Joe All Alone

Joe doesn’t really like Dean. His mother’s boyfriend isn’t too keen on Joe either. He is quick to urge Joe’s mother that Joe is old enough to stay in the flat alone, while they head to Spain. It will only be for a week, after all, and there’s £20.00, and he’s old enough to cope as long as he doesn’t tell anyone or answer the telephone……

Nine hours of screen time and cereal for tea begins to pall with Joe when his Mum doesn’t call, there isn’t a postcard and the neighbours start to enquire. When Asha, a new neighbour, begins to show an interest, Joe starts to open up. He needs to, for the week has ended and his Mum hasn’t returned.

‘Joe All Alone‘ reverberates with heartbreaking anxiety, truth and loneliness. We count the days, the meter and the money with Joe, sharing his desperation. Joanna Nadin has created an outstanding story of purpose and feeling, eminently readable and compelling, recommended to any older reader.