Is Justine crazy?

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.

— 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…

— I found it absolutely gripping. I may be 55 years older than Justine but I really felt for her, what she went through losing her only real friend, having to cope all the time with thinking Emma wasn’t her real mother. You could not help but like her…

Author’s Notes may contain spoilers

The genesis of Stand Alone was a short story written many years ago. It was basically Justine’s origin story. That story provides the basis for Justine’s fractured memories or the experience that shaped her life and personality. Stand Alone picks up Justine’s life as a teenager struggling to find herself and to understand why she is the way she is and has such a difficult time fitting into the life Em has given her.

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“Every single one of [P.D. Workman’s] books has spoken to me … And I have found strength in the books I’ve read.”

“This is one author I certainly will be looking out for, I can’t recommend her enough.”

“I’ll read anything by P. D. Workman that I can get my hands on.”

“Every book by PD Workman that I’ve read has been a gripping one, however different the genres are, going from lighter mysteries to really dark ones… this is one of my favourite, most dependable authors.”a

“P.D. Workman is an incredibly versatile writer. No matter which of her books I read I am drawn into a great story and honestly, I don’t think I’ve followed another author that could go from cozy mystery to YA to a PI series dealing with mental health issues. Really enjoy her books!”

“[P.D. Workman’s] stories are so believable and you can’t help but feel like you know these people. You find yourself crying, laughing and feeling the characters emotions. Now if an author can make you cry and feel every emotion in a story, she is one hell of an author.”

“P. D. Workman, does not shy from probing the deep psychological scars of childhood trauma, mental illness, and addiction. Also characteristic of this author, these extremely sensitive issues are explored with extensive empathy, described with incredible clarity, and portrayed with profound insight.”

“Once again P.D.Workman has created an intense psychological mystery that impacts a wallop of thought induction. The writing is so well developed and draws you into the characters story.”