Thank you, NetGalley, for my complimentary review copy.

I was hooked from the first page! The author’s storytelling and language style is so compelling and readable that it was difficult to put it down, despite of the serious subject matter.

Joon had a happy life as the only child of loving, affectionate parents, who adored and cherished her. Tragically, her parents died when she was eight, and she was thrust into the foster care system. A temporary shelter was her home and she was as comfortable there as she could be. But a temporary shelter is just that, “temporary.” Eventually, she was placed in a single-parent home and told by the caseworker that she was “lucky” to be able to have a real family. Over the next four years, living with her single foster mother and two brothers, Joon would find out just how lucky she was.

As one chapter of Joon’s life ended, another began and brought with it a new set of circumstances and characters(each with his/her own tragic backstory). Just when she started to feel relatively happy, comfortable, and life didn’t seem so bad, all was lost and she had to start from scratch. Joon’s stark reality is depicted so vividly and graphically(at times, disturbingly so). Her fleeting happiness, as well as her pain, fear, and heartbreak, are genuine.

Overall, I loved Joon’s story of triumph over adversity. It was absorbing, heart-wrenching, and, at the same time, provided some valuable life lessons. Although I didn’t want the story to end, I was satisfied with the way it did. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to find an excerpt of Dearth’s Mean Little People included at the end. This book tells Tony Bruno’s story. He was one of my favorite characters. I hope to revisit Joon and her friends in future books.

I read a lot of stories (some memoirs) with similar themes as this one; children who suffered some form of abuse. Some are told in first person and some by a narrator. I work at a high school and these types of stories are always very popular (Child Called It, etc) so I find myself reading a lot of these stories to decide to purchase them or not for my library.
For some reason I could not connect with the protagonist of this story. When Joon's parents die suddenly she is sent to live in a foster home with a horribly abusive foster mother and step-brothers. After enduring the home for four years she finally runs away when it is clear the abuse is going to take on another level of pain and humiliation- that is all totally believable, sadly. Joon finds herself on the streets and luckily runs into a kind-hearted woman who takes her under her wing and teaches her about living on the streets. Occasionally, as they are talking, Joon will mention yet another horror that she endured at the hands of her cruel step-mother. Again, totally believable, but these conversations seem contrived just for the purpose of shedding more light on the abuse she endured. While I know that children are abused by natural and foster parents all of the time, it is hard to believe that no one at school would intervene when they saw her not eat lunch daily (and she is very underweight and looks uncared-for, all red flags).
I have worked in the school system for many years and I can tell you that we do notice these things and we do regularly intervene. Even if it didn't go so far as to make a report, teachers and other school staff would take to feeding the student and trying to find out why she isn't eating her free school lunch. I see students daily who live in poverty and often their only full meal is the school lunch. If we saw someone not eating theirs daily with clothes that are too small/short and circles under her eyes, you can bet we would be looking to get to the bottom of this. I think that was when the story just didn't ring true for me. The cruelty and abuse from her foster family was totally believable. The not allowing her to eat at school was not. I just don't think a foster parent who doesn't want to get caught, who is careful to leave no marks in areas that are outwardly visible & allows her to shower specifically on school days so as not to draw attention, would risk forcing the girl to not eat at school. Obviously, we miss cases of abuse and those go unreported- but these particular circumstances are all red flags for school employees. Also, I just didn't feel like Joon's character rang true. She still seems absolutely innocent and trusting even out on the streets and after the abuse in her foster home I think she would be much more skittish and wary. I couldn't get past some of these things so I did not finish the book.

Paige Dearth has done it again! A heartbreaking tale of young Joon and the painful life she has endured. For those who have read Mean Little People; Tony Bruno, Salvatore, and Vincent along with Quinn and the Slayers make an appearance in this dark tale.
Joon in her own words has "...learned the hate of a woman, abandonment, being forced into sex...". Such a dark story but beautifully written. As a human being, this story touched the depths of my soul because this situation could truly happen to child. Things change in a blink of an eye. As a mother of a young child, I have realized; with Dearth's detailed, graphic, dark, realistic writing that I need to be the change. "I can't let bad people get away with hurting good people." One of the quotes that resonated with me. Paige Dearth strives to raise awareness and with this story and her amazing writing and attention to developing the "characters", her mission is definitely reaching me. I hope Paige continues to write these stories and bring to light the darkness so many children experience.

Never die alone by paige Dearth.
a moving and heartwrenching read.
I really hated Aaron and deen.
I thought joon was a strong girl for what she went through.
ragtop was lovely to joon. this was well written and had me in tears in some places. there were good characters and bad characters. joon spent some time on the streets rather than stay with Aaron as she was bad to her. 5*. highly recommended.

This is Joon’s story. She’s been through way more crap than any one person should ever have to experience. You journey through several years of her life while she braves the streets of Philly just trying to stay alive.

I’m so on the fence about this book. It was good and I definitely couldn’t put it down or stop thinking about it but it has so many triggers and it’s so dark, I don’t think I can ever read another of Paige Dearth’s books. I don’t normally have a problem with dark and depressing but Joon’s life was one tragedy after another. My only actual gripe about the book is the ending because it wraps up a little too nicely and it’s not realistic.

I received a digital copy of <i>Joon</i> via Netgalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

The book ends on a note of hope. That is the single best thing I can tell you.

<i>Joon</i> is full of triggers. If you are at all squeamish about the rough side of life, my sincere advice is to be sure you have support in place for when this book gets tough. And it does get tough. There were several times I seriously thought about stopping and moving on to another book, but Joon is a compelling character. It was impossible to give up on her because despite all odds, she never gave up on herself.

She kept living, kept loving, kept trusting, and is a shining beacon for people who feel overwhelmed by the neverending bad stuff in their lives.

If you are the kind of person who reads stories like this to remind you where you came from and how hard you worked to get where you are, I can guarantee <i>Joon</i> will do that for you. If you are the kind of person who reads stories like this to help you renew your heart and your compassion, <i>Joon</i>'ll do that for you, too.

This book is not for everyone, but if you choose to read it, I believe you'll come out the other end enlightened to some degree. Paige Dearth has a way with words, and doesn't mince them. She'll be an author I return to when I need another reminder of how good life is right now, and how much worse it used to be.

A great book! It will grab you and you may not like it where it goes, but you will appreciate it. Not for younger readers although some of the characters are young. Highly recommend!

I didn't enjoy this book. The content didn't bother me, really...it was ALL the details that seemed to weigh the story down. Very quickly, we are thrown into Joon's abusive situation with Aron and Deen, and almost as quickly, Joon runs away from school and never returns to her foster mother's house (until the end of the story, and what a trip that is.) I assumed the story would progress at that same speed, but sadly it did not. I started skipping through and that allowed me to actually finish this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher, for giving me this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the second Paige Dearth book I have read. Both have taken a sadly wonderful look at the trials suffered by parent-less or rejected children. She has a remarkable ability to build characters that you care about and want to get what they deserve not what they are receiving. I recommend this book to anyone who cares about children who have been handed a life of pain.

My heart was breaking over and over again as I read this book. I wanted to steal Joon from the pages of this book and protect her and never let her go. The heartbreaking journey I went through left me in tears over and over again and I almost didn't have the heart to finish. But I am glad I did. Definitely recommend this!

I started reading Never Be Alone by Paige Dearth but it was hard to get into. The characters were hard to relate to. I was unable to finish it.

Joons' story is not one I'll soon forget. I can only imagine what it must feel like to begin your life surrounded by love, stability, safety, and parental kindness only to have it all tragically ripped away in a minute. I'll never understand how people can wear one mask to most of the world, then show the true ugly underneath to a helpless child! Joon goes through some of the worst abuse I've read about. This was an informative, heart wrenching, but very dark read. After reading I said an extra prayer to never leave my children before their grown so they will never know people like Joons' foster family exist!

This was such a good read! I fell in love with Joon, felt so incredibly bad for her during her years with her foster family and in the years after. The characters in this book were so realistic to me, some so kind and some so cruel.. Joon’s live sure has been rocky!

After reading Mean Little People I was so excited to be able to read this book by Netgalley to give my review on it. When Joon's mum and dad died suddenly she ended up in a foster parents family that ended up being her worst nightmare. Physically and mentally tortured she ran away and lived on the streets. She meets various people, some good and some really bad. Who should she trust and how can she survive the cold winters. This book had me on a rollercoaster of emotions, happy one minute then holding back the tears.I was happy how this book linked on occassions to Tony and how he helped her when he could. I will be looking out for more books from this author.

I really enjoyed reading Never Be Alone. I realised while reading it I've read another of Paiges books when I came across the character of Tony Bruno.
A good read.

I really couldn't put this book down and in the end could not stop the tears. Ms. Dearth has a way of showing a complete different side of homelessness. I will never again take for granted that someone chose to be homeless. Just the reality of foster care and abused children is very heartbreaking.

OMG!!! There is nothing like a hefty dose of reality thrust in your face to make you humble. Every time I read one of Paige's books I UGLY cry.

I go in with eyes wide open, I know what to expect, yet I just can't fathom the realities. The death, loneliness, drugs, low self-worth, the unwanted sex, torture, the harsh realities of life on the streets.

I must admit I have no triggers, so I guess I'm lucky in that regard, but for those of you with triggers please be prepared if you decide to take this journey into Joon's reality because it is NOT pretty.

I cried some ugly tears, my heart was broken, my faith in humanity was lost and found all in the course of one book. There is no way that I will believe that books don't changes our lives because this book has changed the way I look and deal with certain realities. I AM CHANGED

I will not give away any details, but I will say some characters you will love, some you will hate with a passion, and some are just a waste of air!!!

I have read all of Paige's books and the one thing I've learned is NEVER judge a book (or person) by its cover!!! You truly have no idea what they are going through, have gone through, or what has led to their circumstances. Please, please, please show a little compassion and kindness.

THANK YOU Paige for once again reminding me to stay humble and to really look at someone before judging and/or condemning their choices.

I have read many stories by this author and yes they are extremely dark but this is how some children/people live.

In this story, we meet Joon who is a young girl that has had her whole world turn upside down. When she moves in with her foster parent things are not like it seems for her. It isn't all butterflies and pixie dust is more like heartbreak and abuse.

We see how Joon learns to live on the street and even though she makes it work for her she finds herself in a bad situation yet that doesn't get her down fully to where she just gives up. It makes her stronger and when we get to the end of the story I felt that Joon became a stronger person than what she expected. She went through so much in her life but yet she was a beacon of hope and light to others that were around her. I really enjoyed how she ended up getting a backbone and standing up for herself when she needed to.

Now this story may not be for everyone has it has child abuse, abuse in general, it is raw and dark yet it brings light to homelessness. Especially when we see how people treat people who are homeless. They don't want to be, they want to have a home and a family yet they are probably running away from a situation that you have no clue about. So never judge a person for you never know what they have been through!

This book was amazing. Ive read the other books by paige dearth and this one is by far my favorite. I cried happy tears in spots like when lulu and joon met nellie and when joon met ragtop and sad tears like when the person joon thought would be her first and last love betrayed her. To me this book is not only about trafficking and homelessness but a book about innocence stolen, betrayl, love, hope and forgiveness. Joon could have been bitter towards ragtop for abandoning her and leaving her to the wolves but she wasnt. Though the book was dark due to all the bad experiences that joon had , the ending had me crying happy tears. I hope whem people read this they think twice when they walk by a homeless person and turn there nose up. We never know what people have and are going through, The world be a better place if people were more like dr. Becker and Nellie.

This is another fantastic story by Paige Dearth, this story did not disappoint from start to finish, Paige has a way of grabbing your attention from the very start of the story.

Joon is from a loving home, but sadly her mum and dad are killed in a car crash, so Joon's story starts from when she moves in with her adoptive mother at the age of 8. Please beaware Paige books are very descriptive and can be quite harrowing to read, but they way she writes keeps you reading.

Joon is brought up in a family in which she is treated worse than the pet dog. But when Joon runs away her life doesn't get any easier trying to live on the street in Philadelphia, was never going to be easy and who can Joon trust???

I loved that a previous character from one of Paige Dearth's book is present in this story from Little Little People (or previously known as Born Mobster) Tony Bruno who appears as one of Joon's most genuine friends and also a saviour.

5***** Highly recommended story but not for the faint hearted!!!