Stand Alone is book four in The Sola Series by Ruth Meyer. This Christian story revolves around Jackson Williams in his last year of high school. He is a promising young athlete and he may be in line to get a football scholarship to one of his ten favorite universities. Then life throws him a curveball. A leg injury destroys his dreams of a college football scholarship and, for the first time in his life, he’s left wondering about his future. But God has another curveball for him and it turns out his bum leg may just have been the wake-up call he needed to really see clearly.

Ruth Meyer writes a story that is so real and faith-oriented that any Christian reader will learn something from it. In Stand Alone, Jackson is taken out of his comfort zone and forced to experience the tough side of his faith. He had to learn what it meant to be a Christian, not just in word but in deed. I also enjoyed the subplots that really brought Jackson’s story out. Jackson had always believed he was a good Christian but his friends' lives show him that he still has a lot to learn about life. This story teaches evangelism, Christian fellowship, and forgiveness in a way that will resonate on a spiritual level. After reading this book, I have a realistic picture of who God is and feel that I will have enough faith in the face of any tragedy or adversity.

Stand Alone by Ruth Meyer is the fourth installment of the Christian The Sola Series, preceded by Grace Alone, Faith Alone, and Hope Alone. This installment continues to follow Grace Neunaber and her ever-growing family, with a special focus on her high school aged son, Jackson Williams, after an injury as he attempts to make a winning touchdown throws his future into question. The story is told from multiple points of view, beginning with Grace and then alternating between Grace, Jackson, Grace's daughter Faith, Grace's son Fred (Freddie), and Samantha (Sam), a classmate and female friend of Jackson. While Jackson goes through multiple surgeries, Sam tackles her own family issues, Faith and Fred confront some difficult choices, and Grace must hold all the threads together in the face of altogether too many changes.

Stand Alone is a wonderful book that tackles some major family issues. Ruth Meyer expands and further fleshes out Grace Neunaber, juggling complicated themes that include the return of an absent father and her two youngest sons taking their own steps forward in a direction that draws them further from her. Grace has an authentic voice and her devotion to Christ flows steadily throughout the storyline, featuring as the source of strength even when very many might call their paths into question. Jackson is funny and mature (and his entry into college life reminds us all of how crazy that time can be) and Sam is a character that's impossible not to love. Even if a reader has missed the first three books, Stand Alone can be read on its own.