I am incredibly excited to be able to feature my good friend Megan’s debut verse novel, Alone, today! The book is coming out on March 16th of next year, but it is now officially available for pre-order! I just had to help her spread the word and show you all the absolutely stunning cover art, which she just revealed via her social media last week! This gorgeous cover was illustrated by the incredibly talented Pascal Campion.
I can’t wait for everyone to have a chance to read this contemporary MG retelling of Island of the Blue Dolphins in verse, so I’m giving away a pre-order of the book as well—just scroll down to get to it. But first, check out the details…
ALONE by Megan E. Freeman Published by Simon & Schuster/Aladdin on March 16, 2021
Genres: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Retellings, Verse
Pages: 256
Cover Artist: Pascal Campion
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?
Pre-order Here:
About the Author
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, and her debut middle grade novel, ALONE, will be published in 2021 by Simon & Schuster/Aladdin. Megan is also a Pushcart-nominated poet, and her poetry chapbook, Lessons on Sleeping Alone, was published by Liquid Light Press.
An award-winning teacher with decades of classroom experience, Megan taught multiple subjects across the arts and humanities to students K-16. She is nationally recognized for her work leading professional development workshops for teachers and school leaders throughout Colorado and across the country. She studied theater and dramatic literature for many years, earning degrees from Occidental College and Ohio State University.
Megan is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Northern Colorado Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Columbine Poets of Colorado, and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. She is an Impact on Education Award winner, a fellow with the Colorado State University Writing Project, a Fund for Teachers fellow, and a member of the Colorado Poets Center. She used to live in northeast Los Angeles, central Ohio, northern Norway, and on Caribbean cruise ships. Now she lives near Boulder, Colorado.
Cover Artist (Pascal Campion) Links:
Because I’m so excited to get this book into my readers’ hands, I’m hosting a giveaway of a pre-order! Enter to win by following the instructions on the Rafflecopter below. Open internationally, as long as The Book Depository ships to you.
Sounds great. Love the cover.
It’s gorgeous!!
This sounds brilliant! Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins were two of my favorite books as a teen. Congrats to your friend! Also, before I quit writing, I took classes at Lighthouse Writers Workshop and was a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, so I may have crossed paths with your friend at some point.
Oh, how funny—a small world!!
I need to read this exciting book. I loved Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins. Survival stories are some of my favorites and this book, especially since it’s in verse, is now high on my wish list.
I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins when I read it as a kid and again when I read it with my homeschool language arts class.
This does sound like an exciting book, and after a recent trip to Florida saving wildlife is so important. California seems to be on that band wagon , of saving, not sure about Florida.
Yeah, I’m not sure about Florida either.