Goodreads Summary:

It could happen tomorrow...

A cataclysmic event. An army of "The Changed."
Can one teen really survive on her own?

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 electromagnetic pulse.

This improvised family will have to use every ounce of courage they have just to survive.

Review:

Wow! Ashes was a fantastic read! It wasn't perfect, but it was definitely a great debut to what will be one heck of a suspenseful series! Dystopian novels are really popular right now, and so are zombies, and I am definitely on the train with all the other people that love these kinds of books. Consider me a fan!

I've often heard that when writing book reviews it is important to keep the talking about yourself to a minimum. Keep I, me, and my out of it. I find it impossible to do. I thought about attempting that with this review, but I failed in the first paragraph. Especially when you want to rave about a book like I want to rave about Ashes. It's impossible not to talk about how you loved it personally and why.

The first half of this book was absolutely amazing. I spent a good portion of it terrified. I actually had to put it down and stop reading a couple of times because I was having such a visceral reaction to what was going on. This book is not for the faint of heart. There are quite a few scenes where the description gets pretty grody. Lots of blood and guts and the eating of animals and human flesh and the like. So if that kind of stuff bothers you, you have been warned.

The action was also very subtle in the beginning and then all of a sudden BAM! here comes a freaky zombie to eat somebody and your heart is in your throat. I absolutely loved it!! I loved the characters, I loved Thomas and Alex. I hated Ellie in the beginning and I thought she was a brat, but then I realized her motivations and she changed quite a bit. I am dying to know where that situation and plotline is going to go, but alas it is continued in the next book.

Here's where it's going to get ugly. The second half of the book was pretty disappointing. It wasn't completely unenjoyable, but it was almost like I was reading a different book. I realize it was necessary to introduce a little more conflict, and I appreciate the effort, but I didn't know that religious zealots were going to be part of the picture. And it also got kind of boring! The zombies weren't in the story anymore, which was the main thing I liked about the book in the first place. They weren't really zombies, but whatever. It seems like the next book though is going to be a combination of both stories because of the way the book ended, and I am happily anticipating this.
Completely crazy cliffhanger ending too, but I've become desensitized to this so, ehh whatever. I highly recommend Ashes though. I think anyone that loves this type of story will be satisfied. It is not the best one I have ever read, but it was a solid effort and I look forward to continuing the series. I'm just sorry that I have to wait so long!!