Ashes (Ashes Trilogy, #1)

Sep 13, 2011 karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tastes-like-people, why-yes-i-ya

yeah, i loved it. i mean, wilderness survival and zombie survival? it's like this author knows all about me. i was so eager to get this, i even read her other book, draw the dark, while i waited.but this one was so much better.

i have been excited for this book for a while now, even though i read so many reviews on here about how the second half of the book is such a letdown. fortunately, by the time i actually got my hands on a copy of the book, i had forgotten specific complaints, and only reme...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, horror, huge-disappointments, pn-zombies, read-2011, young-adult, dystopian-post-apocalyptic-utopian, ebook-egalley, readalong, 2011-publication, mature-ya

It all starts with a cataclysmic electromagnetic impulse. Dead birds fall from the sky. Deer run off a cliff, maddened for unknown reasons. And people drop dead instantaneously and inexplicably--or they are miraculously, irrevocably changed, some for the better, and some for the worse.

The first half of this book is a phenomenal. 17-year-old Alex is transformed by the big event in ways that she can't understand. She is saddled with an angry 8-year-old and an attractive ex-Army guy who's hiding se...more It all starts with a cataclysmic electromagnetic impulse. Dead birds fall from the sky. Deer run off a cliff, maddened for unknown reasons. And people drop dead instantaneously and inexplicably--or they are miraculously, irrevocably changed, some for the better, and some for the worse.

The first half of this book is a phenomenal. 17-year-old Alex is transformed by the big event in ways that she can't understand. She is saddled with an angry 8-year-old and an attractive ex-Army guy who's hiding secrets, and they all must find safety and shelter from the other survivors who are no longer...human. The prologue is well-written and compelling, and I was drawn to the bleak, lonely mood and stark setting right from the very beginning. I liked the strong but fragile Alex, and I was thoroughly engrossed by the incredible suspense and visceral, shudder-inducing scenes that will be forever seared into my memory.

But literally halfway through the book, something really odd happens. During a tense standoff with a band of vicious kidnappers, one of the three people in Alex's group is shot. This cliffhanger ends one chapter and when the next one begins, the story takes up three days later. WHAT? (view spoiler) Talk about leaving your readers high and dry! From that point on, things stop making any kind of sense at all. The story changes tone completely, there is a whole new cast of characters, the story is poorly plotted, the writing became disjointed, and every single element I liked about the first half of the book was completely abandoned. Alex herself suddenly seems like she's just stumbling from one random encounter to the next, and by the time it all ended with a somewhat interesting but predictable cliffhanger, I was ready to abandon them all to whatever horrible munchy fate might befall them.

It is such a shock to go from loving a book and then to being completely annoyed with it, so I had no idea what to do about rating this one. The first half of this book is literally a 5 star read for me (and I don't give 5 stars that often), but the second half is maybe a 1.5. It's as if the second portion was written by a completely different person! What a disappointment.

I really wish that these problems had been fixed in the outlining stage, but certainly they should have been sorted out by the time the manuscript made it through several drafts and edits and rewrites. I really regret the wasted potential of the amazing first 240 pages, as well as fantastic premise. I don't know if I'll ever recover from the abrupt downhill hurtle that this book plunged down; I finished this novel 5 days ago and I'm still mad at it.

First 240 pages: 5 stars + Second 240 pages: 1.5 stars ÷ incredible disappointment = lackluster 3 stars.

This review also appears in The Midnight Garden. An advance copy was provided by the publisher..
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Oct 04, 2012 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: die hard zombie fans

Recommended to Carol by: Trudi

Shelves: zombies, young-adult, friend-recommended, female-lead, apocalypse

Unfortunately, while Ashes was an interesting book--it did manage the triptych of the apocalypse (wilderness survival, cross-country travel-survival, and dealing-with-deviants survival)--it was troubled by plotting, narrative jumps and character consistency. I'd call it a three-star read--good enough to survive a little longer, but it could go either way next season. Call it the 'Carol' character of The Walking Dead. Might get more interesting, but just as likely to get killed.

Our protagonist is...more

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Jun 28, 2011 Maja rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: readalong, zombies-zombies-everywhere, netgalley, post-apocalyptic, huge-disappointment, moments-of-great-frustration, never-saw-it-coming, cliffhanger-ending, reviewed-in-2011

I hate having to review this book. I've spent the last 24 hours thinking about it, trying to figure out a way to point out the good and the bad, instead of just listing all the things that annoyed me. Here’s my conclusion: the only remotely fair thing to do is to write two separate reviews: one of the first and one of the second half of the book.

First half: ***** (five stars)
The first half of Ashes was one of the best things I’ve read recently, and that’s saying a lot! It was amazingly well wri...more I hate having to review this book. I've spent the last 24 hours thinking about it, trying to figure out a way to point out the good and the bad, instead of just listing all the things that annoyed me. Here’s my conclusion: the only remotely fair thing to do is to write two separate reviews: one of the first and one of the second half of the book.

First half: ***** (five stars)
The first half of Ashes was one of the best things I’ve read recently, and that’s saying a lot! It was amazingly well written, fast paced, with interesting, layered characters and a compelling plot.
Alex is a 17-year-old girl with a brain tumor. She’s lost her parents a few years back and is now living with her aunt, but she spends most of her time in the hospital. At the beginning of Ashes, she is out of the hospital and has just decided not to do any more treatments, seeing as they are not helping her in any way. Instead, she chooses to go hiking in the wilderness. There she meets an old man and his granddaughter Ellie and shares a meal with them. Shortly after that, an EMP wipes out every electronic device and kills the old man in the process. That leaves Alex with the 8-year-old girl to take care of and some new abilities she doesn’t fully understand.
After only a short walk, the girls stumble upon two teenagers who are eating another human. It becomes pretty obvious that the EMP affected human brains as well as the electronic devices. But why then did Alex and Ellie remain unchanged?!
Ok, so we have a great plot, interesting characters, a subtle love story AND zombies eating intestants and gouging out people’s eyes. It’s no wonder we were all so thrilled. But then the second half came…

Second half: ** (two stars)
I can pinpoint the exact moment where it all went wrong. From the end of one chapter to the beginning of the next, everything changed. Ashes went from being amazing to being utterly unimaginative and even boring at times. I had to force myself to finish it. It picked up the pace again on the last 50 pages or so, but only to make the most horrible, cliffhanger ending possible.

Here are some of my problems with the book:
- Alex is 17, but she is far too skilled and mature for that to be believable, even more so because she's been very sick for a very long time. People who spend years in the hospital usually don’t know that much about surviving in the wilderness. She could have been book smart, sure, but building fires?!? I don't think so. She kept saying that her father taught her, but he was dead by the time she entered her teen years.
- I had the same problem with her knowledge of medicine. Apparently her mother was a doctor and they used to spend their time together stitching up chickens. Honestly, I don’t know a single teen or pre-teen that interested in his/her parent’s work.
- I hate cliffhanger endings, and this was the mother of them all! I don’t understand why authors feel the need to do that! A cliffhanger ending will make me less likely to read the next book, not more! And this particular author likes cliffhangers so much, she even ended a few chapters with them. When you end a chapter with a cliffhanger and start the next one with the words Three days later , you can count on losing a few readers.

Maybe Ilsa J. Bick is a pseudonym for two people, much like Ilona Andrews, only these two people don’t get along as well?!? I will still read the next book when it comes out, but I can’t say I’m too happy about it.

Michelle R., Wendy Darling and Bonnie have made this experience much better than it would have been without them. Thanks, girls!
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Jul 11, 2011 Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker rated it 2 of 5 stars

2.5 stars out of 5

The story:

Alex, has a brain tumor. She does not want any more treatments, is tired of hospitals, treatments, and false hope. So, when you are questioning your own survival, what do you do? You go on a “survival” trip! Ok. We straight here? Good.

So, Alex is in the woods. She is just minding her own business, being the withdrawn, moody teenager, when she meets 8 year old Ellie and Ellie’s grandfather. We don’t need to go into the details of Ellie but let’s just nickname her “s...more

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Oct 22, 2011 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-with-no-ending, better-than-i-expected, gloomy, horror, make-room-for-that-sequel, young-adult, weird-world-building, zombies, paranormal, zombies-by-any-other-name

Imagine two fish swimming around in a big fish tank. There's a castle and a little treasure chest that opens up to send bubbles shooting up in the water. One fish is bright blue and the other is neon orange. They're about the same size and they definitely look like they'd swim around together in the ocean if left to their devices. Now imagine the very strange owner hacking the two fish in half and stitching the top of the blue fish to the lower half of the orange fish with crude Frankenstein-esq...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Bonnie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian-post-apocalyptic, ya, zombies-like-brains, arcs-read, seriously-disappointing, edelweiss-netgalley

I totally read this. And.. I also reviewed this. Why was it completed removed from my shelf GoodReads??! I don't care if you don't like my negative reviews, you're just going to have to deal.

A-ha! I guess something good has come of maintaining a blog; I had posted my review on there.

2.5 stars
‘Ashes’ is the story of Alex, a 17 year old girl with an inoperable brain tumor who leaves home by herself to go on a camping trip. While out in the wilderness, an event occurs that prevents the use of her...more I totally read this. And.. I also reviewed this. Why was it completed removed from my shelf GoodReads??! I don't care if you don't like my negative reviews, you're just going to have to deal.

A-ha! I guess something good has come of maintaining a blog; I had posted my review on there.

2.5 stars
‘Ashes’ is the story of Alex, a 17 year old girl with an inoperable brain tumor who leaves home by herself to go on a camping trip. While out in the wilderness, an event occurs that prevents the use of her electronic devices; she later discovers that an EMP had gone off and had not only shut down all electronic devices but killed billions. She begins caring for 8 year old Ellie as her grandfather was one of the first people killed by the EMP. Alex begins noticing that she’s changing in ways that she can’t explain. For one, her brain tumor had caused her to lose her sense of smell and taste but following the EMP those senses not only come back to her but they are heightened like never before. The changes continue in her throughout the story.

First impressions? Alex was not an immediately likable character but she does grow on you after some time. I’d say around the time the other main character, Tom, is introduced she starts acting like a likable human being.

Second? This CANNOT be a young adult book. This was one of the most gruesome books I have read in a LONG time. Not to say it wasn’t amazing, because it was, but planning meals around reading this book to make sure that you’re don’t have food in your stomach and/or are about to eat was essential. (I can stomach most things, I’m not exactly squeamish, but man can this author describe your internal organs. Lol)

One main issue I have with this book, which actually is an issue I have with many ‘YA’ books, is the situations that the author puts the characters in and how these characters act in these situations does not fit their age. The way that Alex acts in this book does not fit a 17 year old I don’t care how mature you are for your age. Tom was a bit more believable because he was in his 20’s and he had been in the army and had proper training and such.
Possible spoilers…

My second issue was the fact that the first half of the book was super exciting and I loved every minute of it. It seemed like as soon as I hit 50% it just went immediately downhill. She got to the town Rule and I got seriously lost because all of these new characters were thrown in the mix and I got so confused keeping everybody straight. Plus? No zombies. No gruesome gory internal organ comments. Just life in this weird religious cult amish society. Just weird. I was trending on 4 stars up until the second half. And I missed Tom. No Tom, no zombies, the second half sucked. The author seemed to be following an interesting path in the storyline but then at the half mark she went in a completely different direction and I didn’t like it one bit. It seemed to me as if the first half was about survival and the bonds of friendship and such, and then the second half turned into some weird love triangle and it was completely inappropriate as far as I’m concerned. Didn’t fit at all with the rest of the story.

Compared to the many other dystopian novels I’ve read recently, this one lacked the realism that many others had. Ashfall, for example, was believable and you could imagine each and every eventually happening. With this novel, I don’t know if these characters just had bad luck but it just seemed to me like they were constantly dealing with a ridiculous amount of shit. Sure the world has gone to hell, but these damn kids just could not catch a break. Maybe that’s the way it’ll truly be if things like this ever happen, but for me it just didn’t seem realistic.

It’s not often that I will read a book that is the start of a new series and not want to continue. There’s either a cliffhanger that forces me to or an overall desire to see what happens to the characters. The ending of this book did not have me feeling the need to continue, the last half of the book just ruined the good parts, very disappointed!(less)

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Oct 29, 2011 Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, dystopia, zombies, ya

A dog a man's best friend and in this case a girls, Alex the main protagonist in this story.
A story set in the backdrop of a desolate land forsaken with an ever growing amount of people, particularly young, transforming into Zombies. Alex tries to come to terms with her fate set before her. She has a sense of smell which is far more greater than the average persons capabilities, she can sniff out the Zombies, the dogs she encounters in this story seem to sense that too. She is 15 and an orphan...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Catie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, read-in-2012, series, speculative-fiction, ya

I don’t read too many of these survival-y books anymore, especially when they’re of the young adult variety. I tend to get bored and zone out when confronted with pages and pages of endless action, but I’m in a book club now and I’m trying to be good. I felt especially obligated to read this one because I already skipped the one from last month. Even though this book is very decidedly an ACTION, gore, survival, DRAMA read, I’m glad I tried it.

The best part of this book for me was that it was na...more I don’t read too many of these survival-y books anymore, especially when they’re of the young adult variety. I tend to get bored and zone out when confronted with pages and pages of endless action, but I’m in a book club now and I’m trying to be good. I felt especially obligated to read this one because I already skipped the one from last month. Even though this book is very decidedly an ACTION, gore, survival, DRAMA read, I’m glad I tried it.

The best part of this book for me was that it was narrated by Katherine Kellgren. She’s one of my all-time favorite audiobook narrators, and as Flannery pointed out, I may or may not have somewhat of a crush on this woman. (The most awesome thing is that if we got married and had the same last name, except for our first initials we’d essentially have the same name. That would probably come in handy for taxes and stuff.) The worst part of this book for me was the ACTIONACTIONACTION, which is about 75% of the book. Thankfully, when Katherine Kellgren is narrating those parts she reminds me so much of Anne Shirley reciting The Highwayman in the Kevin Sullivan adaptation of Anne of Green Gables that I couldn’t help smiling through my utter boredom.

The book begins with the main character Alex heading out for an extended camping trip in the wilderness. She has been struggling with cancer for several years and finally decides to seize what life she has left and enjoy it – in the woods. Which, except for the seclusion, is completely not how I would choose to spend my remaining days. Give me a nice hotel room with a well-stocked pantry, internet access, and a giant library so I don’t need to speak to anyone and we’re golden. Or failing that, how about indoor plumbing? I feel like indoor plumbing is a necessity for my final days. Anyway, it turns out that Alex made the right choice in this situation because a few days into her trip an electromagnetic pulse kills off the majority of the adult population, leaving behind only a handful of the elderly and many large hordes of teenage cannibalistic killing machines (why this strange pulse kills some and zombifies others is never really explained). Alex is one of the few teenagers left “spared” and with Ellie, a young girl she meets at her campsite and Tom, another spared, she struggles to navigate this new world.

This book is wilderness survival from start to finish, but the electromagnetic pulse-activated zombie teenager survival and controlling cult society survival (which she throws in at around the halfway point) really kept me interested. Water rationing/shelter building/foraging for food can only entertain me for so long – but give me twisty/dark psychological action and survival and I can hang in there.

Ellie is one of the most annoying little girl characters in the entire world, and this is coming from someone who has the kind of tolerance for little girl whining that can only be gained through almost seven years of constant exposure to it. I also had a hard time with Alex’s feelings for Tom (as if you didn’t see that coming). Her perceived connection to him felt way too sudden for me, although; by the end of the first half I could see why they would be fairly close.

It’s mainly for these reasons that I am probably the only person(if all of my friends’ reviews are to be believed) who actually liked the second half of this book more than the first. Number one, I was quite happy to see Tom and Ellie exit the stage. Number two, the crazy claustrophobic and misogynistic environment of Rule was so much more interesting to me than the woods. However, by the end Alex’s voice really started to grate on me - to the point where I actually started longing for a little Ellie time. I felt like Alex spent every single moment when she wasn’t engaging in ACTIONACTIONACTION either debating with herself about hypothetical details or making wild conjectures about Rule – all without spending any time actually looking for evidence that would support her theories. She just makes assumption after assumption after assumption. It drove me insane. Her actions at the end of the book make absolutely no sense to me.

Overall, this was an entertaining read with a fantastic narrator that kept me going through the more tedious portions of my life. It ends on a massive cliffhanger, so be prepared for that. I was unable to stop myself from requesting the sequel and plowing right into it. I’ll be posting a review for Shadows later this week!

Also seen at The Readventurer.(less)

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Nov 18, 2011 Reynje rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: face-punch-endings, read-2011, unexpectedly-liked, welcome-to-the-apocalypse, young-adult

Everything was going so well..

...relatively speaking. Things were going as well as can be expected when a series of massive electromagnetic pulses has sent the world hurtling into a nuclear maelstrom. People have dropped dead on the spot. Birds have fallen from the sky. Deer have flung themselves off cliffs. And some people have turned completely, cannibalistically feral.

So when I say things were going well, I mean that Bick was spinning a very compelling story.

Seventeen year old Alex is hiking...more

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Oct 19, 2011 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombies-eat-ur-brains, teenage-dream-wannabee, dystopia, favorites

Alex wouldn't do this. Because she's a nice person. The kind who helps small children, dogs, grandpa figures, and LOVERS (well, at some point, anyway)from the ZOMBIE HORDES and post-apocalyptic REBELS who are willing to KILL and EAT you for the taste of some used chewing gum you had in your mouth. Or an old boot. Or a paperback book from the local library. WHAT HAVE YOU. Doesn't take much when an EMP bomb explodes and everyone is fighting for survival in the barren wilderness that we like to ca...more

Alex wouldn't do this. Because she's a nice person. The kind who helps small children, dogs, grandpa figures, and LOVERS (well, at some point, anyway)from the ZOMBIE HORDES and post-apocalyptic REBELS who are willing to KILL and EAT you for the taste of some used chewing gum you had in your mouth. Or an old boot. Or a paperback book from the local library. WHAT HAVE YOU. Doesn't take much when an EMP bomb explodes and everyone is fighting for survival in the barren wilderness that we like to call "Michigan."

So, yes, Alex is a good person, who has a special power--(not telling, nope), and is on her own, trying to navigate the wasteland we like to call the "Midwest."

I didn't want to like this book. The budding adult inside of me resisted---(Really?? Another zombie book with a love tie-in and creepy swarms of religious fanatics...really Emily, do need MORE OF THAT)??? But apparently, yes, YES, I did, because I really loved this book--despite the fact that I now feel like painting my nails glittery purple and putting glow-in-the-dark stars and planets on my bedroom ceiling. It was a good thriller, and I didn't mind the about face in the middle of the book-- because it seemed, at least to me, realistic and added further SUSPENSE to an already creepy and ZOMBIE INFESTED novel. He, he, he, he:

And the protagonist, Alex, wasn't some whiny over-the-top teen queen who felt sorry for herself in the least, although given her personal situation (inner demons, anyone)??, she had every reason to be. I liked her; I liked the premise. She made me think about starting to gather up a fanny pack consisting of: wire, matches, ammo, some animal fat, and jello shots (yes, yes it's true), so that if I EVER feel like I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT, I will also go out into the wilderness and be one with nature and hopefully encounter some ZOMBIES that I CAN KILL.

So, the whole zombie/forest hiking/love triangle/forced into motherhood at a young age/crazy nut resembling that bad dude in "Apocalypse Now", or that guy in "Blood Meridian" (even better), really worked for me. And I dug it. And so I guess I'm not totally grown up yet. And...that's okay. Because I'll need that immaturity/swiftness/creativity when the brain eating machines get here.

Ouch.

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Oct 09, 2011 oliviasbooks rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Readers who liked "Released" by Duncan

Recommended to oliviasbooks by: Infinite Playlist

Shelves: horror, scifi-dystopian-apocalyptic, young-adult-fiction, zombies-monsters, cliffhanger, high-entertainment-factor, read-2011, road-trips, sequel-no-thank-you, swapped-or-given-away

"Ashes" is a uniquely-set example of zombie dystopia that manages to keep the reader on her or his toes with a lot of action, a compassionate, brave and stong heroine, a cute-kid-sidekick, who repeatedly puts a strained smile on the worried reader's face, a loyal dog and a likable, but difficult-to-grasp kind-of-love-interest (Forget what the book-flap says. Don't expect a romance novel, please.):

After two years of chemo and nano-pebbles and other ineffective treatments seventeen-years-old orpha...more "Ashes" is a uniquely-set example of zombie dystopia that manages to keep the reader on her or his toes with a lot of action, a compassionate, brave and stong heroine, a cute-kid-sidekick, who repeatedly puts a strained smile on the worried reader's face, a loyal dog and a likable, but difficult-to-grasp kind-of-love-interest (Forget what the book-flap says. Don't expect a romance novel, please.):

After two years of chemo and nano-pebbles and other ineffective treatments seventeen-years-old orphan Alex has given up on fighting her tennis-ball-sized brain tumor. Armed with some gear and a heavy case (I pretty much guessed from the beginning what it contained, but it was kept a secret for three quarters of the book. (view spoiler)) she sets out to hike through the wilderness toward Lake Superior.

She has just shaken hands with an an old guy on a fishing-trip and his whiny eight-years-old grand-daughter Ellie, when something later identified as an electromagnetic pulse kills off all electronics - including Jack's pulse-maker and a lot of birds and game. Interestingly Alexs instantly not only gets back the sense of smell her tumor had previously eliminated, but is able to use it at a superhuman capacity, too. In addition she loses the slight tremor in her left hand and shortly after that - because of Ellie - most of her outdoor equippment and food. After surviving a couple of kids who were gorging themselves with the intestines of a lone camper, Alex starts to develop alarming theories about what happened to whom, in which perimeter and why Ellie's and her own brain did not turn them into juvenile cannibalists. But there is not really time to ponder, because the girls are attacked by a small pack of wild dogs and later by another "brain-zap" - who gets shot just in time by the youngish soldier Tom. Tom claims to be on holiday leave from his duty in Afghanistan and seems to have his own difficult past.

At this point the road trip/hell ride really takes off, takes some shocking, some ruthless and some unexpected turns and finally lets us hang on a real, stomach-droppingly, fist-in-the-mouth, blink-blink-blink-do-not-mess-with-me cliffhanger that costs my rating a fully filled-in and carefully lined star. (view spoiler)

Otherwise I liked "Ashes" (at least the first, "road-trip-style" part) quite well. But not well enough to rate it five stars (if you put the cliffy aside, I mean). And not well enough to buy the sequel, either. Some strange things about the settlement "Rule" and the relevation about it works bothered me a lot in the last third, but I am too exhausted to pull them out of the fogginess of my setting-saturated mind. Maybe I will prod/study some enlightening reviews later.

If you consider reading a rather interesting, no-filter-gruesome Zombie dystopia, "Ashes" is definitely no bad choice. But if you asked me, I would in all likelihood say: "Buy Enclave first!", because it was simply better rounded, had a far stronger pull on my emotions and a hero that stole a larger chunk of my heart. Still, "Ashes" is better constructed than the also fast-paced, pretty similarly-set, but city-based, romance-induced and self-published monster apocalypse Released, which is to be had as a Kindle version for almost nothing.(less)

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Jul 09, 2011 Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

2.5 stars out of 5

The story:

Alex, has a brain tumor. She does not want any more treatments, is tired of hospitals, treatments, and false hope. So, when you are questioning your own survival, what do you do? You go on a “survival” trip! Ok. We straight here? Good.

So, Alex is in the woods. She is just minding her own business, being the withdrawn, moody teenager, when she meets 8 year old Ellie and Ellie’s grandfather. We don’t need to go into the details of Ellie but let’s just nickname her “supe...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-bitten, squeemers

When I first saw Ilsa's new book in a Publisher's Weekly article highlighting look-out YA books at BEA this year, I emailed her immediately and started hunting for her publicist's information to get a copy. I loved, loved, LOVED Draw the Dark so much that Ilsa could have written PUDDING!!! in blue crayon for 180 pages and I still would have wanted to read it. Guys, I don't love books like this very often but DRAW? OMFG love. So I saw a chance to jump at ASHES and I took it.

After some back and fo...more When I first saw Ilsa's new book in a Publisher's Weekly article highlighting look-out YA books at BEA this year, I emailed her immediately and started hunting for her publicist's information to get a copy. I loved, loved, LOVED Draw the Dark so much that Ilsa could have written PUDDING!!! in blue crayon for 180 pages and I still would have wanted to read it. Guys, I don't love books like this very often but DRAW? OMFG love. So I saw a chance to jump at ASHES and I took it.

After some back and forth I ended up with a copy and my ultimate goal was to read it before BEA and then gush about it here and send my attending readers over to her signings to get copies. Obviously I'm just reviewing it now but gush I did already. And I hadn't even finished it at that point. Now that I've finished it, I want to consume it piece by piece, perhaps marinated in a nice remoulade sauce, so I an absorb her talent for my own.

Srsly, ASHES is an apocalyptic/dystopian novel that all other YA apocalyptic/dystopian novels should aspire to. None of those lazy worldbuilding, OMG lurve triangle piles of horse poop. Well, there's a little bit of a love triangle but it's more like two disjointed lines that haven't connected yet that are on like 25% opacity in Photoshop. It's all about the world and the characters surviving in it. Everything is so expertly figured out that it's hard, if not impossible, to find loopholes in the logic. The shit that should happen does. Nothing is conveniently explained away. There are no fades to black and then POOF everything is better. Logic rules. Science rules. This all makes the story pwn.

Alex is one hell of a strong, resilient character that almost wasn't. To keep this review spoiler-free, I won't say why but I will say when this girl needs to keep pushing forward, there isn't much that'll be able to stand in her way. And just when you think she gives up, she slaps you upside the head and proves you wrong. Ellie is the type of character you want to slap. Yeah she's young and scared but Alex is a better person than I probably would be if our roles were switched. Would I leave Ellie behind? No. Would I slap the snot right out of her when she gets petulant? Probably. At the very least be screaming my head off. My patience with children is pretty low under normal circumstances. And Tom. Dear Tom. What a saving grace he was. A perfect compliment, filling in the gaps in Alex's survival knowledge. And I loved how Ilsa balanced that relationship that, for the most part, wasn't there like it is in many other similar books.

One of the reasons why I liked ASHES so much. Romance isn't the focus. It's hardly even a blip on the radar. The book is about the world, the destruction of it and these characters' subsequent survival. Romance is tertiary at best and that's how I like it. There's just enough in there to spark something but she has you so sucked into the world that it doesn't really matter.

Ilsa's writing is detailed almost to a fault. There were a couple of places where it went on a little too long and gave a few too many details that probably wouldn't have hurt the story if they were removed but ultimately I didn't mind. All that detail played well when it mattered. Again, no spoilers but I will recommend not reading this book while eating anything. There were many times I found myself a little nauseous reading some of the things that happened. In a good way, if that's possible.

I alluded to it before but I'll say it straight out: Ilsa is merciless with her characters. She shows them no mercy. Anything that can happen to them will. They don't get reprieves, they don't get spared, they don't amazingly escape dangerous situations without some damage done at least. Logic holds strong to these characters and just because Alex is the MC doesn't mean she's boo-boo free. Holy hell no. If anything she gets it the worst. Ilsa does everything with her characters that I hope to do with mine. It takes true bravery to submit your babies to this kind of torture and I commend her for it. Not many authors do this and it makes her work all the stronger for it.

And last but not least, there are zombies. Sort of. They're not the already-dead-and-then-alive type of zombies. They're Changed. And evolving. Oh man they evolve and that makes them all the more terrifying.

Seriously, this book is terrifying. It will have you looking up at the sky and wondering what if. Because it could happen. It makes sense. So why wouldn't it? Truly frightening that at any second ZAP! Gone. And what then? ASHES is the type of apocalyptic/dystopian novel that gives other like-minded novels complexes. It puts them to shame in terms of worldbuilding and character development. And the ending? GAHHHHHHHHHHHH! If you don't want to read more after that ending, then go to a hospital and have them check your pulse because I think you might be dead.

Read ASHES. Now. Or when it comes out. You will not regret it.(less)

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Mar 16, 2012 Matt Mead Teen Programming Specialist rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, sci-fi, ya-fiction, 2012-teens-top-10, reviewed

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an ARC of Ilsa Bick's fantastic new book Ashes, which is scheduled for publication in September.

I enjoyed Draw the Dark, but this book totally blew me away. I'm almost sad that I got it as an ARC since now I'll have to wait longer for the sequel than I would have had to wait if I had picked up this book in September. The plot is original and well paced. There are structural similarities to the Hunger Games and Dashner's The Maze Runner that give this book a...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Ceridwen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: america-and-environs, not-for-me-maybe-for-you, reviewed, young-adult, zombies

I don't mean this nastily, but this book did not do it for me. Mostly I think it's wrong-book-wrong-time syndrome, so you shouldn't take my grousing too seriously. This may be a good book for you, whoever you are, and my two-stars "its ok" means exactly that: it's ok.

Teenage Alex, who is dying of a brain tumor, goes off to the Wisconsin woods to go on walkabout after her parent die and she realizes, given the tumor, she may never have the chance again. A weird pulse goes off seemingly curing he...more I don't mean this nastily, but this book did not do it for me. Mostly I think it's wrong-book-wrong-time syndrome, so you shouldn't take my grousing too seriously. This may be a good book for you, whoever you are, and my two-stars "its ok" means exactly that: it's ok.

Teenage Alex, who is dying of a brain tumor, goes off to the Wisconsin woods to go on walkabout after her parent die and she realizes, given the tumor, she may never have the chance again. A weird pulse goes off seemingly curing her ailments but killing anyone between the ages of 20 and 60. Young'uns (roughly anyone past the age of puberty) who are not killed in the pulse transform into bloodthirsty zombie monsters. But not Alex, of course. She's with a grandpa and his grandchild charge, a 9- or 10- year old Ellie, when the pulse happens, and the section dealing with the grandfather's death was really good.

This should be a slam dunk for me. Here's some zomzomzom fic taking place in an area I know well enough to sit up and take notice: the snow-wintering Midwest, with its small-towned small-mindedness. Then Ellie settles in like a headache. I haven't encountered a child character as sucky as Ellie in a long while. My son is near her age, and if he said any of the stupid, obvious shit she does, even if I were bleeding out in my oldness, I would rise from my grave and put him down. This is what we call parenting, when we are being obnoxious. No child character should be allowed to speak as plainly and act as plot-inducingly as this. Time out, snot-nose. You go lay by your dish.

I didn't even have a problem with the shift mid-book, which had our principle, Alex (view spoiler) That was actually kind of cool, nodding towards the randomness of survival in a wasted America. You will not get what you want. The end of the world was not designed so you can fall in love and have babies to repopulate the Earth. This isn't about reforming a nuclear family in a wasteland to make the reader feel better. Good.

But, then she falls in with small town, but with seeekrits, I totally lost interest in the cult dynamics, and fast. I spent my giving a crap on unworthy Ellie and an obviously damaged love interest, so when we started into character sketches for people who were clearly evil and insane, I was all a-meh. I skipped ahead to the ending, which had a nice, evil snap to it, like a Twilight Zone episode - oh god, my glasses! how will I reeeaaaad?! Then I realized I wasn't going to backtrack and read the events leading up to the snap. There wasn't enough here here to keep me going. The prose is workmanlike, and often really good in places, but not good enough to keep me from skipping to end and spoiling myself on the twist.

Plus, I keep seeing these nutty religious cults popping up in post-apocalit, and they are beginning to bother me. They feel like easy targets - omg, maybe we're the real mindless monsters, have you ever thought of that?? - and I'm just getting tired of authors taking aim at the side of that barn. Yes, I think we can all agree that secretive, insular communities run by charismatic leadership are a bad idea. Moreover, I just don't buy that this kind of community would have such a well-developed ethos just a few months after the pulse.

But that is just me, and if you are looking for some fast-paced zombie thrills, you could do a lot worse. (less)

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Jul 10, 2011 Marg K. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 3-star-rating

In a lot of aspects, Ashes reminded me of Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield, which I totally adored. The writing was engagingly descriptive and the imagery was incredibly vivid (and often gruesome). Ilsa J. Bick held nothing back in her portrayal of the horrors the young protagonists had to face throughout their perilous journey. There was lots of blood & gore as well as fight-for-your-life action. Also, there were many twists, revelations, and an unrelenting assortment of obstacles. If someth...more In a lot of aspects, Ashes reminded me of Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield, which I totally adored. The writing was engagingly descriptive and the imagery was incredibly vivid (and often gruesome). Ilsa J. Bick held nothing back in her portrayal of the horrors the young protagonists had to face throughout their perilous journey. There was lots of blood & gore as well as fight-for-your-life action. Also, there were many twists, revelations, and an unrelenting assortment of obstacles. If something could go wrong, it did. And whenever the protagonists had the briefest moment of peace, a tsunami-sized wave of trouble came rolling their way.

Out of all the very different characters that were introduced in the book, Alex was definitely the most developed and interesting one. What I really loved about her was how intelligent, determined, strong-willed, and resourceful she was. Her father was a cop who, via numerous camping & hiking trips, taught her how to survive in the wilderness. Thus, when the world pretty much goes to hell, Alex takes all of the knowledge & skills she acquired throughout her childhood and puts it to good use, saving not only herself but also a little girl named Ellie. I really admired that about her.

Speaking of Ellie, she initially reminded me of the traumatic babysitting experiences of my past, when I was bribed & coerced into looking after little Spawns of Satan. Just like those evil brats, she was deceptively cute with her twin pigtails & Hello Kitty backpack until she opened her mouth to reveal the mini-bitch inside. Listen, I don’t normally wish ill-will towards children, but there was a time at the beginning of the book when I crossed my fingers and hoped that either Alex accidently-on-purpose pushed her off the side of the cliff or that Ellie turned into a zombie and Alex was then forced to shoot her in the face. Ironically, a few chapters further, Ellie did a complete 180 and so did my feelings towards her. She turned into a sweet, lovable kid, who provided several funny, heart-warming, and tear-jerker moments. And I went from wanting her dead to yelling, “You better not let anything happen to Ellie, you hear me Alex!”

And then there was Tom. Sadly, despite being likable, he was never fully fleshed out. I also never connected with his and Alex’s relationship. I understood how & why it formed. After all, they were brought together by scary circumstances, compelled to rely on one another for survival, and forced to take care of a child. Furthermore, as Alex pointed out, the experiences they had to endure transformed the three of them into a sort of family. Nonetheless, even though I felt the sisterly bond that developed between Alex & Ellie, I never felt the romantic bond that developed between Alex & Tom. I don’t really know why…perhaps due to lack of chemistry and Tom’s two-dimensionality.

Unfortunately, I have some more bad news. As much as the first two-thirds of the book totally rocked my world, the last third bored, disappointed, and kinda pissed me off. This was the point in the story in which Alex finds herself in a cult-like town called Rule filled with creepy religious zealots. I actually liked the inclusion of the town because it explored several interesting (and ugly) aspects of human nature, but I hated how Alex changed during her stay there.

She went from being a resilient, mature, tough young woman to a whiny, pliant, self-centered teenager with an attitude problem. I was also disgusted with how quickly she was able to almost completely forget about Tom & Ellie and develop feelings for another guy—someone who she barely talked to and admitted not trusting. Moreover, she kept disapproving of a lot of Rule’s laws, customs, and beliefs, but she did absolutely nothing to challenge them. In fact, she soon started to passively accept them. Now, I recognize that there may very well have been some sort of Stockholm Syndrome thing going on, but Alex’s inaction and drastic behavior change seemed seriously out of character.

Furthermore, way too much time (about 160 pages) was spent in the town and nothing all that exciting happened there until the very end. Actually, those last 10-20 pages luckily managed to win back some of the cool points the book had lost and reminded me of how awesome the story was before the killjoy pit stop at Rule (aka Cult Snoozeville).

So, despite my qualms with a portion of the book, there was a lot that I thoroughly enjoyed. I found the twist on the traditional zombie concept as well as Alex’s special ability to be fascinating and well utilized in the story. Additionally, I am really interested in seeing what happens next and if/how Alex will be reunited with Tom & Ellie. I’m also really hoping Alex goes back to her old self and forgets all about whatshisface lame love interest #2.(less)

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Mar 19, 2011 Jake Rideout rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was completely not what I was expecting. Although, rereading the back, I'm not sure why I was so surprised. The back cover reads:

An electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky, destroying every electronic device and killing billions. For those spared, it's a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human...

Desperate to find out what happened and to avoid the Changed, Alex meets up with Tom--a young army veteran--and Ellie, a young girl whose grandfather was killed by the e...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Lilli Perspice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, its-a-freaky-world, audiobook, for-the-youngins, reviewed

One thing about audiobooks--I don't keep track of how much longer I have to get to the end. I just listen until they're done. So when the nice announcer came on to tell me that was the end of my audiobook, I was screaming at him, THAT'S IT?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Overall, I really liked Ashes. I listened to it faster than I normally do for audiobooks because I didn't just limit it to my exercise time. I wanted to know what happened! I listened to it for hours while lazing on my bed at night, pictu...more One thing about audiobooks--I don't keep track of how much longer I have to get to the end. I just listen until they're done. So when the nice announcer came on to tell me that was the end of my audiobook, I was screaming at him, THAT'S IT?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Overall, I really liked Ashes. I listened to it faster than I normally do for audiobooks because I didn't just limit it to my exercise time. I wanted to know what happened! I listened to it for hours while lazing on my bed at night, picturing this horrific scenario that Alex ends up in, which just kept getting worse and worse. I was fascinated and horrified and intrigued, and those are all good things.

I did feel a definite lack of resolution to, well, pretty much everything, and that's one of the reasons this is 4 stars instead of 5. I can understand if you're planning a series and you leave things undone. However, in this book, we get the buildup to some really great story lines (view spoiler) but no real pay off. That's left me slightly peevish, but I'm willing to overlook that because this book has some great stuff: interesting end-of-the-world scenario, flesh-eating teenagers (finally, their true natures are revealed!), a pack of intelligent feral dogs that likes human meat, an angsty (and apparently hot if you're a 17-year-old girl) army guy, a tantrum throwing 8-year-old who has just had enough (okay, so I didn't enjoy listening to this part at all but I can kinda see where the kid is coming from). Oh, and lots of creepy old people who finally get to gun down those goddamn walking-on-the-lawn, having-late-parties-and-blaring-music (don't forget flesh-eating) teenagers (You know you've been wanting to do that forever, old people!).

Since this one was an audiobook, I do have a few comments on the narrator. While I respect her talent in voicing all of the characters in dialogue, the in-between parts of narration told from the point of view of Alex, whose internal dialogue reflects her teenagerhood, were a miss for me. The narrator's voice for this seemed to belong to a middle-aged woman of particularly good breeding, and so Alex's thoughts often seemed to belong to someone else entirely. Also, the action scenes--and there were a bunch--seemed a bit over the top; lots of rapid breathing and quivering voice. It was just too much for me. I'd give the narration 3 out of 5 stars because overall I did enjoy it.
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Aug 17, 2011 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: post-apocalyptic YA fans

Shelves: ladies-with-strength

The beginning of this book sucked me in immediately with a very different sort of beginning compared to the average YA novel. Bick seems to create a well fleshed out character in Alex effortlessly. She is vulnerable for reasons I don't want to spoil, yet capable and independent. Like Alex, Tom quickly comes across as a real person, a genuinely good, real person. And Ellie. Ellie is a kid with issues. (I actually pictured Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl from the movie Kickass--attitude, not violence--wh...more The beginning of this book sucked me in immediately with a very different sort of beginning compared to the average YA novel. Bick seems to create a well fleshed out character in Alex effortlessly. She is vulnerable for reasons I don't want to spoil, yet capable and independent. Like Alex, Tom quickly comes across as a real person, a genuinely good, real person. And Ellie. Ellie is a kid with issues. (I actually pictured Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl from the movie Kickass--attitude, not violence--when I read Ellie.)

Not only are the characters intriguing and unique, but the plot! The plot is so different from what I've come to expect in the YA genre. It is gritty and suspenseful and plausible enough to willingly suspend my disbelief. It basically starts right before an apocalyptic event that changes most of the population in a catastrophic way and takes us beyond it into the very new post-apocalyptic landscape.

The problem with this book (why I didn't give it 5 stars) comes in just past the middle. I'm not exaggerating one bit when I say it reads like Bick had two VERY different versions of this manuscript and just spliced them together. Midway through everything about the focus of the book shifts. All of the existing plot threads and characters (with the exception of Alex) are basically cut and all new ones manifest the way they should in the beginning of a book.

For me this was a huge let down for the plot. Because the initial story arc basically gets severed, the resolution at the end of the book only addresses the new arc, challenges, and characters introduced halfway through the book. Another problem, that may just be personal preference, is that the first half was far superior to the second, so the drastic shift was even more disappointing. Also the strength I loved in Alex through the first half seemed conspicuously absent in the second half.

It's hard for me to discuss the details of this book without giving too much away, and half of the enjoyment for me with this story was the discovery. It's part sci-fi, part post-apocalypse, part zombie, part wilderness survival, and the telling was extremely visual and well-paced.

This is the strangest 3 stars I've ever given a book. What it really breaks down to is 5 stars for the first half of the book and 2 stars for the second half. I am very optimistic for the next book, hoping Bick can get the story back on track, and personally hoping she returns to some of the characters and plot threads she ditched halfway through.

(less)

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Jun 25, 2011 Mrs. ReaderPants rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, 5-stars

More reviews at http://readerpants.blogspot.com

What I liked: More, please!!! The Stand, The Hunger Games, Chaos Walking, and now Ashes. I do love me some apocalyptic fiction, and I read Ashes compulsively. I read it at the breakfast table, in the closet waiting out a tornado warning, in the bathroom, in the car, at the eye doctor, at the gym. I even skipped the American Idol Finale to finish it. When I wasn't reading it, I was talking it up to others or thinking about it. Quite simply, literary...more

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Oct 01, 2011 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adults-these-days, yikes, apocalyptastic

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Oh, what might have been! This starts out so good, so full of promise. The beginning is really scary. I stayed up reading after everyone had gone to bed, gripping my hands together in my lap & literally squirming, whispering, "No, no, don't go in there! No, don't do that!" There's something so unsettling in general about being in the woods & not knowing what the heck is going on, so when you add crazy zombie teenagers into the mix, it gets really freaky. There is some lovely imagery; whe...more Oh, what might have been! This starts out so good, so full of promise. The beginning is really scary. I stayed up reading after everyone had gone to bed, gripping my hands together in my lap & literally squirming, whispering, "No, no, don't go in there! No, don't do that!" There's something so unsettling in general about being in the woods & not knowing what the heck is going on, so when you add crazy zombie teenagers into the mix, it gets really freaky. There is some lovely imagery; when Alex & Tom & Ellie come upon the ranger's station glowing with light in the middle of the night, with the tinny music playing, I was besides myself with creep. The characters make some pretty stupid decisions in order to further the plot, but I suppose that's to be expected. If there had been a nuclear travesty that destroyed the country, if there were crazy, cannibal teenagers roaming around eating people, if there was a disturbing premium being placed on the lives of kids in this post-apocalyptic setting, I personally wouldn't let the 8-year-old take the dog for a walk, but you know, I'm not living in a YA novel. There's also the requisite love triangle - "I love Tom! But wait, now I think I love Chris! It's all so confusing!" - so be aware.

Unfortunately, Bick doesn't stay with what works. Halfway through, we leave all the zombie teenagers behind as Alex gets taken into a little town & is not allowed to leave. There's a whole lot of cultish, Bible-quoting, what is the council of Elders really up to? nonsense. It's impossible these days to read an apocalyptic book or see an apocalyptic movie without there being some spooky enclave of folks that are surviving "but at what price?!" & doing terrible things in order to stay safe. While this is supposed to show the terrifying lengths mankind is willing to go to in order to protect itself, it's kind of boring. Councils of Five (or Three, or Twelve), shadowy misdeads, forcibly keeping women against their will so they can make babies - I'm over it. I want what this book was poised to become: a wilderness survival novel with zombies. And cue the horrible, crashing cymbals - it has a sequel. I hate the sequel. (less)

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Oct 03, 2011 Chibineko rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: addicting, amazon-vine, awesomeness, bittersweet, butt-kicking-heroines, cool, dark, creepy, horror, post-apocalyptic, supernatural, young-adult, zombies

Zombies always have been and always will be one of my guilty pleasure forms of entertainment. Nothing quite creeps me out quite like they do, so it made sense to pick this as my first horror read of October.

At times I couldn't help but compare Ashes to other books with zombies in them, which makes sense. All of them tend to revolve around similar themes (zombies and the end of the world), so at some point all of them will have something that's familiar. With all of the books that abound, you're...more Zombies always have been and always will be one of my guilty pleasure forms of entertainment. Nothing quite creeps me out quite like they do, so it made sense to pick this as my first horror read of October.

At times I couldn't help but compare Ashes to other books with zombies in them, which makes sense. All of them tend to revolve around similar themes (zombies and the end of the world), so at some point all of them will have something that's familiar. With all of the books that abound, you're going to get that at some point. This book managed to stand out in several ways. One is that Bick has an awesome writing style that creeps under your skin and another is that Bick actually manages to create her zombies with an idea that's never really been done before. The idea of a big "Zap" (EMP wave) taking out so many people and causing zombies is incredibly novel and intriguing to me.

I also loved the characters in this book, but I'll admit that I liked a few of the minor characters better than the main character. Alex is well written, but how can anyone resist the standoffish Ellie? (There's another character I also liked, but I won't name them for spoiler reasons.) If Alex represents one of the people who reacts relatively well to a zombie horde (you know there'd have to be at least a few of them), then Ellie represents someone who doesn't. Her character is incredibly natural and easy to relate to, which is why she was one of my personal favorites.

This book read like it was the first in a series or trilogy, so I'm looking forward to seeing Bick write another book in this world. It was a little frustrating to see an ending that was sort of cliffhanger-ish, but I've read some of Bick's work before and knew to potentially expect an ending like this. It still didn't keep me from loving the book, though. As far as parents go, rest easy. This book might be a little more realistic than some of the other YA zombie books out there, but it's still far less graphic than your average zombie movie.

If you want a nice creepy zombie read for the Halloween season (or any other time of year), this is a must read.

EDIT:

I just discovered that sure enough, this is the first book in a trilogy. So rest easy knowing that this will be followed up in a future book.(less)

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Aug 24, 2011 Aylee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

In short: Though I disliked the last third of Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick, the first two thirds provided an intense, action-packed post-apoc/zombie thriller with great characterization.

Ashes is the latest post-apocalyptic/zombie book, this time featuring an electromagnetic pulse that kills some people, spares some people, and changes others into zombies. Alex, an orphan with a brain tumor, is one of the spared. With that background, she is already one tough girl and her nature aids her greatly in the...more In short: Though I disliked the last third of Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick, the first two thirds provided an intense, action-packed post-apoc/zombie thriller with great characterization.

Ashes is the latest post-apocalyptic/zombie book, this time featuring an electromagnetic pulse that kills some people, spares some people, and changes others into zombies. Alex, an orphan with a brain tumor, is one of the spared. With that background, she is already one tough girl and her nature aids her greatly in the new post-apocalyptic world. She joins eight year old survivor, Ellie, and love interest, Tom, as they start up a new family and try to survive in a world overrun by brutal zombies.

I loved the first two thirds of Ashes, which were intensely action packed and frighteningly haunting, if perhaps a bit derivative of many other post-apoc/zombie reads. Ilsa J. Bick has a real talent for setting up and describing extensive, heart-thumping action and fight scenes. The pacing was incredibly fast-paced. Another thing that Ilsa J. Bick excelled at were her characters and character relationships. I loved reading about Alex, Ellie, Tom, and their little makeshift family together. The characters all had well developed histories and genuine characters. All in all, I would give the first two thirds of Ashes a strong 4 Stars.

It's the last third of Ashes where things go wrong. There is a development that happens that, while interesting, slowed the pacing considerably. While the first two thirds were nonstop action, the last third introduces a completely new environment, new information, and a new love interest. It felt like a completely different book. It was just odd, anti-climatic, and frustrating. The last third seemed better suited to be the beginning of the sequel to Ashes. It's a shame because I felt Ashes had such a good thing going with the first two thirds.

Overall, while I wouldn't say the last third of Ashes ruined the book for me, I wasn't pleased with the halt in the pace. If the plot development in the last third had taken place earlier in Ashes or at the beginning of the sequel, I would have welcomed it as an interesting and original idea.

Word of warning: If you are someone who dislikes brutal animal violence (there is a very graphic scene involving a zombie murdering a dog), love triangles (the second love interest is introduced very late in the book), or cliffhanger endings (this one had absolutely no resolution), then I would be wary of Ashes.(less)

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May 15, 2011 Abigail Beckwith rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ashes is a story of survival. Alex is seventeen, and has a deadly brain tumor. While on a solo camping trip in the wilderness, an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) happens and destroys everything with a circuit. No more ipods, computers, traffic lights, flashlights, pace makers... Many adults are similarly killed due to the pulse. Alex takes custody of a nine-year-old girl and joins forces with ex-military Tom who is only a few years older than her. She'll need his help after another effect of the EMP...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Infinite Playlist rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: form-ebook, form-arc, survival, mood-scary-creepy, death-murder-loss, apocalypse-catastrophes, creatures-zombies, creatures-animals, mood-romantic, genre-ya, mine, favorites, genre-post-apocalyptic

Inhalt
Die junge Alex wandert ganz allein durch die Berge als es geschieht. Plötzlich wird ihr übel, die Tiere verhalten sich komisch, tote Vögel fallen vom Himmel und auch dem netten alten Mann, mit dem sie eben noch geredet hat, geht es nicht besser. Als der Moment vorbei ist, ist der Mann tot, Alex ist umgeben von Vogelleichen und neben ihr steht die Enkelin (Ellie) des eben Verstorbenen. Was ist geschehen? Haben nur sie etwas davon mitbekommen? Warum funktioniert plötzlich keins der elektrisc...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Kazi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Alex isn't a typical 17-year old girl, which is what makes her such an interesting character, and is also what makes her not-so believable. As a complex character (she knows about guns and survival, has a lot of practical experience) who is carrying quite a bit of baggage (she has a brain tumor, adding to her maturity; both of her parents are dead) she could have benefited from a more careful construction. It's almost as though there wasn't enough time between her illness, parents' deaths and ge...more Alex isn't a typical 17-year old girl, which is what makes her such an interesting character, and is also what makes her not-so believable. As a complex character (she knows about guns and survival, has a lot of practical experience) who is carrying quite a bit of baggage (she has a brain tumor, adding to her maturity; both of her parents are dead) she could have benefited from a more careful construction. It's almost as though there wasn't enough time between her illness, parents' deaths and generally growing up for her to be able to learn all of this stuff.

Ellie, the annoying little girl which we are supposed to come to like later also works as a tool for exposition, though I'm not sure it was worth suffering through her tantrums for it. I have to say that Ellie's charms, if she had any, were completely lost on me.

The beginning of the book takes off at a rapid pace, though I thought that part could have done with a little more setting-up, if only to increase the creepiness factor. The first part of the book is quite good, the gore factor is high, which I quite like, and the descriptions of smells (Alex's special power) are very imaginative. I think the rationale for the disaster was kind of glossed over, but nobody really knows exactly what happened, and that's okay (for me, for now).

When Alex gets to Rule is when she really starts to fall apart as a character (earlier in the book she was freaked out by 'operating' on Tom, but now we find out she has specialized medical knowledge, including stitching chicken flesh). Initially, she seemed very independent, but now she's settled into something between a nunnery and a human trafficking ring with very little angst. True, she is planning to leave and assessing the situation and has become a bit numb, but for two months, she hardly seems to rail against the system, even internally. I guess the author has to construct the conventional YA love triangle (oh-oh, I have feelings for two guys and OMG I'm so conflicted), but I wish she hadn't gone there, it doesn't really fit with Alex. The village also seems kind of unrealistic - with so many old people and male casualties, I wouldn't think that leaving healthy young women at home, sitting around knitting would really be an option.

I liked the intrigue at the end, I just hope that this is not a sign that the story will follow too trilogy convention rather than doing something crazy. I'm less-likely to read the next book if the events feel formulaic. (less)

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Sep 07, 2011 Savannah (Books With Bite) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this book in under two hours while waiting to be called in at the doctors office. And while i was reading this book I look over my shoulder alot. Why? Well this book had a spur of the moment zombie apocalypse and sitting in a waiting room full of sick people....yeah... I totally let my mind run with my imagination a bit. LOL

I really loved this book. I loved the story line and the way it flowed. Ms. Bick did a great job in capturing the reader from the very first page. I admit I was confus...more

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Oct 04, 2011 Elena rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, sci-fi, horror, love-triangle

This book started out as the scariest, goriest YA novel I have ever read. Not a criticism, just an observation. I actually loved the suspense, and even the gross-out factor was fitting for a book about the zombie apocalypse. The first half or so was really solid. We're introduced to our main character, Alex. She acquires a realistically frustrating and bitchy little kid, Ellie, and then Tom, the young ex-soldier with PTSD, enters as the love interest. The book becomes the three of them versus th...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Isamlq rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5

I'm very easy to please because despite some of the problems I encountered, I want more. After reading a couple of reviews on Ashes, I had this nagging feeling that I wouldn't find Alex believable, especially given all her how to survive in the wild knowhow. Yet I thought , she was believable. Here's a run down of what she had on her: (view spoiler)...more 3.5

I'm very easy to please because despite some of the problems I encountered, I want more. After reading a couple of reviews on Ashes, I had this nagging feeling that I wouldn't find Alex believable, especially given all her how to survive in the wild knowhow. Yet I thought , she was believable. Here's a run down of what she had on her: (view spoiler)

It was the last item that struck me as odd. I mean she was what, sixteen? Seventeen? Then I remembered: I could chalk up her maturity and toughness to the fact that she had no parents, was living on borrowed time, such a life would probably make you grow up fast. But that's all without considering her post-apolcalyptic world of plagues and zombies. Such a world would probably teach people toughen people up. So yes, the maturity and survivor knowhow of water warmth/shelter/water/food eventually did make sense all that in mind.

But what I really loved is this: She's no pushover and would not kowtow to the whims of a twelve year old. She's all, "If you don't wanna? Fine." Boiling it down, all she was, is attributable to what the times were like. Alex made sense to me.

But then there was Tom... and the strong Alex that I was coming to like was replaced by a version of Alex I was not too excited about. She certainly was still tough, but much of her responsibilty shifted to him. I could see why she liked him, I could see and understand it. But I wanted more of her, strong tough Alex.

THANKFULLY, things didn't end there because there were so many things thrown in. I didn't mind. Some may say ASHES went all over the place with all those story lines to follow. But when I go "WHAT?!" every so often, I know I'm hooked. And I tell you ther were a lot of WHAT's coming out of my mouth. After Tom, the hero, there's also Alex the dog whisperer. Then there's the Village of the Creepy and the unexplained rules therein. Then there are the Chosen, the Spared and the Awakened. And Chris!

I totally see why people feel like there was too much going on all at once. Because there was, but for me it was fine. Now, I'm left wanting to know more... and very excited about what's too come.

*Thanks Netgalley!

(less)

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Am I the only one who hates the Rule and Chris, especially Chris?	18	67	Apr 15, 2013 08:14pm
Could it happen?	5	38	Apr 11, 2013 08:10pm
Am I the only one confused?	30	192	Apr 11, 2013 08:09pm
English for Acade...: List 5+ questions you would ask Isla Bick (author of Ashes).	5	10	Oct 30, 2012 12:01pm
Erudite Readers: Ashes by Ilsa Bick	29	15	Oct 05, 2012 06:30am

title link	preview: Ashes
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Ashes (Ashes Trilogy #1)

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