Maddie’s relationship with George is adorable. Maddie has grown and matured so much by the end of the story that I wonder how she would cope returning to normal society. Those who have control over the funding of libraries should be given this book to prove how vital physical libraries are. She raids her local library to find stories to read as an escape, but also nonfiction books to teach her how to light a fires.

Maddie is used to relying on technology to answer her questions, but when the power goes out, she has to rely on information in books. She is incredibly resilient, even when faced with terrifying circumstances, including a tornado. You hope that, if you were put in her shoes, you could find ways to survive. Maddie is the kind of character we all wish we could be. There were also parts where I wanted to throw the book across the room because something didn’t seem fair. There were quite a few times when I was holding my breath while I was turning pages, because I was generally concerned for the life of this fictional character. I was really torn reading this book, because the pace races along which kept me turning the pages, but Megan’s writing is just so stunning that I wanted to savour her words. Maddie holds on to the hope that someone will come for her, but as the months go by, Maddie has to cope with changing seasons and wild weather that make survival hard.Īlone is an absolutely amazing read! It is a tense, gripping and, at times, terrifying story of survival against the odds. The library becomes vital for helping her learn new skills and for keeping her sane. Without power for heating and cooking, Maddie must rely on other means to help her survive. They explore as far as they are able to, finding food, water and other essential supplies. Maddie’s only companion is George, her neighbour’s Rottweiler.

The bits of information that Maddie can gather make no sense, and there is no one around to ask what happened. Her whole town has been evacuated, leaving houses empty and personal belongings strewn across roads and footpaths. However, an unexpected event occurs that leaves Maddie abandoned and alone. She gives her mum and dad two separate stories so that they won’t suspect anything. Maddie organises a sleepover with two of her friends at her grandparent’s vacant house.

She wants to hang out with her friends and is frustrated at having to spend her weeks between two separate houses. It’s a story of a girl trying to survive on her own after everyone else in her town disappears. If you’re a lover of verse novels too then you need to read Megan E. Dusti Bowling’s The Canyon’s Edge was my top book of 2020 because of this combination of survival story told in verse.

I love both survival stories and verse novels, so any story that combines both is a winner with me.

Books by megan e freeman