Alone, Together

by Jack Weyland

This heart-wrenching and heartwarming story about the challenges of growing up will have you rooting for two struggling young people in their search for happiness and for each other. Madison, the only Mormon in her high school, isn’t part of the in-crowd. But when she wins a free makeover, she learns some skills that give her the self-confidence she has always lacked. What she has to decide now is whether it is more important to look good or to be good. Josh, a substitute on the high school basketball team, makes an unlikely last-second shot to help his team win the state championship. But unexpected hardships and an untimely death in his family mar his senior year and leave him wondering if there isn’t more to life. Can these two youth who grew up basically alone find happiness together?

Genres: Lds Fiction, Lds, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Christian Romance

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2006

About the author

Jack Weyland is the best-selling author of young-adult fiction for the Latter-day Saint market. In fact, the modern genre of Latter-day Saint-themed popular fiction is one he is largely responsible for creating with his overwhelmingly popular novel Charly. His interest in fiction began with a correspondence course in creative writing taken during a summer at BYU where he was doing research work. Since then he has published more than two dozen books, and over fifty of his short stories have been published by the LDS Church magazine The New Era.

Born in Butte, Montana, Jack received a B.S. degree in physics from Montana State University and a Ph.D. in physics from BYU. Currently he teaches physics at BYU-Idaho. He formerly taught physics at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

Jack and his wife, Sheryl, are the parents of five children and have four grandchildren. His hobbies include racquetball and singing.

Reviews

[Madi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in a night and a morning. So, so good. Josh and Madison are a believable couple based in the gospel and I really enjoyed Madison's descriptions whenever she was with him. Her feelings were very interesting. Loved the ending. Sign me up for a mission. ;)

[Mya K.]

In the beginning Josh is very insure, he ends up moving to a very secluded place in Wyoming called Muddy Gap. He wasn't too happy about this transition. Josh ends up making the winning shot in the state championships as the substitute in Basketball. When his sister died, he was left with the thought that he has killed only his sister. He was unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. He finally decided to go on a LDS mission. Madison, is a very shy type of a person. Madison also doesn't fit in with the crowd very well. She wins a free makeover, her dad isn't sure that he wanted to let her go. He finally lets her go, then when she gets there she isn't sure she wants to be there. She finally decides that her dad is right. When the 8 weeks are over she has been transformed into a completely different person. Madison finally had gained her self confidence that she has always lacked. She gets faced with the choice to keep going with Kenny or not. She also has to decide if she wants to look good, or to be good. These two different people find love even with all of the things that they have been through. They get married in the end having love with one another.

In the story I can relate to some of their feelings. When Josh moves to muddy Gap Wyoming, he wasn't really too happy to be living there. He was feeling like he had no friends, and he hated being at home. When I first moved here to Provo, I didn't really want to be here, I had left all of my best friends, my school, and my church ward behind. I didn't want to be living here. Soon after that I made friends and I was fine. I have now made so many best friends, and I am glad I stayed. Even though it was hard for both me and Josh at first we both finally got the hang of things and we ended up being fine.

I really enjoyed this book. My favorite part, was when Josh gave Madison a blessing on the last day of their mission, and he got a feeling that this was the girl that he was going to marry some day. In the end he ends up marrying her. I think that the author did a really great job at describing everything. Another thing that i really enjoyed while reading was that in every chapter he made some really big cliffhangers. Everything was well explained and because of that his books have been my favorite to read. I don't think that the author really needed to improve on anything he did a great job making this an enjoyable and yet exciting book to read!

If you are into a LDS love story this one's for you. It is all about how 2 different people come from completely different places, finding love. You would only enjoy this book as much as me if you enjoy love stories.

I finished the whole thing.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elder Josh Baxter met Sister Madison Forsgren while serving his mission; little did he know that she would become his eternal companion. The inspiration took him by surprise as he was giving Madison a blessing. Neither of them were sure what they should think about it.
We get to grow up with Madison and Josh as they struggle through the trials, temptations and sorrows that go along with being a teenager. As the two reluctantly get together and get to know more about one another, they realize one big thing they have in common: they both grew up alone. Both of them chose righteousness over popularity. The problem is, Madison has dreams and goals that are beyond Josh, and Josh doesn’t really know what he wants, which bothers Madison. They both have to decide if they are willing to give up certain things to heed to God’s inspiration and be together.
It is LDS fiction, but there’s nothing much in there that non-members wouldn’t be able to understand; so in other words, you don’t have to be Mormon in order to enjoy this book, all you’d have to keep in mind is that it is fiction. Also, I think that this book could encourage youth to make the right choices. Josh and Madison’s choices are inspiring and they get their reward for making those decisions.
A short read, I found this book thoroughly enjoyable. Perfectly awkward, it’s an unusual tale. I loved how peculiar both the characters were; most stories seem to be about perfect and flawless people; the main characters in this book are not that. They are unique.
I only have one disappointment with this book, and that is that it ended too soon. I wanted more.
Alone, together has its sad, tender, romantic and happy moments, all the while remaining clean and appropriate. I recommend it, especially for high-school aged youth.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole time I was reading this I kept thinking "This book is not very good. I hate the way he writes dialogue. No one has talked like that since 1982." and "Wow, I am not invested in these characters at all." But I kept reading because I had no other book going, and when I got to the last page, I cried. Go figure. I guess I did in fact care about the characters. Who knew?

[Kelsey Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this story! Josh is I think every girl's personal hero. Madison is the girl that I think we all look up to. A great quick read... slightly awkward and one you might just laugh out load.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Siera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was sweet, sad and had a happy ending. The romance was unique, original and well written.

[Aubrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I also love this writer he is an lds writer. There's just something about how he writes that I love.

[Rylee]

I loved this because they got married because of a promting!

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really hate giving bad review for books, especially ones that are clean and have good messages, so I will try and say this as nicely as I can. First off, it was not believable. I think a good fiction is one that you can imagine and at times put yourself in the persons shoes, but everything about this book seemed so fake. I really had to fight through finishing it. Take for example Josh. As a teenager, he was portrayed as wise way beyond his years, but he was also very self-conscious. Some of the things that he did and said were things I could never see a 16 year old doing, as most 16 year olds are not yet that mature. This continued through the book with many things that I could never actually visualize happening.(Josh and his sisters relationship, how Josh and Madison met, Madisons experiences, ect). I know it is a fiction, but it wasnt believable.
I also felt that it was rushed. It didnt seem sincere. And it felt a little too preachy for my taste, (not that talking about the gospel is a bad thing, it just was too much). Like I said though it had a good message of being able to forgive, not just others, but yourself, as well as about second chances. It was okay, but definitely not in my top ten.

[Eliza Cross · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is seriously messed up. Josh is awesome in the beginning but then he like gets really weird. His parents are also on crack, especially his dad. Josh and Madison had only seen each other outside of their mission twice, and he was offering them a gas station and for her to drop everything and make cinnamon rolls the rest of her life! Why in the world would anyone agree to that!! And why should she give up her life when she already has things going for her and Josh works in the same gas station that he did in high school. And getting married was his idea in the first place!!! I really like the makeover thing and Madison's story, but Josh's family is bizzare and weird. I would totally be on Hannah's side throughout this whole book, especially when they move. Hannah was the only thing i liked about this book. I think Jack Weyland has lost it cause this book is seriously messed up.

[Beth Given · Rating 3 out of 5]

This rainy weather put me in the mood for something light -- a guilty pleasure. Jack Weyland? Why yes, that'll do nicely. You know, I wish I had had better access to some Jack Weyland books back when I was in my teen years, because his characters are always fun and funny while still being genuinely kind and sticking to their values. As it was, the only one I read as a teen was Nicole (I probably read it a couple times; I liked it). This book's got the fun, clever dialogue that I'd always enjoyed from Weyland, and while it's not a hallmark of great American literature or anything (and, when I think about it, I kind of have a problem with the whole premise of the story), it did make me laugh outloud a time or two. A fun, wholesome, fluffy read.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I LOVED this book!!!!! I love how it showed so many of the issues and consequences of behavior that people deal with in their teens. I loved how it showed the joy that family loyalty can bring. And that though many of us have bad qualities many of us also have redemptive qualities as well. I love how it showed that trials can be overcome. Respect can be earned. Childhood perspectives can change, parents love us and often have very good advice. My favorite lesson is if love someone - show it, sacrifice for it, go for it - put your heart out there.

**Talking points - the dangers of drugs, alcohol, sex before marriage, bullying, beauty, holding true to your values, parental involvement.

[Emily Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

What happened to Jack Weyland? Does it seem to anyone else like after he had a few big successes, he kind of...stopped trying? This book was lame, but the biggest disappointment about it was that I loved Charly and I know Weyland can do better! This COULD have been an ok book, but the writing just seemed lazy. Or maybe it's just that I'm not 15 anymore and haven't read a Jack Weyland book since that time. Maybe I built both Jack Weyland and Charly up to better than they were. Oh, also it seemed to me that the whole premise of the book centered around something that I honestly think is false doctrine....

[Jensen Wahlquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack weyland may not be the best writer but the reason he gets five stars is because he wrote a story that I could not put down!!!! I became very involved with the characters, worrying what was going to happen to them, and experienced every emotion they went through as if I was going through the same thing. This book made me laugh, smile, and cry. Finding books like this, where I can't put them down I'm so entranced, is a very rare thing. Props to weyland!

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all Jack Weyland books. They each delve into another topic that people can relate to. I grew up reading them and they have helped me a lot with different times in my life. I still go back and re-read them often. This one was one of his newest ones and had a different feel than the rest. I had to warm up to it at first, but then ended up liking it in the end.b

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book, I love Jack Weyland's stories because they offer great perspective on life and the gospel. It felt good to read an LDS novel again and helped remind me of my tesimony and how much I love my husband.

[Karlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister recommended this book to me, and I really enjoyed it. I found myself always wanting to read the next chapter to see what was going to happen next. I wanted more at the end, but other than that thought it was great.

[Emmeli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book in the middle with their back grounds but sometimes Josh's personallity bugged me alittle. I wish it was alittle longer though and had a better engagment weeding type of ending to it. Other then that, i thought it was a good short read.

[Anna Lisby · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay but not one of my favorites lately. There were some parts I liked but others that went on too long for me. This was about two missionaries and their lives before their missions (and some after as well).

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this from my sister-in-law. She didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. It was sort of fluff, but a decent read. It was interesting reading about life as the only member of your religion at your school. It definitely would create some challenges.

[Kami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe I haven't read this book before! It follows the lives of two individuals who face the loneliness of being the only LDS kids in their school. It tells of social pressures, fears, loss, and eventually acceptance. At times heartbreaking, this book is a must read for Jack Weyland fans!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was nothing really "wrong" with this book, it just did nothing for me. The characters where so-so and their relationship was kind of lame. I wouldn't really recommend it and I don't even think it had anything to do with me being too old for this type of book. It just was not his best book.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generally I like Jack Weyland books. This one was not as interesting as his previous ones. I really thought I would like it, but the characters seemed a little unbelievable. The relationship of the two main characters wasn't really that interesting.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I read some of Weyland's books as a teenager so it had been a while. A friend recommended this one, and I got through it but certainly didn't like it, let alone love it or want to recommend to others.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was disappointing. It was so obvious, and such simple writing. It was almost like a synopsis - it didn't delve into the characters enough and really get me invested in the story or the characters.

[Stephanie Ashcraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a good story. It reminded me of how I felt growing up in Indiana as one of the only members of the church. Jack Weyland portrayed my feelings well.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read this aloud to my husand while we were traveling. It was something we enjoyed together and it was a nice enough story.

[Kaylee Boydstun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really sad but worth reading. There really is love at first sight.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about adolescent/young adult love, trials, and choices. I laughed and cried.