January 2, 2012 (paperback) Lily Alone is a 2011 novel by best-selling author Jacqueline Wilson and illustrated by Nick Sharratt.
Though very responsible, Lily often resents having to take care of her siblings when her mother, Kate Green, goes out– usually to the pub, newsagent or off-licence.
Kate is convinced that her life will improved and she feels as though she and Gordon “were on a roller-coaster up to heaven.” That night, Lily takes care of her brother and sisters by drawing and watching Peter Pan.
The next day, Kate takes her children on a frivolous shopping expedition and uses a credit card, which she had supposedly been sold by a friend.
She further annoys Lily when Kate reveals that she feels as if she deserves a holiday from living in a "dump."
She also tries to deal with adults who ask about the whereabouts of her mother, such as a retired couple the children encounter in the park.
Lily is scared that Mr Abbott will return with social workers so she packs food, clothing and bedding and tells the others that they are going to camp in the park.
Lily also steals food from a large house such as apples, strawberries, plums, peaches, a chicken breast, and yogurt.
The next morning, Bliss plays "Monkeys" with Baxter, but breaks her leg by falling down from their tree.
The story ends, sadly, with Lily drawing a picture of the Green family and writing at the bottom: "We're all going to be together very, very soon."
Although she likes taking care of her siblings, she uses her vivid imagination to play a 'Lily Alone' game where she fantasizes that she lives alone in a big white house with beautiful rooms.
Lily is patient, gentle and responsible, but her mother uses her as a nanny and leaves her alone with Baxter, Bliss and Pixie most nights to go to the club and drink.
What happened to Lily is later revealed in the book My Mum Tracy Beaker, when she is fostered by Cam.
Bliss is the perfect model of a sweet, shy little girl who has a very intense love for the things around her, but finds difficulty in expressing herself properly or making herself heard over the constant noise of Lily trying to keep the kids in order, Baxter swearing and shouting and Pixie screaming for ice cream and chippies.
She has an irritating phobia of beetles and germs, finds it difficult to cope with normal social life and to stop her dominating twin brother from walking all over her, and adores her big sister Lily.
At the end of the story Bliss is taken to the hospital when she has a terrible accident in the park and breaks her leg after playing ' monkeys'.
He is the only boy of the Green family, and his favourite role model, the man he worships and adores, is his father.
He cuts his hair short to look as much like Mikey as he can, he prefers to act tough and emphasises his toughness to the limit, such as swearing, swaggering like his dad, and being obsessed with killing, to the point where he has difficulty admitting when he is really afraid or upset.
Lily loves her dearly but feels constantly pressured by her and Baxter's endless demands for things that they want and can't have.
When she was with Paul she fell into a lot of debt, and eventually stole a credit card to try to deal with her financial difficulties.
Even though she didn't like Paul much, she fell into depression after he died, and soon after lost her job at a canteen and stayed at home smoking.
Lily's mum has long hair and she enjoys dressing up in tight clothing and wearing high heels.
She adores him because he takes an active interest in her and never makes her feel silly like her other teachers do.
Lily also detests Mikey because he has a scary dog called Rex who bit Bliss on her hand.