This book was absolutely devastating. Joon lost her parents at 8 years old, and goes into the foster system. Her foster mother is abusive and she finds herself living on the streets. Her story finds her meeting all sorts of people, young, old, male, female. All the things she said she would never do while on the streets, becomes her nightmare and reality.

Her strength, courage and determination to survive is strong enough to get her through the worst of struggles. My only critique is that at times the stories of her past were told in an almost detached third party way, which felt a little off. Otherwise the story was beautifully written, I found myself in tears at time, even when the material was so brutally violent and dehumanizing.

I received this book for free from Netgalley and Publisher/author in exchange for a honest review.

When I read the synopsis on this book, I knew I wanted it. I use to live with my family that were foster parents. We would get these poor children and some stories they would tell you would break your heart. So I wanted to read this. It did hit very close to home.

This is a story about Joon. She was 8 years when her parents passed. Placed into foster care, which is where you expect to go to receive love and to be cared for, but that was not the case for poor Joon. Desperate to leave this home life, she ran to the streets which is not the life she expected either. My heart ached in this book.

I remember reading "A child called it" and I remember how sick to my stomach that book made me feel and this one was right there with it.

I commend the author on this book. Definitely a 5 star!

First thing I would like to say is Wow! I never really read books like this because I find them sad and sometimes even disgusting. I want to praise Paige Dearth for giving just enough. Joon's journey was difficult and hard, you definitely felt for the girl. I am glad that the bad guys paid in the end and Joon was finally surrounded with people who loved her and she loved back. This book is very easy to read and tugs at the heart and soul. I have always had empathy for the homeless, but this made me really think what causes people to become homeless. Great Job Paige and keep up the great work. I can hardly wait to read another of your books.

To understand the intense work of Ms Dearth, you should read what she calls ”some dirt on the author” that proceeds this story. That alone leaves you with a sense of why she writes these stories that leave you drained. Or at least that is what they do to me. In this work the main character Joon is placed with a foster mother and two foster brothers who treat her horrible and she feels she has no choice but to run away.

Becoming a homeless teen, she makes a decision that will forever change her life and it takes away some of the pain that she has experienced in her world.

When I first started reading this book, I admit to having to put it down and gather myself as it is just that intense. This is my second read by Ms Dearth and I enjoyed this book as much as I did the first one, even with the tough subject matter. Being homeless is no joke but the fact that Ms Dearth is in her own way shining a light on the life of people who live one day at a time may wake people up to do something.

I highly suggest you read this book and all her work. Insightful.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

This is a brutal story of abuse and homelessness and the violence and degradation that Joon encounters first from her foster family and then when living on the street. Although this is a horrific tale it does seem to drag on and the ending was a bit Hallmark movie-ish.

Joon is eight years old when her parents are killed and she is put into the foster care system. For 4 years, she is with the same family, but the way they treat her is worse than you would an enemy. When Joon has her chance, she runs away an tried to make a life for herself on the streets. She sees more in her short life than many people experience in an entire lifetime. Will Joon be able to survive on the streets or will she succumb to the pressures of drugs and prostitution?

Thank you to NetGalley and Fiction With Meaning for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a book that every person should read. We have all seen a homeless person and I'm sure many of us judge them without knowing their situation and how they got to where they are. For some, maybe living on the street is better than their other choices.

In this story, I could see myself as Joon, going through life trying to survive, but I don't think I could have done all she did. This book will make you cry, it is absolutely heart wrenching. You want to jump in and try to save Joon. According to the Author's Notes(yes I read those), this book was taken from her own experience with homelessness.

Again, this is a book everyone should read. It will make you look at the world and the people in it very differently. We are all human and we all are just trying to make it through life with the cards we were dealt. Some of us were given a great hand, and others the worse, but it's what we do with it that makes all the difference.

Never be alone



I could not stop reading this book. I wanted to reach into the book and take her out of her nightmare. To think there are kids out there that are badly abused, and no one says anything. Or even call for help.

As I continued to read what happened to her, over and over again , my heart broke more and more. I had just finished reading "When Smiles Fade" also written by Paige Dearth, I realized that "Never be alone" was written first.

So if the men and women in this book, took a larger part in "When Smiles Fade" some of the location were mentioned in that book and it all made it clearer to me. I was so upset for Joon and the people that looked out for her. But good always wins.

The book stayed with the grit and gloom to this young girls life. Sometime it was getting better, then it got worse. Much worse. Her spirit kept her alive, because she know one day she would make a difference. She just didn't know how, when or where.

How could a 12 year old girl make it in a dirty, mean world? You are reading a book that has sexual abuse, and torture in it. It may not be for you to read. Or you NEED to read it to realize homeless people didn't ask to live their lives bagging and sleeping in card board boxes. They needed to just get by, hour by hour, day by day.

Their home for the night constantly changes, if they don't beg they dont eat. They find places to sneak into to get washed and if they are lucky they find a place that has showers.

The people that see them begging on the street think they lazy, and don't want to follow mommy and daddy's rule. When often they are in the street because of mommy and daddy's actions.

I gave it 5 stars, because it was a learning experience. It showed me not to judge anyone one. To respect their efforts to live one more day.

Downloaded through Netgalley to read for an honest review!

For the life of me I don't understand why I read this type of book since they are heartbreaking. This author tells the story of Joon which breaks your heart you actually think that you are right there sharing this child's pain and seeing sadness through her eyes. A very touching book that only Ms. Dearth can tell.

Yet again Paige Dearth has written a book I was unable to put down.
Joon, a child of eight tragically loses her parents and is taken to a foster home with a lady called Aron who has two sons. From the moment Joon is left there by the Social Worker her life will never be the same. Joon is subjected to the most horrifying brutal and vicious abuse.
As she develops into a young woman one of the sons starts to look at her as a potential sex slave so Joon escapes and lives on the streets. There she meets others but the path that follows leads to more abuse and heartbreak.
This book left me feeling emotionally drained. What Paige has also managed to do is touch base with characters from her previous novel 'Mean Little People'.

Once every so often, if you're lucky, you stumble across a book that takes you outside yourself and places you in another person's life. This book does that. I'll admit I've often bemoaned the life lived by our homeless. I've done so from the safety of my car drinking my Starbucks. This book put me there. I cared about the characters, I cried for them and I bowed my head in shame at my self righteous pitying of them. This isn't a light read, not for the beach. It is a thought provoking well written glimpse.into the world of the homeless. It's a journey worth taking the time for and I'm grateful the author provided the means.

As with all of Paige Dearth books, they're powerful, moving and memorable!I'm always unable to put her books down, and this one is no exception! I can't wait for her next book out! I can't get enough of this author!

I was immediately attracted by the cover we see little Joon with his blue eyes.

We find Joon who lost his parents and his host family is dangerous. She had a good life with her deceased parents. She was happy, but at the age of eight she was placed at the home of this single mother and her two sons, and she was going to suffer what she never thought would exist: the cruelty, the brutality of this family. She will go live on the street and find comfort with this group of homeless but will she get out of it?

A touching story with the endearing character of Joon, I immediately got into the skin of his character, would I have the strength to live in the street if I was she with all that is happening right now in the streets. Look forward to reading another book by this author who has potential.

I just could not finish reading this book .It was just over the top with abuse and degradation that it was kind of unbelievable.

This book got me so involved emotionally that I cried at one point. It is perhaps the saddest book I have ever read. The main character endures a life of torture and depravity from the beginning of the book to the end. The writing is brilliant and captures the environment and action very well. I feel very well acquainted with life on the streets. Yet, the question is: Do I want to be? The book is an exercise in raw realism without any redeeming value, despite a brief ray of hope in the final chapter. I found the story agonizing, as I don't like exposure to torture of children. Would I read it again? No!

This book completely sucked me in! Never Be Alone is the story of Joon, a young girl who ends up in foster care when both her parents die. It tells the story of what happens when she escapes the abusive foster mother and begins her life on the street. Some people judge the homeless, thinking it’s all drugs that make them choose that life. But as you’ll read, many don’t choose it, they have no other choice. Heartbreaking story told in an unforgettable way.

Another amazing book from Paige Dearth. It is heart breaking to read and unbelievable that our children are treated so badly through no fault of their own it is like living in the dark ages and not the 21st century. Well done Paige for publishing the plight of homeless children in such a moving way..

Paige Dearth writes some heavy books. They are, understandably, hard to read. For many people, though, this is their reality. Paige does a great job at bringing awareness to these hidden truths of the world.

Like the previous book that I read by her, Mean Little People , some of the parts were a bit unrealistic. However, an author is allowed to tell their stories as they see fit. Besides, it is fiction even if it mirrors real life.

Full of heartbreaking and gut-wrenching events, Never Be Alone is a powerhouse of a novel. Her writing is fantastic and keeps you turning the page until the very end in hopes of Joon finding her better days.

While Paige Dearth's books are amazing, please be aware that they are full of triggering elements. Please be mindful and remember to take care of yourself.

I know it seems that I am in the minority, but I was really disappointed in the way this book was written. Knowing that the author had experienced a traumatic childhood, I was afraid that the stories would be too real and very difficult to read. Unfortunately, I found it to be quite the opposite.

I found very little written in a way that made me feel much emotion or empathy for the characters. This was because there was no depth to the characters or enough details throughout the story to draw you into their world and what they were actually going through.

I know Paige Dearth says that she writes these books to bring awareness to the problem of abused and homeless children and my hope is that they will bring about positive changes, but for me there was nothing to make me feel it was anything more than a barely passable YA fictional story.

Forget what you think you know .... you have NO idea. Holy Moly. This book, while a tough read at times, was thought provoking. It made me re-think everything I thought I knew. It is crazy to think that it could happen to anyone of us all it takes is a few tough breaks and boom you're homeless. Read this book and remember to hug your loved ones extra tight.

This is a highly memorable story. There are some books that really hit you between the eyes and cause very strong emotions, this was definitely one of them. Paige Dearth has done an amazing job with this story, and I’m glad that I read it. It’s a true reflection of the evil that walks on this earth calling themselves human, but there are also people that have the kindest hearts that are there to help, for no other reason than being a good person. I really enjoyed some of the characters, and how easy was to get lost amongst the pages.
Joon was only eight years old when she tragically lost both of her parents. Up until they died she had led a pretty good life, with plenty of love in her house. She was certainly apprehensive about living in a new environment with a foster mum, and two new brothers. What should have been a safe environment quickly turned into a nightmare for Joon. For some reason her foster mum Aron took an instant dislike to Joon, and she was utterly evil in every sense of the word. Dishing out the most abhorrent punishments for no reason at all. Aron was quite happy to take the money for looking after Joon but she had no intention of doing anything but make her life a living hell. Joon finally reaches her limit and decides there’s no way she could go back to the house of horrors. Living on the streets was initially a hell of a lot easier, but of course its no place for a young girl to live. It doesn’t take long for Joon to see just how dangerous it is. There are so many reasons to read this book, it really is that good. 5/5 Star Rating.