missbradleys_bookcart 's review for:

Alone by Megan E. Freeman

5.0

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Loved the language use in this novel, and I love how it allows the reader to fill in with their own life experience and emotions. Island of the Blue Dolphins is referenced often in this story and the main characters experience is similar. I remember loving that novel as a middle grade student and I hope that maybe it will bring some kids back to a classic. I loved that Maddie has the faithful companionship of George and that she uses her memories, intelligence and curiosity to keep herself alive. I would have like to have had some background information about the conflict but I realize that the point of the story is about survival, and less about the reasons why she has been left on her own. There is some interesting discussion about how it feels and what it is like growing up in two homes with divorced parents, step parents and step siblings, that some readers might connect strongly to.
Would be an interesting pairing with The Road by Cormac McCarthy or other survival tales like Hatchet.