Stand Alone: A gritty contemporary young adult novel

Everyone thinks so...

Her mother. The kids at school, and the teachers and administrators too. Even the police who pick her up from her night rambles. Maybe them most of all.

Justine’s therapist says she is ‘troubled’, but it means the same thing. He thinks that her vivid, reoccurring nightmares and atrocious behavior point to some trauma in her past; but Em, Justine’s mother, can’t explain it.

Justine used to have Christian, her best friend and skateboard partner. He was the only one who accepted her. Maybe because skating is the only time that Justine is really free to be herself. Now that Christian is gone… Justine keeps thinking things can’t get any worse.

Even as she sees her life spinning further and further out of control, Justine can’t give up her sense of who she is—someone far different than the loving daughter Em expects her to be—to just fit in and be happy. She is sure that Em secretly holds the key to who Justine really is. But if she does, Em isn’t talking.

By the author of Tattooed Teardrops, winner of the Top Fiction Award, In the Margins Committee, 2016.

If you enjoy gritty contemporary young adult books like those by John Green and Stephen Chbosky, give P.D. Workman’s Stand Alone a try.

Reviews

—This book is a wonderful story filled with many twists and turns... it will keep you turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning. The end will blow you away. A great story.

—As PD Workman draws you inside Justine's head you begin to wonder what really makes her act the way she does. Good luck trying to put the book down until you find out why...

Keywords:

teen; juvenile delinquent; choices; young adult; realistic teenage life; relationships; personal growth; psychology; death; depression; anxiety; bullying; suspense; intrigue; found family; self-discovery; coming of age; transitions; ya lit; mental health; mental illness; concealed identity; middle school; junior high; homelessness; attachment disorder; abuse; neglect; special needs; emotions; feelings; self esteem