reviews
Dec 29, 2011
For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn’t taken our humanity. No, we’d given that up on our own.
Being a teenager in a world covered with ashes is not easy at all. Alex discovered that after the eruption of a volcano in Yellowstone National Park. His parents and his little sister had left town just before the earth started to shake and Alex was left all alone in a burning house wi More...
Being a teenager in a world covered with ashes is not easy at all. Alex discovered that after the eruption of a volcano in Yellowstone National Park. His parents and his little sister had left town just before the earth started to shake and Alex was left all alone in a burning house wi More...
40 comments
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(29 people liked it)
May 07, 2011
all those people who are afraid that the legalization of gay marriage will lead to people wanting to marry their pets have every reason to be afraid.
as soon as it becomes legal to marry a book, i am going to marry this one. and i assume at some point i will cheat on this book and divorce it and marry another book, but for a little while, we will have a storybook relationship and a joint checking account.
and it will be wonderful.
so - okay - for those of you who have More...
as soon as it becomes legal to marry a book, i am going to marry this one. and i assume at some point i will cheat on this book and divorce it and marry another book, but for a little while, we will have a storybook relationship and a joint checking account.
and it will be wonderful.
so - okay - for those of you who have More...
58 comments
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(101 people liked it)
Feb 21, 2012
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
I was really, really excited to read Ashfall. I've been devouring dystopian novels left and right recently. I'm always itching for my next fix. Seriously, I think I have a problem
Ashfall tells the story of 1 More...
5 comments
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(13 people liked it)
Oct 10, 2011
The first night after I started reading this book, I dreamt about being stuck in a house and hiding from some people while trying to survive/escape. All night. THAT, is a sign of a good book!
This story is told in Alex's point of view. A huge volcano has erupted and they're now seeing and living the after effects. Which means a LOT of ash falling. Incredible climate changes and desperate food situations. I love that the book started right before the eruption. We got to live through it More...
This story is told in Alex's point of view. A huge volcano has erupted and they're now seeing and living the after effects. Which means a LOT of ash falling. Incredible climate changes and desperate food situations. I love that the book started right before the eruption. We got to live through it More...
7 comments
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(17 people liked it)
Nov 05, 2011
”Everything would be better tomorrow, I thought: a new day, a new dawn. It would have to be better than this. I was wrong. There was no new dawn the next day.”
Cedar Falls, Iowa. Almost 16-years-old Alex has just experienced a major break-through on his way to adulthood: His parents stopped arguing with him and have taken off to uncle Paul's goat farm in Illinois with only his sister Rebecca in tow. Alex luxuriates in his freedom of choice between doing his homework and collecting go More...
Cedar Falls, Iowa. Almost 16-years-old Alex has just experienced a major break-through on his way to adulthood: His parents stopped arguing with him and have taken off to uncle Paul's goat farm in Illinois with only his sister Rebecca in tow. Alex luxuriates in his freedom of choice between doing his homework and collecting go More...
25 comments
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(15 people liked it)
Nov 05, 2011
Full review (and an alternate perspective!) at the Intergalactic Academy.
Until I picked up Ashfall, I’d forgotten how much I loved survival stories.
The genre is an odd match for me. In many ways, even for a sci-fi lover, my tastes run toward the stereotypically “girly.” I don’t like war stories. I don’t like action sequences. Soft sci-fi is usually the rule of the day, and while a few post-apocalyptic tales–Meg Rosoff’s romance-and-psychic-incest touched How I Live Now comes More...
Until I picked up Ashfall, I’d forgotten how much I loved survival stories.
The genre is an odd match for me. In many ways, even for a sci-fi lover, my tastes run toward the stereotypically “girly.” I don’t like war stories. I don’t like action sequences. Soft sci-fi is usually the rule of the day, and while a few post-apocalyptic tales–Meg Rosoff’s romance-and-psychic-incest touched How I Live Now comes More...
Jul 04, 2011
My mates over at Tanglewood Press have asked me not to review this book until a month prior to its release.
So. Instead, I give you:
Elle's Top Ten List of Things Learnt From Reading Ashfall
1. Mike Mullin is a genius
2. Bald chicks are hot
3. Bunnies are delicious
4. Toilet water is also delicious
5. I should really get around to planting that corn field...
6. Mike Mullin is who I will bef More...
7 comments
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(42 people liked it)
Nov 23, 2011
*This ARC was provided to me by the publishers. No money or gifts were exchanged for this review.
I seem to be one of the very few that found this book a little on the average side. It really probably wasn’t the book’s fault. In fact, if you’re looking for some good reviews of this book, try out Phoebe North’s Review.
There are several different reasons why people enjoy apocalypse stories. Some people enjoy watching the break down of society and making commentary on t More...
I seem to be one of the very few that found this book a little on the average side. It really probably wasn’t the book’s fault. In fact, if you’re looking for some good reviews of this book, try out Phoebe North’s Review.
There are several different reasons why people enjoy apocalypse stories. Some people enjoy watching the break down of society and making commentary on t More...
32 comments
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(15 people liked it)
Nov 11, 2011
This review will contain mild spoilers
I have some mixed feelings about this novel, but, generally, it was an enjoyable read.
A summary:
Ashfall begins with Alex, our 16-year-old protagonist, recounting the events of a Friday - a Friday no one is able to forget in a hurry. Having had another one of his frequent arguments with his mother, Alex is allowed to stay home alone for the weekend while the rest of his family visit his uncle in Warren, Illinois. A weekend More...
I have some mixed feelings about this novel, but, generally, it was an enjoyable read.
A summary:
Ashfall begins with Alex, our 16-year-old protagonist, recounting the events of a Friday - a Friday no one is able to forget in a hurry. Having had another one of his frequent arguments with his mother, Alex is allowed to stay home alone for the weekend while the rest of his family visit his uncle in Warren, Illinois. A weekend More...
4 comments
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(7 people liked it)
Dec 08, 2011
End of the world story? I am THERE regardless if the book is about zombies, nuclear fall out, or mass pandemic. But, if the end of the world story happens to be about a natural disaster – say like a massive volcano eruption – then I am in heaven. For me, this book is the best of everything in one of my favorite genres. It is a young adult book with a male main character, set in a location I know intimately well because I grew up there, and involving a super volcano eruption and its aftermath
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9 comments
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(11 people liked it)
Oct 17, 2011
A copy of this novel was kindly provided by Tanglewood Press via NetGalley for review.
Four stars: This is a nail biting, anxiety laden adventure that will leave you hungry for more.
Sixteen year old Alex is planning on an epic weekend. After a hard fought battle with his mother over a family weekend trip to his Uncle's goat farm, he has won the ultimate prize of a weekend home alone. Two days of freedom from his mother's constant nagging and his irritating, bratty, pest of More...
Four stars: This is a nail biting, anxiety laden adventure that will leave you hungry for more.
Sixteen year old Alex is planning on an epic weekend. After a hard fought battle with his mother over a family weekend trip to his Uncle's goat farm, he has won the ultimate prize of a weekend home alone. Two days of freedom from his mother's constant nagging and his irritating, bratty, pest of More...
0 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Aug 01, 2011
I'm adjusting my review to reflect that the author of this book was very rude to me on a social network. I ranked it 3/3.5 & rounded it up to 4 to be generous to a debut author. I'm not going to hash out all the details of my encounter with him BUT he was rude, judgmental and did not apologize. For me that is enough for me to not be as generous and no recommend his book. So I'm lowering my rating to 3 stars for bad manners and moving on with my life.
<spoiler>
3.5 + rang More...
<spoiler>
3.5 + rang More...
4 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Sep 27, 2011
Expected publication: October 11th 2011(Arc review)
...I found myself yawning and sleepy only a few hours later. There was no point in fighting it-the nightmares that haunted my dreams would beat the waking nightmare my life had become-so I let myself drift back to sleep.
Mike Mullin= Genious!
Really!
It's one of the most amazing reads of this year and one you simply cannot miss!
There's no cake before the hit, no preamble as to what you'll witness-not More...
...I found myself yawning and sleepy only a few hours later. There was no point in fighting it-the nightmares that haunted my dreams would beat the waking nightmare my life had become-so I let myself drift back to sleep.
Mike Mullin= Genious!
Really!
It's one of the most amazing reads of this year and one you simply cannot miss!
There's no cake before the hit, no preamble as to what you'll witness-not More...
0 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Sep 13, 2011
One of my many book addictions is the “End of the World As We Know It” stories or otherwise known as “Oh-My-Good-Golly-What–Do-We-Do-Now?” books! :) Over the years, these tales have begun to possess similar plots, events, scares, and attitudes. But Mike Mullin’s Ashfall felt like a brand new bag in many ways! It held such inspiration, morality, and hope in the pages. This story felt more like a journey towards a new way of living in a new world rather than the beginning of the end.
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Aug 13, 2011
5/5 STARS!
First off I want to thank Tanglewood Press Publishing and Netgalley.com for allowing me to read Ashfall prior to its release ;)
I had to really think about this review before I wrote it, because writing reviews for books as great as Ashfall secretly intimidate me. How do I capture all the greatness the author worked so hard to achieve without sounding overly convincing, or rather unconvincing?
Ashfall stars out with Alex, a sixteen-year-old boy, More...
2 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 21, 2012
***Originally posted to: Bookish Blog as a part of the MEN in YA event.
I first heard about Ashfall around the time when my hubby and I were planning our Trans-America trip and we've been spending hours after hours searching through the depths of Uncle Google for interesting places, landmarks and other must-see things along the way. I remember my husband showing me pictures of Yellowstone National Park, and how out-of-this-world beautiful it looked like, with all its unique vegetatio More...
I first heard about Ashfall around the time when my hubby and I were planning our Trans-America trip and we've been spending hours after hours searching through the depths of Uncle Google for interesting places, landmarks and other must-see things along the way. I remember my husband showing me pictures of Yellowstone National Park, and how out-of-this-world beautiful it looked like, with all its unique vegetatio More...
3 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Dec 12, 2011
A perfectly wonderful little disaster read I undertook on a Sunday while cooking too much food and then eating it. Gotta put on the fat for the long nuclear winter! (Or Christmas, but same dif.) Sixteen year old Alex is left home for the weekend, his parents and sister driving off to visit family a couple of hours away. Then blammo! The super volcano under Yellowstone erupts. Although about a thousand miles away from eastern Iowa, where this mostly takes place, the volcano belches enough ash to
More...
15 comments
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(26 people liked it)
Oct 30, 2011
Alex is your typical teenager; full of rebellious angst and tendencies. His days were filled with on-line video games and arguments for the sake of arguments with his parents, broken up with tae-kwon-do lessons. On a weekend where his wish to be left alone was granted, a catastrophe changed him for good.
A super volcano erupted, followed by a bitter winter that was forecasted to last for a decade. Hunger and violence escalated, wiping civility and spurring events so desperate and hel More...
A super volcano erupted, followed by a bitter winter that was forecasted to last for a decade. Hunger and violence escalated, wiping civility and spurring events so desperate and hel More...
2 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Oct 30, 2011
♥ My reviews can be found on Blogger --> Bookish Sarah ♥
- - -
Ah, I love a good apocalypse in the morning!
Alex, just your average teenage guy, is home alone for the weekend. He's just chillin' in his bedroom playing WoW when, all of a sudden he hears a massive crashing sound and the house practically caves in on itself. This is within the FIRST CHAPTER. To pretense here! Mike Mullin does not mess around!
A supervolcano in Yellowstone National Par More...
3 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Sep 21, 2011
“For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn’t taken our humanity. No, we’d given that up on our own.”
Define Humanity: hu·man·i·ty, noun, plural -ties.
1. all human beings collectively; the human race; humankind.
2. the quality or condition of being human; human nature.
3. the quality of being humane; kindness; benevolence.
Define survival: sur·viv·al, noun
1. the a More...
9 comments
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(8 people liked it)
Jan 13, 2012
Borrowed the ARC of this from a friend and really ended up enjoying it. Can't wait for the sequel, Ashen Winter, to come out.
0 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Oct 02, 2011
Ashfall was one of my first books from Net Galley and I was very excited it give it a read. Dystopian/ Post-Apocalyptic are fast becoming my first choice. I know, I know. A lot of people are devouring these too. I know a lot of people out there are saying, but why? They are so dark and depressing. Okay yes, there are certainly dark moments, but you know what? There is so much good and light within these dark tales. The one thing that I love about Dystopian is that there are always those characte
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3 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Oct 16, 2011
Originally reviewed on my blog, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing.
Ashfall by Mike Mullin is a post-apocalyptic novel that takes us into what it might be like if the Yellowstone Supervolcano were to actually explode.
I like in SE Idaho, which means that Yellowstone National Park is only about an hour and a half drive from my house. I spent many summers playing in the park, and I loved it. Seriously. If you've never been to Yellowstone, put it on your bucket list. Growin More...
Ashfall by Mike Mullin is a post-apocalyptic novel that takes us into what it might be like if the Yellowstone Supervolcano were to actually explode.
I like in SE Idaho, which means that Yellowstone National Park is only about an hour and a half drive from my house. I spent many summers playing in the park, and I loved it. Seriously. If you've never been to Yellowstone, put it on your bucket list. Growin More...
0 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Dec 09, 2011
Complete review at: http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2011/09/...
In my review for Susan Beth Pfeffer's apocalyptic novel, I said, "This is the first book I've ever read that made me be scared for an apocalypse... his book terrified me; however, this made me not want to put the novel down." Ashfall does what Pfeffer's book did, but Ashfall also intrigued me in a different way because of my fascination with volcanoes- I was filled with a mix of terror and fascination all through More...
In my review for Susan Beth Pfeffer's apocalyptic novel, I said, "This is the first book I've ever read that made me be scared for an apocalypse... his book terrified me; however, this made me not want to put the novel down." Ashfall does what Pfeffer's book did, but Ashfall also intrigued me in a different way because of my fascination with volcanoes- I was filled with a mix of terror and fascination all through More...
Jul 11, 2011
I was lucky enough to win this ARC through Goodreads. Once I received it I couldn’t put it down so I read it twice. Fairly quickly I was drawn into Alex’s life, I was amazed at how quickly he learned to adapt from a worry free teen to having the will to survive.
As far as disaster books go this was one of the best. Any survival story has its low points and high points but the low points were rare. The descriptions of the post volcanic eruption were vivid and very helpless feeling. Circum More...
As far as disaster books go this was one of the best. Any survival story has its low points and high points but the low points were rare. The descriptions of the post volcanic eruption were vivid and very helpless feeling. Circum More...
2 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Feb 09, 2012
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
0 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Oct 06, 2011
'Kay, so I have NetGalley now and I have been approved for this book. It's not an immediate priority, since I have five that I've rashly downloaded and which are now quietly expiring as I type, but when I finish them it'll be next up, I promise. I'm looking forward to this. And I have an entire college library, plus online databases, to draw from in my fact-checking.
BRING.
IT.
ON.
***
Right down there is a stupendous example of me mis-reading a release d More...
BRING.
IT.
ON.
***
Right down there is a stupendous example of me mis-reading a release d More...
45 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Oct 10, 2011
I loved how the book started off. I loved all the action scenes in the beginning. Especially when he was comparing his reaction to the reaction of a hero in a movie after they get hurt (they jump up unscathed, he curls in a ball shaking with terror). It was a wee bit creepy and scary to tell the truth.
It was scary imagining the ongoing lightening and thunder. I mean, thunder gives me the creeps when it lasts a second too long, I can't imagine it going on for hours or more.
More...
It was scary imagining the ongoing lightening and thunder. I mean, thunder gives me the creeps when it lasts a second too long, I can't imagine it going on for hours or more.
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0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Jun 03, 2011
On the day Alex's family takes off for his uncle's in Illinois, Alex is ecstatic. He gets to spend the entire weekend by himself. But before he can spend even one night alone, Yellowstone erupts and the world changes irrevocably. Now Alex is doing all he can just to survive as he crosses 100 miles in search of his parents and sister.
It is not often that I read an apocalyptic book: post-apocalyptic, absolutely; dystopian, you betcha; but one where we actually get to experience the end o More...
It is not often that I read an apocalyptic book: post-apocalyptic, absolutely; dystopian, you betcha; but one where we actually get to experience the end o More...
0 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Feb 12, 2012
The supervolcano was not the star of this entertaining story. The hero, Alex, is a teen who shines by learning both self reliance and how to form a partnership that deserves to endure a lifetime.
If you are a geologist/backpacker/farmer/rancher/hunter, you may have to tell your brain "Hush" from time to time, if it should notice differences between the tale and your own experiences. Comments like "There are no volcanoes inside the Earth; there are magma chambers" More...
If you are a geologist/backpacker/farmer/rancher/hunter, you may have to tell your brain "Hush" from time to time, if it should notice differences between the tale and your own experiences. Comments like "There are no volcanoes inside the Earth; there are magma chambers" More...
2 comments
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(8 people liked it)
