She used to live in northeast Los Angeles, central Ohio, northern Norway, and on Caribbean cruise ships. 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. 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 studied theater and dramatic literature for many years, earning degrees from Occidental College and the Ohio State University. Megan is also a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, and her poetry chapbook, Lessons on Sleeping Alone, was published by Liquid Light Press.Īn award-winning teacher with decades of classroom experience, Megan taught multiple subjects across the arts and humanities to students K-16, and she is nationally recognized for presenting workshops and speaking to audiences across the country.

Her debut middle grade novel, ALONE, won the Colorado Book Award, is an NCTE Notable Novel in Verse, a Goodreads Choice Award Finalist, and was included on over a dozen Best Of and state reading lists. Freeman attended an elementary school where poets visited her classroom every week to teach poetry, and she has been a writer ever since.

There are several scenes depicting deceased animals and one scene involving extreme violence towards a kitten.Īlone is a book that I would very gladly pass on to my future children, and is also one that I could see myself re-reading one day.Megan E. While this is a book meant for middle-graders, if you’re sensitive to the death of animals, including pets, be wary of going into it. Therefore, I cannot comment on the comparison. I vaguely remember reading that book in third or fourth grade, but I don’t recall anything of what it’s about. I’ve heard that this is a retelling of Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins. I won’t go into details because spoilers, but that part of the story was really unsatisfying. One complaint that I had is that when we find out what was behind the evacuation, it’s sort of a half-assed explanation that doesn’t make much sense. Most of what she did was right, and it was nice reading a sensible survival story made for middle-graders. In a situation where most people (including many adults) would panic and shut-down, Maddie started collecting food, water, and supplies.

So much so that I honestly had a hard time believing that she was just twelve-years-old. Going into the book with pre-existing survival knowledge, I was impressed by the steps that Maddie took to keep herself and her canine companion alive. I’m not ashamed of the fact that I’m a bit of a prepper (and grew up on books like Hatchet).

The thing that struck me hardest about this novel was that Maddie appears to be more prepared and sensible than most adults that I know.

Synopsis of alone megan e freeman