In a new survival-story twist, 12-year old Maddie is left along to survive — not in the wilderness, but in her own home town of Millerville, Colorado. Maddie wakes up to discover that her whole town has mysteriously evacuated. Her mom thinks Maddie is at her dad’s house, and her dad thinks she’s at her mom’s house. Cell service is non-existent. Her only companion is the neighbor’s dog, George.

As the months pass, Maddie lives on canned food left behind in her neighbor’s homes. She takes paper and pencil with her and leaves thank you notes for the items she takes. As winter comes with no electricity and no furnaces, Maddie forages for supplies to keep from freezing. But hardest of all is her constant battle with loneliness; waiting, waiting, for her parents to come back for her. As Christmas comes, she drags the boxes of ornaments up from the basement and hangs shiny balls along the curtain rod. She wraps a rawhide bone for George and makes a Christmas dinner of turkey soup, canned cranberries, and canned apple pie filling. When singing “Silent Night” makes her cry, she switches to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” The silence is her biggest enemy. When skills are required of her that she doesn’t have, the library is her resource. Maddie is a strong, resilient protagonist who faces injury and natural disasters, but she is a survivor waiting for her happy ending.

Written in prose, “Alone” is for all readers. The writing is beautiful!