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Not Alone
"An exhilarating debut novel, tracing the harrowing journey of a mother and son fighting for survival and a future in a world ravaged by environmental disaster"--
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
October 2, 2023
Not Alone has left me haunted. I’m worn out and haggard, as if I accompanied Katie and Harry on their trek across the post-apocalyptic wasteland.
And I’m sad, too. For these characters and for the possibility of a similar future for us.
Sarah K. Jackson’s debut novel is a dystopian tale that’s so plausible – so reachable – it’s bound to impact all who read it.
The culprit? Plastic.
A microplastic storm has destroyed civilization. Few people are left, and most who are alive are sickly, their lungs ravaged by plastic dust that rains from the sky and infiltrates the water and soil.
Katie lives in a small flat outside London, isolated with her son, Harry. She forages and hunts in order to get by, but their survival is a daily struggle. The hunger is endless, as is the fear that one or both of them will succumb to illness.
When a man suddenly appears from nowhere, Katie and Harry’s safety is threatened, giving Katie no choice but to flee with Harry across the dangerous wasteland in an impossible search for her lost fiancée, Jack. Because if Jack’s alive, he’s their only chance of survival.
Not Alone is as much an examination of the mother-child bond as it is a warning of impending climate disaster. Katie is a true mama bear. She loves Harry fiercely and will do anything to keep him healthy and safe. The lengths she takes are both admirable and risky, but she has no choice. She’s raising a child while the world collapses, without help and with few resources.
Yes, it’s a bleak story. And it’s harrowing and heartbreaking. But there’s also a sense of adventure to it, as well as love throughout it and hope at the end of it.
It’s the hope that is so important. It’s the reason we can survive anything.
My sincerest appreciation to Sarah K. Jackson, Doubleday, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.
And I’m sad, too. For these characters and for the possibility of a similar future for us.
Sarah K. Jackson’s debut novel is a dystopian tale that’s so plausible – so reachable – it’s bound to impact all who read it.
The culprit? Plastic.
A microplastic storm has destroyed civilization. Few people are left, and most who are alive are sickly, their lungs ravaged by plastic dust that rains from the sky and infiltrates the water and soil.
Katie lives in a small flat outside London, isolated with her son, Harry. She forages and hunts in order to get by, but their survival is a daily struggle. The hunger is endless, as is the fear that one or both of them will succumb to illness.
When a man suddenly appears from nowhere, Katie and Harry’s safety is threatened, giving Katie no choice but to flee with Harry across the dangerous wasteland in an impossible search for her lost fiancée, Jack. Because if Jack’s alive, he’s their only chance of survival.
Not Alone is as much an examination of the mother-child bond as it is a warning of impending climate disaster. Katie is a true mama bear. She loves Harry fiercely and will do anything to keep him healthy and safe. The lengths she takes are both admirable and risky, but she has no choice. She’s raising a child while the world collapses, without help and with few resources.
Yes, it’s a bleak story. And it’s harrowing and heartbreaking. But there’s also a sense of adventure to it, as well as love throughout it and hope at the end of it.
It’s the hope that is so important. It’s the reason we can survive anything.
My sincerest appreciation to Sarah K. Jackson, Doubleday, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.
May 27, 2023
I want to be clear that I *might* have hated this less if I hadn’t listened to it. That is not intended to make the narrator sound bad, because I actually thought the narrator was pretty good, but the combination of her voice and a whiny 5 year old boy made this an excruciatingly painful experience.
This whole book is designed to make you sob tears at the end. Which is fine. Except it fails horribly in doing so. I am so relieved for it to be over. The plot is recycled garbage and the characters are not compelling enough to be considered a “character driven” story.
There is nothing new, or imaginative to be found here. There is no urgent call to action, there is very little science in this cli-fi novel.
The kid is obnoxiously whiny - to the point where it wasn’t even believable. I think it could have delivered a much more compelling and chilling story if Harry had some sort of survival instinct from the beginning. If the MC had trained him not to be afraid of the dark, if he had learned to live with hunger and thirst and put his mask and boots on at all times, and be afraid of the dirt and the water instead of these imaginary fucking “nasties”.. But the amount of whining leads the reader to think of spoiled children, and how can a child be spoiled in a post apocalyptic world? He comes around in the end, but it was far too little far too late.
The book’s horror hinges on the fact that with few women left in the world many men are rapists. And hey, I’ve read my fair share of feminist revenge stories, but the number of times this book attempts to drive that point home it just became one dimensional in nature.
The dual timelines are fucking painful, because I cared exactly nothing about what happened to her before or how the world came to be the way that it was. Which is fucking sad coming from me because I love a good apocalyptic tale. I love a survival tale. Every time this book flipped to “1 year before the storm” I died a little inside.
Like who fucking published this? Who read this book and felt this was a good idea? I was so fucking excited for this book when I first heard about it. I’m pretty sure The Road, and possibly The Last of Us were referred to as comparisons. And I understand the comparison I do, in as much as there is an adult and a child traveling together in a post-apocalyptic world, and I hate to hold the example written by a woman up as the shining example of the saltine cracker of fucking apocalypse stories, but here you go.
If you’ve never in your life read an apocalyptic tale, *maybe* this will be fine for you. For me I found it insulting that anyone would ever waste and abuse my time in this manner.
The whole book is offensively boring. The characters entirely unsympathetic. The writing fine, not great, but the storytelling a fucking dumpster fire.
If you’re asking why I bothered to finish let’s say I was holding out for a decent ending and I am utterly fucking disappointed. There is no complexity, no depth to be had here. Woman and son go on road trip across post apocalyptic landscape filled with nothingness, and are arguably too stupid to have survived the first fifty fucking miles, nevermind the remaining 300.
I possibly could have tolerated all this as a perfectly mediocre three star read if it hadn’t been so long, but the fact that it just dragged on and on and on, holy fuck. I have no redeeming things to say about this book.
I do not recommend.
The end.
This whole book is designed to make you sob tears at the end. Which is fine. Except it fails horribly in doing so. I am so relieved for it to be over. The plot is recycled garbage and the characters are not compelling enough to be considered a “character driven” story.
There is nothing new, or imaginative to be found here. There is no urgent call to action, there is very little science in this cli-fi novel.
The kid is obnoxiously whiny - to the point where it wasn’t even believable. I think it could have delivered a much more compelling and chilling story if Harry had some sort of survival instinct from the beginning. If the MC had trained him not to be afraid of the dark, if he had learned to live with hunger and thirst and put his mask and boots on at all times, and be afraid of the dirt and the water instead of these imaginary fucking “nasties”.. But the amount of whining leads the reader to think of spoiled children, and how can a child be spoiled in a post apocalyptic world? He comes around in the end, but it was far too little far too late.
The book’s horror hinges on the fact that with few women left in the world many men are rapists. And hey, I’ve read my fair share of feminist revenge stories, but the number of times this book attempts to drive that point home it just became one dimensional in nature.
The dual timelines are fucking painful, because I cared exactly nothing about what happened to her before or how the world came to be the way that it was. Which is fucking sad coming from me because I love a good apocalyptic tale. I love a survival tale. Every time this book flipped to “1 year before the storm” I died a little inside.
Like who fucking published this? Who read this book and felt this was a good idea? I was so fucking excited for this book when I first heard about it. I’m pretty sure The Road, and possibly The Last of Us were referred to as comparisons. And I understand the comparison I do, in as much as there is an adult and a child traveling together in a post-apocalyptic world, and I hate to hold the example written by a woman up as the shining example of the saltine cracker of fucking apocalypse stories, but here you go.
If you’ve never in your life read an apocalyptic tale, *maybe* this will be fine for you. For me I found it insulting that anyone would ever waste and abuse my time in this manner.
The whole book is offensively boring. The characters entirely unsympathetic. The writing fine, not great, but the storytelling a fucking dumpster fire.
If you’re asking why I bothered to finish let’s say I was holding out for a decent ending and I am utterly fucking disappointed. There is no complexity, no depth to be had here. Woman and son go on road trip across post apocalyptic landscape filled with nothingness, and are arguably too stupid to have survived the first fifty fucking miles, nevermind the remaining 300.
I possibly could have tolerated all this as a perfectly mediocre three star read if it hadn’t been so long, but the fact that it just dragged on and on and on, holy fuck. I have no redeeming things to say about this book.
I do not recommend.
The end.
December 26, 2024
Post-apocalyptic survival story of a mother trying to keep her young son safe in a frightening, devastated world.
June 5, 2023
Whew. This is one sad story.
I read this in bits, interspersed with other things because it was a bit much all at once. The closest comparison to Not Alone would be The Road.
The world has been catastrophically devastated, and a young mother embarks on a seemingly hopeless journey with her four year old son. They meet people both good and bad, but mostly the sadness comes from being inside the head of this traumatized woman who must keep going for the sake of her child. She’s both physically and emotionally damaged, so it is not an easy or comfortable place to be.
It’s a good book, but maybe not the best choice if you are feeling depressed or have severe environmental/climate anxiety.
I read this in bits, interspersed with other things because it was a bit much all at once. The closest comparison to Not Alone would be The Road.
The world has been catastrophically devastated, and a young mother embarks on a seemingly hopeless journey with her four year old son. They meet people both good and bad, but mostly the sadness comes from being inside the head of this traumatized woman who must keep going for the sake of her child. She’s both physically and emotionally damaged, so it is not an easy or comfortable place to be.
It’s a good book, but maybe not the best choice if you are feeling depressed or have severe environmental/climate anxiety.
July 7, 2023
I have never actively rooted for a five-year-old to bite it through an entire book before, but here we are. 🙃
did-not-finish
November 16, 2023DNF a little over 25%
I’m not gripped by this story and can’t be wasting my time slogging through something I’m not fully enjoying anymore.
I’m not gripped by this story and can’t be wasting my time slogging through something I’m not fully enjoying anymore.
November 17, 2023
'You and me are the only things that matter, OK? I love you, from the centre of my heart right to the edges. Wholeheart.'
'Wholeheart,' he repeats.
Five years ago, a microplastics storm ravaged the globe, decimating most of the the population and leaving the few survivors sick and struggling in a toxic post-apocalyptic world -- where the simple act of breathing outside air could mean death. Katie, one of those survivors, lives in isolation with her son Harry, who was born after the storm, in a flat outside London. Katie keeps them alive by foraging for food, adhering to strict decontamination procedures, and avoiding contact with the outside world as much as possible. But they are always hungry, and they are always afraid, and Katie can no longer ignore the sharp pain in her lungs.
When their safety is threatened by the arrival of a stranger, Katie is forced to do the unthinkable and flee the flat, journeying with Harry across a dangerous landscape ravaged by toxic dust. It's something she never would have risked, if it weren't for a renewed glimmer of hope that her lost fiancé, Jack, may not have died during the storm as she previously believed.
Not Alone is a meditative post-apocalyptic novel about motherhood, sacrifice, resilience, and the irreversible impacts of environmental ignorance and inaction. It's a beautiful book about a brutal reality, with a heartbreakingly vulnerable, authentic mother-child relationship at its heart. Katie is a "mama bear" in the most extreme circumstances imaginable, with her fierce love for Harry and desire to protect him motivating every risky, impossible choice she has to make. It's something all parents can relate to, as so many of us worry about the world our children are going to inherit.
Not Alone is an immersive, atmospheric reading experience with descriptions of a toxic world that are as gorgeous as they are harrowing. It reads like an adventure story that somehow manages to be both bleak and hopeful, and there is an intense immediacy to the narrative that makes it impossible to stop reading. And during the times that I wasn't reading it, my mind was still on Katie and Harry, hoping beyond hope that they were going to make it, that they were going to be okay. And I really appreciated that their story didn't end the way I thought it would. Reading Not Alone reminded me a lot of the way I felt when I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road for the first time -- that sense of being overwhelmed by beautiful desolation of it all.
Not Alone is moving and devastating, a quiet but nevertheless impassioned call to action as it gives us a glimpse of a future that isn't as fictional as we'd all like to think. Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for the complimentary reading opportunity.
July 26, 2023
Listened on audio and, yikes on bikes, this child was annoying.
June 5, 2023
I'm not sure how to rate this, because as I enjoyed the plot of the book, there was so many things I did not enjoy about this book. I felt a lot of the going back and forth (duel timelines) from BEFORE the storm was incredibly boring and I really didn't care for what happened 5 years before the storm, between Katie and Jack. We know Katie is raising a little boy named Harry and they've made their little apartment their entire world, and she's been keeping him safe and fed for 5 years. Katie wants to go out and try to find Jack. She has no idea if he is dead or alive.
I know that Katies son, Harry is unbelievably whiny and a character that we all seem to agree kind of sucks lol. There were times I absolutely hated this annoying, whiny unhelpful little boy. But then I really had to stop and think what would I expect from a young child living through an apocalypse? I mean, they barely have food, he doesn't know anything of the outside, he has spent his entire life in his apartment, not even meeting other people. He's scared of his own shadow. Hes not helpful in any way, and he just makes life harder for Katie. But can you really blame the kid?
Some of the dialouge had me confused. The car driving, all those chapters, they were driving but then stuck almost driving off into the water? What water? I literally had no idea what that was about? How did they go from raod to water on both sides?? Or the car tire was bad and slightly popped? How did that happen, and when? It was super confusing. And then the next second, they were out of the car walking through the woods. Why? Did the car finally give up? Where were they sleeping every night? Did I blackout and read some chapters in my sleep because how did I miss all this information? I also do not seem to be the only one felt like this. Others who have reviewed this book had the same reaction as me.
This is actually one of my favorite tropes. It just really lagged and so much of the book was super boring and not even important. I do like the writing style. The idea was great and she was literally RIGHT THERE but not all the way. But then again I can't write a book to save my life.
I know that Katies son, Harry is unbelievably whiny and a character that we all seem to agree kind of sucks lol. There were times I absolutely hated this annoying, whiny unhelpful little boy. But then I really had to stop and think what would I expect from a young child living through an apocalypse? I mean, they barely have food, he doesn't know anything of the outside, he has spent his entire life in his apartment, not even meeting other people. He's scared of his own shadow. Hes not helpful in any way, and he just makes life harder for Katie. But can you really blame the kid?
Some of the dialouge had me confused. The car driving, all those chapters, they were driving but then stuck almost driving off into the water? What water? I literally had no idea what that was about? How did they go from raod to water on both sides?? Or the car tire was bad and slightly popped? How did that happen, and when? It was super confusing. And then the next second, they were out of the car walking through the woods. Why? Did the car finally give up? Where were they sleeping every night? Did I blackout and read some chapters in my sleep because how did I miss all this information? I also do not seem to be the only one felt like this. Others who have reviewed this book had the same reaction as me.
This is actually one of my favorite tropes. It just really lagged and so much of the book was super boring and not even important. I do like the writing style. The idea was great and she was literally RIGHT THERE but not all the way. But then again I can't write a book to save my life.
June 15, 2023
A page turner for sure…Turned the pages, to get it over with.
dnf
April 4, 2023DNF at 55%. The flashbacks to the apocalyptic storm came too late to create the tension I wanted to see, and I struggled to connect to the mother/child relationship (which had been one of the selling points).
February 26, 2023
After a microplastic storm devastates the world and leaves Katie and her five-year-old son Harry as two of the few survivors in England, they must learn to live in isolation. Katie forages while Harry, who was born after the storm and knows nothing of life Before, lives in relative fear of anything outside the confines of their small London flat. But when Katie finds a note that suggests her lost fiancé, Jack, is still alive, the two set out on a dangerous journey north in hopes of finding him.
I'm a little conflicted about this book. I found it well written and I flew through it; even though relatively little happens except for the mundane rituals of Katie's and Harry's survival, there are real moments of heart-in-your-throat-action amid some of the more repetitive parts (this is mostly in the dust itself and the mask wearing, which gets repeated over and over). I also found Katie a sympathetic lead--her struggle to raise a child, especially given the circumstances leading up to and involving his birth, and keep him safe in this new environment, and trying to find a balance in keeping him safe and teaching him how to cope was both heartbreaking and solid.
I also appreciated that the book didn't get too preachy. There's a tendency for these types of books to get a little heavy handed in their message, but with the exception of Katie lamenting a few times "If we all only went vegan!", the author simply lets her story unfold.
Additionally, I found the premise of a microplastic storm compelling. Not Alone follows in the tradition of its end of the world predecessors. At one point it was nuclear war. Then we had zombies. Currently, there's a crop of climate ravages (not that it's new--The Day After Tomorrow and Waterworld were examples of disaster Hollywood blockbusters). The more recent ones I've read focused on hurricanes and flooding, so it was a fresh change to bring plastics into the mix.
In the end, it's a satisfying read--for me. But it's really painfully bleak, so I don't know if I'd necessarily recommend it or to whom I would. There is nothing particularly uplifting or hopeful in these pages. Even hearing of communities coming back together--we never see them; they're only suggested through predatory men. Almost as if the message is that this is not a world (or at least a people) worth saving.
Special thanks to Doubleday for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review through NetGalley.
I'm a little conflicted about this book. I found it well written and I flew through it; even though relatively little happens except for the mundane rituals of Katie's and Harry's survival, there are real moments of heart-in-your-throat-action amid some of the more repetitive parts (this is mostly in the dust itself and the mask wearing, which gets repeated over and over). I also found Katie a sympathetic lead--her struggle to raise a child, especially given the circumstances leading up to and involving his birth, and keep him safe in this new environment, and trying to find a balance in keeping him safe and teaching him how to cope was both heartbreaking and solid.
I also appreciated that the book didn't get too preachy. There's a tendency for these types of books to get a little heavy handed in their message, but with the exception of Katie lamenting a few times "If we all only went vegan!", the author simply lets her story unfold.
Additionally, I found the premise of a microplastic storm compelling. Not Alone follows in the tradition of its end of the world predecessors. At one point it was nuclear war. Then we had zombies. Currently, there's a crop of climate ravages (not that it's new--The Day After Tomorrow and Waterworld were examples of disaster Hollywood blockbusters). The more recent ones I've read focused on hurricanes and flooding, so it was a fresh change to bring plastics into the mix.
In the end, it's a satisfying read--for me. But it's really painfully bleak, so I don't know if I'd necessarily recommend it or to whom I would. There is nothing particularly uplifting or hopeful in these pages. Even hearing of communities coming back together--we never see them; they're only suggested through predatory men. Almost as if the message is that this is not a world (or at least a people) worth saving.
Special thanks to Doubleday for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review through NetGalley.
May 14, 2023
4.5 stars. This book is hard – truly dystopian – but it is as compelling as it is dark. It's believable, which makes it slightly horrifying, but believable doesn't just mean the way in which the planet is fucked because of our in/actions, it also means that the will to survive, the drive to connect and protect, remains just as present in this tragic future as it does now. Strong, surprising ending. Very solid writing. Intense, dark, parenting, dystopia, sexual assault, faith in action.
July 4, 2025
I’m taking one star off because that kid Harry was truly annoying! The brat needed a good slap is all.
May 3, 2023
Five years after a toxic micro-plastic storm all but wiped out humanity, Katie, and her young son, Harry, live in isolation. Confined to their small flat, and only facing the hazards of the outside world to hunt and to forage for food.
A new discovery forces Katie into making the biggest decision of young Harry’s life; they need to go outside, to venture North in search of answers, and in hope of a better future.
This is the story of that journey.
Very much a survival story, the world Jackson has created is as brutal as they come; it has become a harsh, almost uninhabitable place, and the hardships our two main characters face make this novel feel almost overwhelmingly bleak. This is not a book to go into for an uplifting story; there isn’t much happiness along the way, there is distrust, and peril, and violence and despair… this is the truest kind of apocalyptic future, and it’s grim.
What it IS however, is an absolutely plausible look at how we are ruining the planet. How an ecological disaster might look, how much we take for granted, and how continuing to damage the world we live in could lead to an unthinkable future. And I applaud it for that.
It is also a powerful portrayal of a mother’s devotion to her son, that maternal instinct to protect him at all costs. Katie’s determination to keep him safe was so strong that protecting Harry ultimately fuels so many of her own fearful actions.
I found Harry such a fascinating character to read, his perspective so ill informed, so uneducated and lacking in experience of the outside world. The dangers and the horrors of venturing into a harsh world you know nothing about. And at such a young age; all I wanted was to protect this small boy from such a cruel world.
This felt so very claustrophobic, and while I can’t say I had a ‘good’ time with this, I did find it a powerful read. One I keep thinking about long after I’ve finished reading, and one I’d for sure recommend to readers of Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic fiction. Beware the bleak contents, then lose yourself to this hopeless world.
Thanks so much to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
A new discovery forces Katie into making the biggest decision of young Harry’s life; they need to go outside, to venture North in search of answers, and in hope of a better future.
This is the story of that journey.
Very much a survival story, the world Jackson has created is as brutal as they come; it has become a harsh, almost uninhabitable place, and the hardships our two main characters face make this novel feel almost overwhelmingly bleak. This is not a book to go into for an uplifting story; there isn’t much happiness along the way, there is distrust, and peril, and violence and despair… this is the truest kind of apocalyptic future, and it’s grim.
What it IS however, is an absolutely plausible look at how we are ruining the planet. How an ecological disaster might look, how much we take for granted, and how continuing to damage the world we live in could lead to an unthinkable future. And I applaud it for that.
It is also a powerful portrayal of a mother’s devotion to her son, that maternal instinct to protect him at all costs. Katie’s determination to keep him safe was so strong that protecting Harry ultimately fuels so many of her own fearful actions.
I found Harry such a fascinating character to read, his perspective so ill informed, so uneducated and lacking in experience of the outside world. The dangers and the horrors of venturing into a harsh world you know nothing about. And at such a young age; all I wanted was to protect this small boy from such a cruel world.
This felt so very claustrophobic, and while I can’t say I had a ‘good’ time with this, I did find it a powerful read. One I keep thinking about long after I’ve finished reading, and one I’d for sure recommend to readers of Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic fiction. Beware the bleak contents, then lose yourself to this hopeless world.
Thanks so much to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 1, 2023
Holy sad and depressing. 😭
What can I say sometimes I like to cry. 😆🤷♀️
Not Alone is an apocalyptic dystopian storyline of sorts. I enjoy these types of premises although not that often.
There’s been a microplastic storm and Katie and her young son Harry have been stranded in isolation for five years in their small flat in London. Harry was born after the storm and Katie is just trying to survive. Her fiancé Jack never came home the day of the storm.
After having a few scares and finding an old note from Jack, she realizes he could still be alive and out there somewhere. She decides to take Harry from all he’s ever known and go on a journey to attempt to find Jack and make a better life for Harry.
Oh, and she’s sick. Yup. She knows she doesn’t have long. 😭😬
We go along on Katie and Harry’s journey and boy is it crazy and really sad at times. Regardless I really enjoyed this book. It kept me turning the pages and it was an impressive debut in my opinion.
The situation is scary as I could really see this happening to us, (although not AS crazy and bad), it hits close to home for sure. 😳
Thanks to the publisher and author for my gifted gorgeous copy here. I’m so glad I read this and enjoyed the cry fest.
What a read! This book is def not for everyone and I gotta say (even though it sounds bad) Harry was not my favorite character. Overall I enjoyed this one.
What can I say sometimes I like to cry. 😆🤷♀️
Not Alone is an apocalyptic dystopian storyline of sorts. I enjoy these types of premises although not that often.
There’s been a microplastic storm and Katie and her young son Harry have been stranded in isolation for five years in their small flat in London. Harry was born after the storm and Katie is just trying to survive. Her fiancé Jack never came home the day of the storm.
After having a few scares and finding an old note from Jack, she realizes he could still be alive and out there somewhere. She decides to take Harry from all he’s ever known and go on a journey to attempt to find Jack and make a better life for Harry.
Oh, and she’s sick. Yup. She knows she doesn’t have long. 😭😬
We go along on Katie and Harry’s journey and boy is it crazy and really sad at times. Regardless I really enjoyed this book. It kept me turning the pages and it was an impressive debut in my opinion.
The situation is scary as I could really see this happening to us, (although not AS crazy and bad), it hits close to home for sure. 😳
Thanks to the publisher and author for my gifted gorgeous copy here. I’m so glad I read this and enjoyed the cry fest.
What a read! This book is def not for everyone and I gotta say (even though it sounds bad) Harry was not my favorite character. Overall I enjoyed this one.
May 11, 2023
Would you survive an apocalypse?
I think I’d do okay - but let’s hope we never have to find out!
Not Alone is the story of the harrowing journey of a mother and son, fighting for survival and a future, in a world ravaged by environmental disaster.
And it’s incredible.
I felt super claustrophobic and full of anxiety reading this one (in the BEST way - I swear!) and the atmospheric descriptions of a world wiped out by a microplastic storm place you right in the thick of this dark and terrifying post-apocalyptic setting. Everything is dangerous. Resources are scarce. Everyone is gone. Well… almost everyone 😳
It’s journey of survival, and also an eventual physical journey that will make your heart pound and your pulse race. And although it feels as if there’s nothing left to live for and your heart may shatter a bit along the way - there’s still so much hope for a better kinder future for these characters. As well as desperate call for change in the world we live in, and how these threats are definitely not fictional.
A stunning debut that I enjoyed immensely!
I think I’d do okay - but let’s hope we never have to find out!
Not Alone is the story of the harrowing journey of a mother and son, fighting for survival and a future, in a world ravaged by environmental disaster.
And it’s incredible.
I felt super claustrophobic and full of anxiety reading this one (in the BEST way - I swear!) and the atmospheric descriptions of a world wiped out by a microplastic storm place you right in the thick of this dark and terrifying post-apocalyptic setting. Everything is dangerous. Resources are scarce. Everyone is gone. Well… almost everyone 😳
It’s journey of survival, and also an eventual physical journey that will make your heart pound and your pulse race. And although it feels as if there’s nothing left to live for and your heart may shatter a bit along the way - there’s still so much hope for a better kinder future for these characters. As well as desperate call for change in the world we live in, and how these threats are definitely not fictional.
A stunning debut that I enjoyed immensely!
October 26, 2023
The whingiest of children follows his mother, who makes questionable decisions, on a search in a strange, post apocalyptic world that frequently, makes vague references to rape. Almost all characters are unsympathetic. I kept reading to the end, hoping to have a worthwhile resolution, but it wasn’t worth the slog.
July 2, 2024
I had high expectations for this book, but they were not met.
May 12, 2023
TW at start of book: "This book contains references to suicide and sexual assault."
Not Alone is a pretty intense book. Not in terms of action per se (though it does have some tense moments, make no mistake!) but in terms of emotions. It can be hard to read at times, because it is so dark, and lonely. You can't help but feel for Katie, who is raising a toddler son during the actual apocalypse. There are some kind of... I don't know, let's call them particles, that make people sick and can kill them. Have killed most people on Earth, really. And Katie has Henry to protect. This is such a fear, right? Not just having to worry about yourself at the end of the world, but a tiny, totally dependent human as well. She's been surviving for years, but has she been living? Not really.
But then, she miraculously finds a clue that her fiancé Jack may still be alive. And really that is all she needs to make the perilous journey in search of him. There is so little left for her and Henry, that she figures it is worth finding out the truth about Jack. And it is certainly an adventure along the way. They meet several other survivors, some of whom are decent folks trying to live through the end times, and some who have more nefarious intentions.
The story weaves through their journey, but also looks into Katie's past, so we get a glimpse of who the important people in her life really were, including Jack. It's nice, because you kind of understand why she is so desperate to locate him. And it's heartbreaking to see just how alone she and Henry really are in this messed up world. It's a lovely story, certainly heartbreaking, but absolutely with moments of hope.
Bottom Line: If the end times weren't bad enough, imagine having a young child to keep alive. This book is, therefore, quite intense.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
March 31, 2023
Five years after a toxic microplastics storm killed most of the population, Katie remains in her one-bedroom flat with her young son, Harry, only venturing outside to forage and hunt. Harry is kept indoors, safe from the poisonous dust. After years without human contact, the unwelcome arrival of another survivor terrifies Katie. Their safe place now feeling unsafe and after a revelation showing Katie’s fiancé may still be alive, Katie takes Harry on a previously unthinkable journey to find the man she was supposed to marry and a new life for her son.
With pollution a major concern, this made the story feel more believable and made it more of an uneasy read. The details and descriptions were incredible, as though the author had experienced the events herself. The bond between Katie and Harry was beautiful to read, and you could really tell how much they loved each other, how Katie would do anything for Harry, and in turn how he also looked after her despite his very young age. As people who know what the outside world is like, who can name what things are as we come across them, who understand how to navigate outside, it was an experience to follow Harry, who had a massive lack of understanding of anything outside of the flat, leading to a lot of fear and intrigue. The story really showed the importance of knowledge and how your own fears can really seep into the mind of your child.
I enjoyed the parts where other characters entered, as this seemed to push the story forward and provide something different within the narrative. Towards the end, I was feeling an impatience to reach their final destination and find out if Katie’s fiancé was alive after all, but once I reached the end, it all felt worth it.
Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah K. Jackson and Picador for this DRC in exchange for an honest review.
With pollution a major concern, this made the story feel more believable and made it more of an uneasy read. The details and descriptions were incredible, as though the author had experienced the events herself. The bond between Katie and Harry was beautiful to read, and you could really tell how much they loved each other, how Katie would do anything for Harry, and in turn how he also looked after her despite his very young age. As people who know what the outside world is like, who can name what things are as we come across them, who understand how to navigate outside, it was an experience to follow Harry, who had a massive lack of understanding of anything outside of the flat, leading to a lot of fear and intrigue. The story really showed the importance of knowledge and how your own fears can really seep into the mind of your child.
I enjoyed the parts where other characters entered, as this seemed to push the story forward and provide something different within the narrative. Towards the end, I was feeling an impatience to reach their final destination and find out if Katie’s fiancé was alive after all, but once I reached the end, it all felt worth it.
Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah K. Jackson and Picador for this DRC in exchange for an honest review.
May 24, 2023
A page turning dystopian, post-apocalyptic, environmental disaster novel, Sarah K. Jackson's "Not Alone" had me in a rush to finish. Years after a mocroplastic mega storm killed much of the population, we meet Katie, surviving in an apartment with her son Harry, who has never known a world other than the current state it is in. Being stuck inside the 1 bedroom flat, because the air outside could kill you, gave me a sense of the claustrophobia they must have felt (a bit on the nose of recent years ..ahem).
Katie ventures out in risky scouting missions for food to ensure their survival, resulting in a chance encounter with a group of survivors putting she and Harry at risk. What follows is a decision to take a life threatening journey in search of a new and better life for her son.
I appreciate that at first it felt like a love story of a mother's sacrifice for her sons survival and the bond they share,, but I also felt like it was also as much as a story about Katie making this journey to save herself as well. Difficult decisions are made throughout the book, and protection at all cost is the main goal for survival with these two and the cast of characters met along the way.
The story unfolds with a mix of flashbacks that provide a few revealing plot twists that kept me interested in how it was going to work out until the very end. I love when a book doesn't give you the ending you thought you'd get. Read this one and find out!
Katie ventures out in risky scouting missions for food to ensure their survival, resulting in a chance encounter with a group of survivors putting she and Harry at risk. What follows is a decision to take a life threatening journey in search of a new and better life for her son.
I appreciate that at first it felt like a love story of a mother's sacrifice for her sons survival and the bond they share,, but I also felt like it was also as much as a story about Katie making this journey to save herself as well. Difficult decisions are made throughout the book, and protection at all cost is the main goal for survival with these two and the cast of characters met along the way.
The story unfolds with a mix of flashbacks that provide a few revealing plot twists that kept me interested in how it was going to work out until the very end. I love when a book doesn't give you the ending you thought you'd get. Read this one and find out!
July 15, 2024
3.5 ⭐ rounded up! An interesting take on post-apocalyptic society that was suspenseful and kept my attention well without overdoing it. It did drag towards the end - I think the final chapters could be condensed without losing much and I found myself skimming them just to get to the resolution.
October 15, 2024
I thought this was pretty good, I wasn't at all surprised that little Harry was a mass of neuroses, he has been cosseted and overprotected by his inexperienced and isolated Mum. Quite like the Road, had ne in tears by the end.
June 21, 2023
The author never explained things so you’re confused the whole entire time. It was very very drawn out and I didn’t care about the characters enough to be sad at the end BOO HISS HISS BOO
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2023
Katie has been living with her son, totally alone, for the past five years. After a huge microplastic storm separated her and her lover and killed countless people, all she knows is how to survive--and resources are depleting. After an encounter with an unseemly man who can't seem to take no for an answer, she and her son Harry leave to try to find her fiancé Jack, whose final note she found years too late.
This was interesting in concept, and I enjoyed the dynamic between her and her partner. I wanted to know more about the microplastic storm, have it connect more firmly with what we're currently experiencing. And Katie was an overachiever, really trying to do her best to make a difference for the environment and climate.
Unfortunately, I don't know if I can say that this book was for me. This was a very subtle book, with only a few points of urgency, which I can appreciate. When making such a long trek, there's only so much that can happen. Even so, I found Harry to be more annoying than I think was intentional. Maybe it's because of his age, maybe it's because Katie didn't do a good job explaining the world to him. Either way, sorry Harry, you gotta just suck it up. There is also a depiction of rape that I found a little unnecessary.
However, if you did like this and wanted something similar in theme, you may be interested in A Children's Bible.
This was interesting in concept, and I enjoyed the dynamic between her and her partner. I wanted to know more about the microplastic storm, have it connect more firmly with what we're currently experiencing. And Katie was an overachiever, really trying to do her best to make a difference for the environment and climate.
Unfortunately, I don't know if I can say that this book was for me. This was a very subtle book, with only a few points of urgency, which I can appreciate. When making such a long trek, there's only so much that can happen. Even so, I found Harry to be more annoying than I think was intentional. Maybe it's because of his age, maybe it's because Katie didn't do a good job explaining the world to him. Either way, sorry Harry, you gotta just suck it up. There is also a depiction of rape that I found a little unnecessary.
However, if you did like this and wanted something similar in theme, you may be interested in A Children's Bible.
September 21, 2023
I felt like I was watching a very slow train wreck as Katie continued to make one selfish, illogical decision after another. And why did Jack choose to leave her, knowing there was a good chance they may get separated? Yet, he ended up with his best friend. Did he ever really try to get back to her? It was annoying to me that he had spent so much energy in trying to prepare her to come and find him rather than devising a plan to get back to her. And then she literally risked her life and her son’s life trying to execute Jack’s crazy scheme. I truly hope Katie does not represent most Mothers who may find themselves living in an apocalyptic world. But in her defense, I cannot imagine trying to raise a child in those circumstances either.
Although I did enjoy the writing style mostly, the jumping ahead was not always easy to noodle. At times, the unwritten parts were difficult to work through and I found myself just giving up and going along. She painted a very descriptive picture of the changing world and landscape but I think being American, some of it was so foreign that it didn’t always make sense.
Overall, I enjoyed the story even though I did not care for the characters much!
Although I did enjoy the writing style mostly, the jumping ahead was not always easy to noodle. At times, the unwritten parts were difficult to work through and I found myself just giving up and going along. She painted a very descriptive picture of the changing world and landscape but I think being American, some of it was so foreign that it didn’t always make sense.
Overall, I enjoyed the story even though I did not care for the characters much!
April 24, 2024
Overall plot idea was good but execution was horrible. I actually kept hoping every character would die off or would die off faster. Probably would make for a good TV series, but I had reader’s fatigue way too early in this short book.
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April 13, 2023DNF at 40%. The writing is great and it’s an interesting, unique premise. But this is the bleakest, darkest book I’ve ever read. I skipped to the ending to find it only gets bleaker and darker. Like worse to me than A Little Life. On top of the bleakness, the portrayal of trauma after rape is also fantastic, but it’s too real and I’m terrified to get to the rape scene if I’m already this disturbed by the content. This book is for someone, but unfortunately that someone will not be me so I can sleep at night.
November 13, 2023
3.5 ✨️ rounded up
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