Lily Alone is a novel by Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Nick Sharratt. It was first published in February 2011.
Contents |
Lily is the biggest sister of the Green family. She has a mum called Kate Green, two little sisters called Bliss and the other called Pixie, and a little brother called Baxter. One night, Mum goes out to the pubs and afterwards, clubbing. She meets a posh man called Gordan. Mum describes him 'gorgeous'. One night Gordan asks Mum to go to Spain with him and she did, after she called one of her ex-boyfriends, Mikey. But Mikey couldn't come and anyway, Lily doesn't want him to. So for the week Lily takes care of her siblings herself. They didn't go to school because Lily is afraid her siblings would tell they were alone. They play pretend school and goes for walks to the beautiful park with woods and meadows and deer and a 'magic garden'. One day after Lily and her siblings went out to the park, Lily's teacher Mr. Abbot comes to their flat and gives Lily a pile of angel postcards from the gallery outing she missed. Mr Abbot asks Lily where their Mum was, and she lies, saying that her mum has gone to the chemist to buy some medicine to heal the 'sick' children. Mr Abbot eventually goes. The next day, Lily tells the kids they are going camping in the park. They cannot find a place, but when a dog comes by, Bliss (who is afraid of dogs), jumps up a tree with a tree hole, so they use that as their hiding place. They can just cram their favourite stuff inside the hollow tree, and they leave Pixie's buggy hidden in the ferns. They go to cafes to eat leftovers and to feed themselves. One night, when they run out of food, Lily goes to steal some food. She nearly gets caught by a nanny from the house, but she escapes just in time by stepping on the roof of a playhouse in a garden and leaping over the rail. They have a feast inside the tree. Another night, all the children are playing Monkeys, climbing up the hollow tree. At night, Bliss and Baxter are bored, so they climb up a tree and play Monkeys. Bliss perches on a branch, but it breaks, and Bliss falls down to the ground and damages her leg, and there is a deep cut on her forehead. Lily has no choice but to ask some people to call the ambulance, and they take Bliss to the hospital. When the nurses get Bliss lying down, their Mum returns. The police says Mum has to do community service for child neglect, and Lily goes to a children's home, split apart from her siblings, Baxter and Pixie being fostered while Bliss stays in the hospital. The story ends by Lily drawing a picture of the Green family and writing at the bottom: "We're all going to be together very, very soon."
Lily: The narrator. She is the eldest of the Green children, and she takes care of her siblings all the time. Although she likes taking care of her siblings, she plays a dream-like Lily Alone game of living in a big dream white house with beautiful rooms. She draws them all out on her drawing pad.
Bliss: Lily's sister, who treasures Headless, a toy white polar bear that lost its head in an unfortunate accident. She loves the story Cinderella from her fairy tale book. She is rather timid. She is six, and she is the one who has to go to hospital.
Baxter: Bliss's twin. He adores his dad, Mikey. He is the only boy of the Green family, and he likes to act all boyish and tough. His favourite toy is a fork lift truck bought by Mum with a credit card.
Pixie: The baby of the Green family. She is three, and she loves ice-cream.
Mum: She is the mother of the Green family. She went off to Spain with Gordon, leaving them alone.
Mr. Abbot: Lily's teacher.
Jenny and Jan: They work in a canteen inside a pub. Briefly mentioned.
Gordon: Mum's new boyfriend.
Elizabeth and Arnie: A nosy couple who interfere with Lily and her family.
Old Kath: A nosy old woman who lives next to the Green family.
Mikey: Bliss and Baxter's dad.
Paul: Pixie's dad, who was a drug adict and died. Briefly mentioned.