Alone
A New York Times bestseller!
Perfect for fans of Hatchet and the I Survived series, this harrowing middle grade debut novel in verse from a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet tells the story of a young girl who wakes up one day to find herself utterly alone in her small Colorado town.
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?
Perfect for fans of Hatchet and the I Survived series, this harrowing middle grade debut novel in verse from a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet tells the story of a young girl who wakes up one day to find herself utterly alone in her small Colorado town.
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?
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Community Reviews
I liked that we never knew what the âimminent threatâ was, only that the town had been evacuated and that Maddie was all alone. We could almost imagine it to be some pandemic, like the one we have been living through. The overall feel of this book is timely. I cannot believe this is Freemanâs first novel, albeit a novel-in-verse. Itâs incredible - the writing is so sharp and vivid. Imagine you are all alone to fend for yourself and you are not quite a teenager yet - tell me what is most frightening about that scenario. Thinking about that, I donât know if it would have occurred to me the kinds of things this character ends up having to go through on her own. Freeman captures the loneliness and mental strength of Maddie so well. This book needs more reads and I promise, itâs not as long as it looks - itâs all in verse! Trigger warning for a kitten being killed if you are sensitive to that (I am), but this book is intense and gripping. I would classify it as middle grade dystopian horror, with a strong female character (and her trusty canine companion) at the center.
Wow. This book was a combination of intense action, survival, and emotion.
I listened to the audiobook read by Gail Shalan, who did an amazing job! She really conveyed the emotion behind the character and there were multiple times that I teared up while listening.
I would consider this book to be thriller/survival/dystopian. There was A LOT of action and a lot of times where I gasped out loud and thought that my heart was going to beat out of my chest. Thereâs a depth of emotion that I didnât think would happen, but it was completely believable.
Fans of Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins will enjoy this book.
(sorry if the review is repetitive. I'm still wrapping my brain around this book)
I listened to the audiobook read by Gail Shalan, who did an amazing job! She really conveyed the emotion behind the character and there were multiple times that I teared up while listening.
I would consider this book to be thriller/survival/dystopian. There was A LOT of action and a lot of times where I gasped out loud and thought that my heart was going to beat out of my chest. Thereâs a depth of emotion that I didnât think would happen, but it was completely believable.
Fans of Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins will enjoy this book.
(sorry if the review is repetitive. I'm still wrapping my brain around this book)
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