This is a difficult review to write and the first time I’ve encountered this issue. What makes it difficult to write? For me, I’m all too aware that apparently the author has lived this life; therefore the lines between fact and fiction are blurred, and I don’t want to offend anyone.

The beginning of the story, although extremely difficult to read, had me sucked in and feeling all kinds of emotions, which is a sign of good story telling. However, as the story progressed, the more liberal the author became with her creative licence, and the less believable the story became.

Now that kills me to say as I’m aware perhaps fiction isn’t stranger than fact, maybe all of those event had truth to them, BUT this is marketed as fiction and therefore I’m reviewing it as such. I had a hard time understanding how Joon never got sick. She lived in squalor, slept on a dirt floor, had a toe cut off, suffered from horrendous burns, etc, etc, yet never ended up in hospital. (Toward the end of the book, when she needs a tetanus shot, it states she hadn’t seen a doctor since she was five). AND not only that***possible spoiler***somehow while still living on the streets, she was healthy enough to donate a kidney. I’m sure it was supposed to be touching, but I just wasn’t buying it.

The writing was solid enough but referring to characters as ‘the girl’, 'the woman', 'the child', 'the boy' distanced me as a reader. It was also confusing at times. For example; Joon is watching television, the girl does something. For a minute I thought ‘the girl’ was on TV, but no, Joon and the girl are the same person.

Four stars for half the book, two for the other half, overall rating 3 stars.

Never Be Alone tells a tale of the human spirit and the will to survive. The foster care system failed Joon and life let her down, but she survives in spite of it all.
Paige Dearth has a talent for stories of loss and surviving it all.

This book started off a little slow for me, the first few chapters while Joon was living with her foster family felt very monotone. It was hard for me to get attached to Joon however as the story progressed, I found myself liking her more and more. I especially liked all the closure at the end of the book. Many times I feel like books leave tons of loose ends and this tied up everything perfectly. I was also excited to see an excerpt from another book by the author that goes into the story of another one of the characters in Never Be Alone.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

The cover drew me in and the story kept me captivated. Joon’s story highlights the horrors of foster care and homelessness. Joon’s unbreakable spirit and loving nature shines throughout all of the tragedies that she faces as a child of the streets.

I loved this very emotional and moving novel! Joon went through so much in her young life and met so many different people. I loved how Tony from Mean Little People was also an important part of Joon's story. Throughout this book Joon's resourcefulness and fighting spirit shine through. Despite her circumstances she genuinely cares about others and will do whatever she can to help. I look forward to reading more by this author!

I truly love Paige Dearth's books, I look forward to anything that has come out by her and will read it. This one was for me lighter than her other ones. I did like it, I enjoy how we get a little bit of a connection between the characters in her other books.
The thing that kills me is knowing that there are so many that are going through what she writes about. So many who have been through some of what she has written about. Although it is a good read I don't want to down play any of it because like I said this sort of thing happens on a daily in our world.

The cover of this book is amazing. The story line and characters flow well together. I was not expecting the ending but I would definitely recommend this book to others. I will be reading more by this author.

Paige Dearth’s novel ‘Never Be Alone’ is one of those novels that fully immerses you from the opening sentence and keeps you floored until the final word is uttered. This book has touched me like no other and consumed my life whilst reading it. I could not get the characters out of my head, they would invade my thoughts, dreams and subconscious. No book has done this to me since John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meaney.

Dearth’s has an incredible talent where she is able to delve deep into the human condition and tries the find the good in horrible situations. Starting out with a girl named Joon who goes from one nightmare to the next but keeping her soul good is a masterclass in story telling. Her characters come alive and you generally care for the good characters and want to rip the guts out of the bad and evil characters. Her style is like a street VC Andrews with all the drama without the melodrama and more realistic characters making realistic decisions in a cold and heartless world.

The book deals some hard issues such as homelessness, sexual, physical and emotional abuse, prostitution, rape, to name just a few. Dearth’s talent is that she opens your eyes to the issues and expands it to push a point across but not in an obtuse way. Her characters take you on a journey that twists and turns but never feeling false or pressing plot points into square holes. It all works within the confines of the story in a fundamental natural way.

Her characters are well drawn and deeply felt. From the lead characters to the insignificant ones, they all make a lasting impression. She is able to take these characters and give a three dimensional quality fully fleshing out them. When I close my eyes, I can see them vividly emerge from the darkness.

Never Be Alone has actually touched me in a way that few books have done. There are only three books that have actually made tears flow down my face and this is now one of them. Embarrassing to admit, I do most of my reading on my commute to work and there is a situation that happens in the book in the final third. I am reading and totally caught up and sadness over takes me to the effect that I am weeping. This is to the effect where the woman sitting next to me asks if I am ok. I said that it is the book that I am reading and nothing personal. She exclaims, that must be one hell of a book in which I replied, you have no idea.

I highly urge everyone to read a copy of ‘Never Be Alone’ as it is a real page turner. With deep emotions that emulate the reader from within. It also raises important issues and it will make you look at things in a different way. It is not a preaching novel but it will open a new light and look at your surroundings in a more improved outlook. Deeply moving and disturbing but full of the heart. This book is now one of my own personal favourites and I recommend everyone give Page Dearth’s novel ‘Never Be Alone’ a read as you won’t be disappointed.

Very engrossing and plays on your heartstrings. Highly recommend if you like feeling as if you are there with the characters but plan on an emotional rollercoaster!

I couldn’t get this novel out of my head! I woke up at 3 am just so I could finish it. I had to know what happened to Joon and her new street friends. After living with her loser of a foster mother, I was afraid what would become of Joon. She was just becoming familiar with living on the street and learning who she could trust out on her own. Life on the street was a new experience for her and each day provided new struggles and sometimes, she got to experience happiness.

Both of Joon’s parents died suddenly and she finds herself in foster care. Her foster mother is extremely mean to Joon, both verbally and physically. Aaron has two son’s and one of them follows in his mother’s footsteps as he also abuses Joon. The other son wants to help Joon but feels powerless in the situation. After many years of abuse, Joon finds an opportunity to escape and she heads to the street. Innocent and not street-smart, the street becomes an obstacle for her. It’s complicated and hard out on her own but she knows eventually it will be better than where she came from.

I enjoy reading stories of this nature. Heartfelt stories that push my emotions and show me inside a life that is so different than my own. The novel moved quickly, oh so quickly. Joon experiences are extensive before she becomes an adult, much more than anyone of us would experience in a lifetime. I really enjoyed reading this story and I highly recommend it.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Fiction With Meaning, LLC. in exchange for an honest review.

Joon is a young girl who is in the foster system as her parents have died. She is to live with Aron and her two sons. Living ther becomes a nightmare of horror that she will never forget. When she becomes older, Aron’s oldest son tells Joon that he is going to have his way with her while his mom is out that evening. Joon goes in the direction of school but keeps walking not having any idea how she is going to survive. She meets a homeless person who helps her learn how to live on the street. Will Joon survive or not?

This is an important story about what can happen to a child in the foster system. It is also enlightening about what life is like living on the streets. As I read this novel, I hated what happened to Joon. At times, I could only cry as at times it is heartbreaking. There is a wide range of emotions explored in the book. The author shows how cruel and selfish people can be to others. I think that a book written about this should read and discuss what can be done to keep others from being in situations like this. Do read this book!

I've read another book by Paige Dearth (Mean Little People), so I knew this would be a dark story Joon's parents die when she is very young and she is placed into the foster care system. Her foster family is unbelievably brutal and cruel.and Joon eventually runs away and lives life on the street. She encounters horrible, heartbreaking things but is resilient and a survivor.. I was very glad that the book ended in a positive way for Joon. This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley.

If you're looking for a feel good story of surviving teenage homeless, look elsewhere. Never Be Alone is truthful, brutal and unapologetically raw. It forces us to confront that which makes a lot of us uncomfortable, kids doing what they need to do to survive on the streets.

Joon is our 8 year old MC who is put into the foster care system when her parents die in a car accident. She is placed in a foster home with Aron, who appears to the outside world as a loving single mother but who shouldn't even have custody of her own two boys.

Joon endures four years of unimaginable horrors and decides that she has had enough when threatened by one of her foster brothers:living on the streets seems to be a safer option.

On the streets she meets a cast of characters, some that want to help her and others that want to help themselves to her. To say what Joon experiences is heart-wrenching comes across as an understatement. There is nothing that I could tell you, short of telling you Joon's story, that will prepare you for Never Be Alone.

Joon is a character that will stay with me for mostly wrong reasons. I can't look at the cover without getting a knot in my stomach or tearing up.

Highly recommended.

Tearful thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I found this a very moving story about a woman abuse and lived homeless and was helped along the way. The author wrote a great story and i would be honoured to read and review another one if needed.

Another good read from Paige Dearth. One would think I'd get sick of these twisted books... but i don't. I enjoy the strength in the protagonists. A good fast page turner.

I really enjoyed this book!!! It pulls you in wanting to find out what happens next!!! Read and enjoy!!!

First I want to thank the author and netgalley for my free kindle book! The book started by introducing me to the main character Joon, who lost both her parents and ends up living with foster woman whose name was Aron and her sons. My heart broke right away with the abuse this poor girl had to live with. The system completely failed her. The abuse this girl had to go through no human should have to go with. After being threatened by her foster brother he was going to rape her she runs away. This is where the book took a turn. Joon ends up on the street without money or a home or knowing the streets and the people who live on the streets and that it’s basiclalu war to survive. The authors ability to create characters is amazing from ragtop a woman who helps joon but ends up disappearing . To Pringle a young girl like joon who offers to help and becomes a friend to joon. The book brought tears to my eyes and opened my eyes about how the homeless are people who need help and each person has a story to tell. No person deserves to go through what joon went through ever. All she wanted was to be loved and a family. This is her story. I recommend reading this book with your eyes and heart opened. I do warn some content in this book may be difficult to read.

I loved this book so much. I’m sitting here sniffling, writing this review. This book was definitely a hard read due to the subject lines, abuse, homelessness, prostitution, etc. However, I’m so glad I read it. I’m already looking forward to reading Mean Little People, since it is one of the characters’s back story. This author is amazing, she really makes you feel, smell, react to what is going on. I was hooked and telling my sister to get it within one chapter. I will be reading all of Paige Dearth’s books! I’m hooked. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to get hooked on this author!

'Never Be Alone' was certainly a page turner and what an emotional rollercoaster it was. Loved the main character 'Joon' and without giving away any of the storyline, the ending ended just how i hoped it would. I have read a few books by Paige Dearth and is an author that i would highly recommend and shall be on the look out for more.

I would like to thank Netgalley for my copy. This is my honest review.

Never Be Alone is a dark and gritty book based on the horrors of teenage homelessness. The author describes her work as real life horror, which delves into the worst case scenarios of what it's like to be a young teen and living on the streets.

We first meet Joon at 8 years old entering a dysfunctional foster home after her parents suddenly die. She is severely abused and neglected for the next 4 years. In order to avoid further abuse she runs away at 12 years old and is forced to survive on the streets of Philadelphia. Her journey takes her into various predicaments and she meets a variety of characters - some of who are kind and others who are out to 5ake advantage.

I read Ms. Dearth's previous novel Mean People and the main character Tony makes an appearance in this book too. I enjoyed touching base with Tony again and thought he was a nice addition. It was a great way to connect as a reader to the plot because I already knew who he was and what he was about.

I find this author has an ability to take the reader on an unpredictable journey. We never really know where the plot is going or what's going to happen with the characters. Never Be Alone was true to its description but includes graphic sexual and violent descriptions so is not for every reader. I missed the element of rage and revenge that was perfectly portrayed in Mean People. This plot had more of a sadness and grief feel to it, which wasn't as engaging for me.

A solid read that pretty much captures the nightmares one faces while homeless, alone and vulnerable. Looking forward to reading more books from this author.