Ashes (original 2011; edition 2011)

While I enjoyed reading this book, it felt disjointed at times. Alex is on a journey to deal with saying goodbye as the tumors in her brain (the monster) are not responding to any treatment. During a camping trip, there is some sort of EMP attack which kills many people and changes others. Some teens change into zombie-like beings. After the attack Alex is stuck with a petulant girl named Ellie, and the two cross paths with Tom. For awhile it is a survival story. Then Alex ends up in this ultra believer filled town called Rule with men who are acting as the town elders running the show with many secrets. Alex's tumor seems to have changed after the attack as do some growing abilities with her sense of smell and affinity with dogs. While the story was interesting, characters disappeared never to be heard from again and the story ends abruptly. I'm curious how this will play out on the Lincoln list. ( )

Rating: 2.5 of 5

The following reviews pretty much sum up my experience with Ashes.

By Wendy Darling | By Lucy | By Michelle

Status update on 10/3/2012, page 465: Uh, what? Bick earned strike three between page 230 chapter 33 and page 231 chapter 34. [The first two strikes were Alex making ridiculously unrealistic choices in two separate instances (related to her weapon).] I plowed onward though, pushing through the abrupt shift in Alex and the overall story, and I arrived at an ending that delivered on what I expected (huge letdown).

I plan to read reviews before making a decision about whether I'll read the sequel. If Bick wrote Shadows in the same bipolar fashion as this one, I'll likely skip it.

[Edited on 10/4/2012: I don't plan to read the sequel.] ( )

When an electromagnetic pulse zaps through the atmosphere, it creates havoc in the world-- shuts down power, sets off nuclear devices, and kills a good chunk of the world's population. Oh yeah, and most of those who are left are turned into zombies. 17-year-old Alex, a brain cancer patient who has been treking through the woods on a journey to find closure before her death, finds herself saddled with a grief-stricken and angry 8-year-old in the aftershock of the pulse. They're then joined by Tom, a young soldier on leave, and together, they try to make sense of what the world has become.
The first half of the book is intense and fast-paced, but somewhere around the middle, the pacing gets very disjointed. Parts of the story are very good; much of it was so dense that I started to lose interest during the second half. ( )

For fans of Hunger Games and Maze runner.
Violent. ( )

What a cliff-hanger! Will be reading the sequel. ( )