What does it mean when the media announces an imminent threat? For twelve year old Maddie it means everyone she knows and loves disappears leaving her behind, alone. She is the last person left in Millerville, Colorado. When the announcement came, Maddie didn't join the mass exodus of people as they dropped everything and climbed aboard vehicles bound for safety.
Maddie and two friends planned a secret sleepover at her grandparents empty house, but her two friends never came. Since Maddie's parents' divorce, they have shared custody which meant her mother thought she was staying with her father and her father thought she was with her mother. They all left, and now Maddie is alone.
As the days, months, and years pass Maddie must survive with the help of her wits and a friendly rottweiler named George. Food and water are the first concerns followed by reliable shelter. Maddie uses her bicycle and a bike trailer of her mother's to travel to other neighborhoods in town to scavenge for supplies. She eventually finds the courage to drive her mother's minivan. Even with a limited amount of gasoline, the van makes gathering supplies much easier.
Maddie alternates living in her mother's and then her father's houses. Her mother's house is more comfortable during the warm months while her dad's house offers the comfort of a wood burning stove for heat in the winter.
The library becomes a major source of entertainment and education for Maddie. Using remembered advice from her parents and the nonfiction section of the library, Maddie is able to survive physically. She does learn that mental health and the constant condition of loneliness might be the biggest threat she will experience.
ALONE by author Megan E. Freeman is a definite page-turner. Written in verse, it is a fast-paced read that will captivate readers on the first page. The combined flavors of The Island of the Blue Dolphins and modern day dystopian fiction, ALONE is mesmerizing and memorable.
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