Ashes (original 2011; edition 2011)

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! ( )

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. ( )