Wow, I loved this book. It was intense, thought provoking, and kept me on the edge of my seat. There was a mystery that kept me turning the pages and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.

Katie and her small son, Harry, live inside to keep safe after climate collapse have taken down most of humanity. But when another survivor shows up, Katie realises that they have to leave, taking their chances in this post-apocalpyic wasteland.

This was really clever - I've seen it compared to both Room and The Road, and both feel apt. Anything involving climate breakdown makes me terrified in literature and this was no exception; Jackson also does a fantastic job of immmersing you in her world which makes it all the scarier.
The relationship between mother and son is a very sweet one and their bond is the most powerful thread in a powerful novel, reminding me again of Room - Harry is a similarly naive little boy.

A powerful, atmospheric novel that you'll love if you're a fan of dystopian fiction.

Engaging and exciting from the beginning. A very realistic feel for the reader.
Recommend to all
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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.

Something like a cross between Room and The Road - a dark and bleak tale of a climate apocalypse and it’s aftermath. Perhaps a little too bleak for my taste, but this will certainly find its audience.

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.

I really wanted to love this book. The premise is excellent but, for me, it really dragged. I know that's the nature of the beast of what is happening to the characters, but I did find it a bit of a slog and almost gave up.
We meet Katie and her 5 year old son Harry as sole survivors of a world that has been devastated by a microplastic storm. The outside is still very harmful as the nature of the devastation is, and will always be ongoing. There's no putting back in the box. So Katie and Harry just try to survive. The hope that Katie's fiance Jack is still out there somewhere, trying to get back to them. But time and resources are both running out so, after finding a note from Jack Katie had previously missed, she decides the only path left, the only thing to do, is to set off to find him. A journey that will be as hard as it is dangerous...
Like I said, I nearly gave up. The beginning dragged on and on. Despite the really good quality of writing, I was just not sold on what the author was telling me. I also found Harry a little unbelievable for a 5 year old and a bit (lot) annoying. That said, Katie must be a saint if she survived with only him as company! I also get the issues about outside and how dangerous but that point was hammered home time after repetitive time and got a bit tiresome.
It's also not a happy book. So there's not much uplifting to carry a reader on their journey. Nature of the subject matter I guess. But instead of making me will the characters on, to get behind them on their perilous journey, I sadly just ended up not really caring and, even though I made it to the end, I am not sure it was worth the trouble of getting there. Many may enjoy this type of book, I'm obviously not a fan of too much doom and gloom. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Good book, the story was interesting, and the pace was good. Well worth a read, I enjoyed it .I like dystopian style books, and this was a good read for me.

"Not Alone" was an okay read, but Chapter 1 hit me with the one thing that I find really hard to deal with (in real life and in books). That tainted the rest of the book for me, so my rating probably isn't fair to the book. Trying to put that aside, the writing is good and it's a decent story, though the characters feel a bit 2D.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

A really well-done, plausible dystopian novel. The author describes the ecological disaster in a very real fashion. The mother and son relationship is strongly portrayed and the mom's devotion to protecting and providing for her son shines. Once they leave the safety of their refuge things take a turn and my heart was in my throat as I read to find out whether they would reach their destination. Well done!

I really loved this dystopian novel which had all I enjoy about the genre and having read quite a few this year I would say this is one of the best
The dystopian reality is a mixture of climate change and chemical plastic atmospheric damage it was immediately believable and ultimately more horrific because of this
The start of the book is immediately compelling with a mother and child holed up in an flat totally alone as they are among very few survivors of a great storm which killed most of the Uks population.I loved the claustrophobic feel of this part of the book it had elements of Room by Emma Donoghue which I also loved .The bond between mother and son is real and strongly described it is vital to the story
Eventually we do meet other characters as the mother and son leave their flat to search for his father and the book takes o the more familiar journey subject more common in dystopian fiction .There are some very exciting scenes set on the car journey .Throughout the novel there are some clearly very cinematic sequences and I suspect this books film rights will be very popular
I strongly recommend for lovers of dystopian fiction
I read a copy on NetGalley Uk the book is published in the Uk by Pan MacMillan on 6th April 2023

i’m really impressed with how real this book made the ecological disaster sound, almost like the author had personally lived in it and written from memory. very beautiful and sad. kind of reminiscent of cormac mccarthy’s ‘the road’ - but british and with a female mc. i loved the portrayal of maternal instinct, fear, and hope in a hopeless world. i’ve read a lot of end-of-the-world fiction and this was one of the best!

This novel gave me the creeps, kept me up at night, made me feel sick and disgusted me in equal measure.

The premise of the book is described well, with bodies piling up around Katie and Harry and their tiny flat getting smaller every day.

But the detailed description of what happens when they venture out (shudder) in the hope of finding Harry somewhere safe, well I will just say I skipped quite a few pages and willed for the ending to come.

Yes, it reminded me at the beginning of Room, then of Bird Box. Harrowing from beginning to end. Quite an achievement!