Not Alone

Sarah K Jackson

06 April 2023
9781529089585
432 pages

Synopsis

IN A DYING WORLD, HOW FAR WILL A MOTHER GO TO SAVE HER CHILD?

'Not Alone kept me breathless with tension.' - Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of
Room
'Intensely moving, genuinely gripping, plausible and absorbing' - Charlotte Mendelson, author of The Exhibitionist

Five years ago, a toxic microplastics storm killed most of the population. Now Katie, a young mother, must forage and hunt the few surviving animals for meat as she attempts to feed her little boy, Harry.

At a time when stepping outside could kill you, Harry is kept indoors at all costs, never venturing beyond the door to their one-bedroom flat. The bodies begin to build up around them and layers of poisonous dust hang heavily in the air, seeping into the soil and slowly killing anything attempting to cling onto the natural world.

Then, after years without human contact, Katie and Harry are terrified by the unwelcome arrival of another survivor. Katie realises she must undertake a previously unthinkable journey in search of the man she was supposed to marry and a new life for her son.

But outside their safe haven, Katie and Harry encounter a dangerous world that is forever changed . . .

Not Alone kept me breathless with tension. An outstandingly credible and gripping adventure story, rooted in a deep understanding of both ecology and family.
Intensely moving, genuinely gripping, plausible and absorbing; this is a stunning debut by a truly talented new writer
With hauntingly beautiful descriptions of the natural world, this challenging novel is tough and memorable.