Alone by Megan E. Freeman

 

Last week, I read Alone by Megan E. Freeman. This adventurous novel-in-verse is about Maddie Harrison, a twelve-year-old girl who goes to her grandparents' apartment for a secret sleepover even though her friends have to cancel on her. In the morning, she wakes up all alone when her hometown of Millerville, Colorado, has been mysteriously evacuated. Over the next few days, she loses electricity and running water and has to figure out how to survive with no one else to rely on. Although all the people are gone, pets have been left behind and she befriends a neighbor's dog, George. Over the next few years, Madde faces looters, natural disasters, and wild animals, but most of all she wonders how she can survive her growing loneliness.

This novel-in-verse was as breathtaking as it was heartbreaking. I really enjoyed Maddie's tale of survival, though. I loved how brave and stubborn she was, and the challenges she faced were incredibly scary and suspenseful. I especially found it frightening that the reason for the evacuation wasn't revealed until the very end of the story. Although I'm an adult, I have no idea how I could survive on my own without electricity and running water, like Maddie did. It's truly admirable how she rose to the occasion again and again when there was a series of natural disasters in her hometown and I'm glad she had George for company. I wondered if she would ever see her family again, but I hoped she would even if the pages leading to the end had me holding my breath. If you like adventure and survival stories, I can't recommend Alone enough. It's an amazing tale of never losing hope even when the odds are stacked against you.