Alone

Written by Megan E. Freeman

Narrated by Gail Shalan

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?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jul 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781797130521

Megan E. Freeman

Megan E. Freeman attended an elementary school where poets visited her classroom every week, and she has been a writer ever since. She writes middle grade and young adult fiction. Megan is also a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet. An award-winning teacher with decades of classroom experience, Megan taught multiple subjects across the arts and humanities to students of all ages. She lives near Boulder, Colorado. Visit her online at MeganEFreeman.com.

Reviews for Alone

[Elena Dosil · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Twelve-year-old Maddie is accidentally left behind when her town is suddenly evacuated and her divorced parents think she is with the other one. Nothing makes sense for Maddie, who is terribly alone and needs to fight for her own survival.

Alone by Megan E. Freeman is the embodiment of Maddie’s thoughts, written in free verse form. The raw emotions and unfiltered thoughts are poured into the book in a continuous stream of words. The book is written in first person, and at times it feels like reading a middle-grade journal. The language is direct, without flourishing nor anything that is not essential to the discourse. It was a book that I could not put down, as I was able to feel Maddie’s desperation and anguish. The story is told from her perspective and we know nothing more than she does. The reader doesn’t know why Maddie’s town and surroundings have been evacuated nor the extension of it, just like her. This is what makes this book story so gripping. The need to know, the need to see Maddie survive.

It’s a short novella, and I think the length works well with the subject and the writing style. In fact, I began to feel it a bit slow towards the ends, but it was still pretty enjoyable. The ending was satisfactory and underwhelming in equal parts, that’s why I’m giving the story 4 stars. Many questions I had went unanswered and some events seemed a bit forced, but that didn’t make the book less entertaining.

Gail Shalan delivered a very heartfelt narration, becoming Maddie and transmitting her emotions with power and excellent interpretation skills. It was easy to imagine that I was listening to a little girl, alone and scared. I liked that Shalan was able to find the right balance between raw emotion and containment, with a narration that didn’t disturb the story but added value to it. The audio production was spotless.

[RyanShelby Collings · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

It was awful. I definitely would NOT let a boy read this book. It has some girl stuff in it. The story line is confusing and not well planned out.

[Lois Boggs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love how Megan made it so fun to read. I felt like I was there in the story!

[Felicia Cannon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this because my teen daughter wanted to but honestly I absolutely loved it!

[Brock Bruce · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story line. Easy read. I really enjoyed this story.

[Trisha Carpinello · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A pretty good storyline with an interesting main character. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, wondering whether or not Maddie would find her family again. I would’ve rated the book 5/5, but towards the end, the story felt rushed. It all happened so suddenly and left questions unanswered. I wish the ending would’ve gone more into depth about what happened. It all felt unfinished. Besides that, it’s a pretty good book.

[kateseers4704 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It hooked me in had great detail and you could really tell what the main character was going through. The ending felt a little rushed and didn’t explain the whole thing but other then that I loved it and My brother read it as well and loved it.

[Holly Campbell · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Terrible. The story was poorly planned. She had the right idea but told the story horribly. Also not much happens besides her looting. The ending left you with a lot of questions nonetheless. Don’t recommend, I regret wasting my time on this book.

[Brenda Chinn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

At first, I thought it was a bit slow and unusual. The more I listened, the more I wanted to hear. The prose was wonderful and added just enough detail.

[David Burrup · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thank the Author of this book because it is eye opening

[AngelaWahlstrom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was the best book ever
It was really good

[Lisa Foster · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Listened with my kids, 8 & 13. We were hooked quickly but as the story went on it felt a bit redundant. We had so many unanswered questions. We also struggled with the dramatic scenes with heavy moaning and crying. The main character was likable and it started a lot of good conversations.

[Rachel Bretherton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful book. Really gets inside the head of the main character.