Not Alone

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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. Somehow this micro plastic fiasco effects women significantly more than it effects men, and the book never attempts to explain this even a little bit. Men are a constant threat. Harry, who has some limited world experience, thinks just about any living thing larger than an insect is a “nasty.” The nasties are especially threatening at night and in the dark. He is channeling all of Katie’s fears. Katie mistrusts everyone they meet, including a couple, Sue and Andy, who are kind and generous. Katie worries they are trying to steal Harry from her. She is clearly suffering from post-traumatic stress, both from the storm and from the assault, and their isolation has only made things worse. The emotionally wrenching story of a mother’s fight to save her young son as they struggle across a toxic and hostile world. The tension never lets up. Utterly believable, always compelling, and deeply moving. I loved it.” Alright,” I relent, finished, and work on myself, brushing, lathering and scrubbing my skin and hair aggressively in the bathtub, until Harry can bear it no longer and I step out so he can launch himself into the hug and I squeeze him tight. Intensely moving, genuinely gripping, plausible and absorbing; this is a stunning debut by a truly talented new writer."

The world outside is full of terror for the isolated Harry, and for his mother, who knows that only with persistence care can they avoid death. Unfortunately this book was not for me. I liked the idea and the premise of the book, but that is about where it stopped for me. 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.⁣This book takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, after global warming takes its effects and the air is deadly due to tiny particles that you can't inhale.

The note describes his destination and explains how she can get there with the resources he secreted away. Other reviewers have mentioned that the MC, Katie, wasn't likeable. She wasn't a saint, and in a dog-eat-dog world, this seemed realistic. As the reader, you could see that she tried her best to raise her child with absolutely zero help or resources, so it seemed appropriate that she'd be bitter and callous at times.During the course, the first rough draft about Katie’s survival alone and attempt to re-find someone she loved and thought lost evolved into a deeper, moving tale of fierce motherly love and hope in a richer post-apocalyptic world. I would say that each draft of the novel has been like this, during the course and since, delving deeper into the story and trying to pull it to the surface. In Hitchin, some years after the storm, Katie lives in her flat with her four-year old son Harry. The windows are gaffer-taped, and the air-vent's covered with a filter. She only goes out foraging when the wind is low, and always with a face-mask handy and a particle meter. Without any spoilers, I actually liked the ending. It was realistic and it was a punch to the gut. But yet, there were still tendrils of hope to make it an uplifting ending. There’s a key in the special drawer . . .” He offers it up as we get to the landing outside our flat door.

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. I would have loved for us to have kept in touch as a group and still meet up. However, I do keep in touch with a few of them and we have shared chapters and news with each other and several are coming to my book launch on the 6 April, which I’m so happy about. 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.

Success!

It was a huge benefit to be with other creative people on similar journeys on the course – to feel that connection and shared goal. It made me feel much more settled and determined in this big dream to write published books, and it made me be more open with other people in my life about my writing and become more disciplined and scheduled in my approach. I think the encouragement and support are also massive factors – it’s easy to underestimate how important it is to have a few people like what you’re doing and encourage you, especially when you’re developing confidence in your own writing. I specialise in botany and habitats as an ecologist, so my love of plants, their uses, their ability or not to thrive or adapt, and all those experiences outdoors amongst trees and hedges and rivers definitely fed into Katie’s journey and the world she inhabits. It’s an altered, toxic world, but it is still beautiful.