Alex thinks staying home alone for the weekend while his parents and sister go to visit relatives is going to be relaxing. That all goes to shit when something slams into his house and puts his world into chaos. Alex soon learns that the Yellowstone supervolcano has erupted, and even 900 miles away in Iowa, there is a storm of ash and thunderous explosions. Soon Alex finds himself in an all-out mission to find his family... even if he has to die trying. He sets off across a dangerous landscape on a pair of skis, determined to walk 140 miles to Warren, Illinois. Along the way terrifying things happen to him, but his determination never falters. Then he meets Darla who saves his life on more than one occasion and becomes a travel partner and someone he trusts completely. Can they really survive in this post super-volcanic world where society has broken down??

My Thoughts:
This was a powerful, intense, and super realistic apocalyptic novel. It had me on the edge of my seat wondering with every turn of the page how Alex and everyone else would possibly survive this catastrophe and what else would be thrown their way. There was so much action in this book with one event after another occurring, that I was very tense the entire time reading it. It was one of those books that I felt the need to finish super-fast so I could stop having nightmares about it. Maybe it's because this event could potentially happen that made it so real for me. or maybe it was the writing, or the characters, but it had me unable to put it down at times. It's like a car-wreck you can't stop looking at even though you are deeply disturbed by it.

Alex turns out to be a very resourceful kid. When the book starts out he seems to be just your average sullen teenager. But on the road he figure things out quickly. Darla was very Magyver-y and so also resourceful in her own ways. I liked that she was smart and also physically strong, but also clearly attractive as well since Alex became so smitten. I don't think I've ever read a book where the female love interest was mechanically smart, able to lift and carry a man at dead weight, and still be the love interest. She protected Alex just as much if not more than he protected her. You go girl!!!

There were parts of this book that highly disturbed me. I don't think I'll ever forget (even though I would like to) what happened to little Katie's family or the incident at Darla's farm. So disturbing and scary. Even though I seriously loved this book, I came to realize why I don't usually read books in this genre that often. They freaking scare me and make me think I'm going to die. Hello!! If Yellowstone blows, I'm definitely gonna die. There is no way I can skin animals and fight off scary psychos that want to take my food. I'm dead. So yeah these type of books just get me to thinking way too much about how fragile society and life in general is. I don't want to ever live in a world where people are driven to desperation.

I think this quote sums it up pretty well:
"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."


Overall: INTENSE!! An awesome, terrifying look at one boy's journey through an apocalyptic world. I love that this was set in modern times (not 100 years in the future) and that there were no zombies or monsters (so it was realistic). I recommend for anyone who likes reading end-of-the-world scenario books because this one rocked! I am definitely down to read Ashen Winter.

My Blog:
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3.5 Stars

CW: Animal deaths/killings during survival situations where food is needed. The deaths and preparation for eating are described, minor sexual content, cannibalism, rape and murder of mother.

Well that was a pretty great YA survival story!

Although the writing is very simple, the story itself is incredibly engaging. Alex faces numerous threats as he makes his way to his family after a volcanic eruption has spewed ash throughout parts of the US. It is very much a plot based story which is great if you are looking for a straight up action survival story. I think this will be popular with teens and I will order a couple for the library. ( )

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/qkYsgr9Qzdw

Enjoy! ( )

NOTE: This review covers the first two books in the trilogy.

A young adult dystopia series about what happens when the (real) supervolcano under Yellowstone National Park erupts and sends a huge ash cloud drifting eastward. The main character is Iowa teenager Alex, who is home alone when the eruption disruption occurs.

The first book, Ashfall, follows Alex's desperate attempt to travel solo to Illinois to reunite with his parents and sister, who were visiting relatives when the disaster struck. The sequel, Ashen Winter, finds Alex and his mechanically inclined girlfriend, Darla, setting off again on another search-and-rescue mission.

This series illustrates one of the hazards of reading YA fiction when you are no longer YA yourself: Telling the story from a teenager's point of view meant that too many elements that would have truly interested me, like the science of how the ash cloud affected the region's weather, and more mature interpersonal dynamics, were sacrificed in favor of a pretty lame romance that didn't even have the redeeming quality of being spicy.

My main interest in reading these books was for their Iowa setting, since that is where I have lived for lo these many years, but the descriptions never gave me a true sense of place that seemed familiar. Also, while I realize that part of the whole point of YA fiction is to show kids being all smart and savvy without adult supervision or help, the notion that two teenagers would be able to do what Alex and Darla did without getting killed in the first five minutes of any one of their various adventures strained credulity to the breaking point.

Having said all that, there is apparently a third and final book in the series coming out next spring, and I'll probably look for it at the library. If you like dystopias and YA fiction, you may find this series worth your time. ( )

When 15-year old Alex’s parents leave him alone for the weekend for the first time, little do they know that (literally) disaster will soon follow. Alex is in the house when something hits it and suddenly there is a fire. Not only that, part of the house heaves and collapses and he is underneath a desk. He manages to pull himself free and get out, but with no phones working (cell or landline), he runs the few blocks to the fire department. The power is also out. Luckily, Alex’s neighbours are willing to take him in, but no one really knows what’s going on. The “thunder” is ridiculously loud and continuous throughout the night. They wake up to utter darkness, inside and out (it’s daytime). Things happen (that I won’t go into), but Alex later finds himself travelling toward Illinois (he is in Iowa) via skis to find his parents and younger sister. Hopefully they made it to his uncle’s place.

This was really good. It drew me in right away. I thought the author did a really good job of the descriptions – of the noise, of the dark... It’s scary the kinds of things people will do following a disaster like this (the characters – and the reader – did find out the next day what had happened, although I’ve left that out of my summary). Some of the people Alex comes across are helpful, but many are not. I believe this is a trilogy, so it didn’t fully finish. There was a short author’s note at the end, as well, to talk about this kind of potential disaster. ( )