Customer Reviews

Are You Alone on Purpose?

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alison Shandling has always been the good child, the nerd, never causing her parents any trouble. They have enough to deal with with her autistic twin brother Adam. Harry Roth has always been a rude, cool kid who had his kicks by teasing Alison and her brother and torturing his father. But then one day at camp an accident leaves Harry in a wheelchair and even more bitter than usual. Alison recognizes that in a different way her family ignores her too and she procedes to try and be friends with Harry despite his protests. But slowly he starts to except her and they start to fall in love.

Great story. Alison and Harry are alike in many ways and that's what draws them together. You can really relate to them.

Are you Alone, On Purpose is a telling story of how deeply grief settles in the heart of teenagers, especially when adults are unable or unwilling to listen. Both Allison and Harry harbor feelings of grief, resentment, isolation and desparation. Both want to "feel" loved. Ms. Werlin has tapped into the teen heart for this one.

This was a great read. I really enjoyed finding the similarities and differences between the characters, but appreciated how they carried along the plot perfectly. It was a book that demonstrated acceptance and inevitable change in one's life. I recommend this book to any young adult.

I loved this book! My sister gave it to me late at night, and I couldn't put it down. The story reminded me of something in eveyone. Moving, without being forceful. All i can say is "Bravo!"

Alison Shandling has a lot on her plate. At nearly 14, she has a twin brother who has severe autism and is an easy mark for a bully named Harry Roth.

Alison's life changes when a great-uncle she barely knew died at age 93. Her father decides that to honor his uncle's memory, their family will become regular attendees at their local synagogue. Harry Roth's father is the Rabbi at that synagogue.

One's heart goes out to the Rabbi. Harry is openly rude to him; insults Alison and her family; ridicules Adam and storms out of the synagogue. Rabbi Roth is at a loss as how to cope with Harry; a widower who mourns for his late wife, Rabbi Roth has no idea of how to bridge the communication gap with Harry. He is devastated that his own son refuses to observe the Sabbath and attend Temple.

Alison remains at sword's points with Harry; an accident Harry sustains at a summer camp has a drastic impact on them both. The day of Harry's accident, Alison's mother storms into Rabbi Roth's office with Alison in tow to blast him out for not accepting Adam in the local Hebrew School. She wishes him ill; she wishes his child were more challenged than Adam.

When Harry returns from camp paralyzed from the waist down, it is Alison and the Rabbi who join forces for Harry. The Rabbi offers to tutor Adam in Hebrew for his impending Bar Mitzvah; Alison offers to spend time with Harry and brings him books. Their relationship remains thorny until Harry acknowledges why he has been tormenting the Shandling twins and just what his Jewish faith really means to him and to his father.

Alison has a parallel issue of parental communication; she feels that the only thing that stands in her favor is that she does not have the severe autism her brother has. After some soul searching on her part; the Shandlings' part and even that of the Rabbi and Harry, bridges are built and gaps are filled. No promises are made, and the rich dialog and excellent writing are what make this book so wonderful.

This was Nancy Werlin's first book, which is glaringly obvious in some ways, as her writing has drastically improved since this book's publication. Instead of the supernatural books she's recently been putting out, this squarely fits into the realistic YA box. The book itself pushes the envelope, even looking at the title, with more provocative language than you'd see in many books. It all serves an important purpose (no pointless swearing or anything like that), and in the end, emphasizes the importance of certain scenes with that content, making it far more realistic than many YA books on the market. I spent a great deal of time while reading this book thinking about how drama-starved we are as readers. Werlin's book moves along at a slow pace, I will say that, but it depicts the average life of an average teen, making it a book readers can truly relate to. The main character, Alison, has her own set of challenges, as does everyone else, but they're not overdone for the sake of gratuitous drama, and for that, I have to thank Werlin. Some of the story gets buried beneath the many messages this book tries to send, and the middle seemed to drag on endlessly, but the end result is really worth it. Some of the plot points end on ambiguous, unresolved notes, but the ending of the story was breathtaking.

Rating: 3.5/5

This book was definitely TOO SHORT. A one-afternoon-long book is not definitely long enough. Not even close.

I had this book in my wishlist for a very long time, but I couldn't make myself buy it, because, for me, the characters felt just too young to empathize. However, once I started reading, that was not a problem. Not a problem at all.

Beautiful (though too short) love story, with the cute, serious prose that is definitely the trademark of Nancy Werlin. After reading (and, more important: enjoying) three of her books, I'm definitely going to lose all shame and include the rest of her books, finally, in my to-read list.

I bought this for my 17 year-old daughter. We both read it and decided that it is more appropriate for younger readers. The author does make some very good points about relationships, things that are all too often ignored by both parenta and adolescents alike.

I loved this book. Alison reminded me a little bit of myself, afraid to cause trouble, but often one can't help it. She made Harry her business, even though he'd been mean to her and her brother. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever been kind to someone else. ( By the way, Harry has Alison sit on his lap to kiss her. )

I read this book when I was much younger, but it made a lasting impression because I still think it's great. I'm an avid reader and i knnow my stuff and this is a winner!