and self sufficiency will resonate with an older audience as well. The story is written in ‘sparse verse’, somewhere between a stream of consciousness and poetry, which was beautifully written and which mirrors the isolation and loneliness that the character is going through.
Maddie was left behind when there was an emergency evacuation in a small town named Millerville in Colorado, now she faces crushing loneliness and needs to learn how to survive during the cold winters and hot summers. Maddie misses her family and how her life was so different when she could rely on someone else. Now her only company is a dog called George and they both need to learn how to keep on living and will have to face unexpected situations.
Through the story we see how Maddie becomes a teenager and how books help her find information on surviving certain situations and also at times to provide comfort. There were times that she felt despair but she always showed her mental strength.
Sometimes we take family, friendship and small things for granted and this book reflects all these topics.
My only criticism is that I felt that the end could have been explained a little bit more as I wanted to know more details about the ending which felt a little abrupt and left some questions unanswered but other than that I truly enjoyed the story.
A beautiful, heart-warming, powerful, inspiring story full of courage, bravery and perseverance and above all beautifully written in a unique style.
This book was complemented with a gorgeous cover which will be displayed proudly on our bookshelf.
Availability: The book is available as an E-book and hardcover. I found my copy at Blackwell’s.
Shelf Life 
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