LitPick Review
Alex Adair is seventeen years old and hiking her way up to Lake Superior to say her final goodbyes to her parents when an extremely powerful electromagnetic pulse (EMP) strikes. The pulse knocks out everything computer based. Cell phones, traffic lights, even cars. That's not the worst of it. Some people have gone insane. They've become animals, very dangerous cannibalistic animals. On the run with Ellie, a cranky eight-year-old whose grandfather was killed by the EMP, Alex meets a young soldier by the name of Tom. The three make a rather unorthodox family. Together they fight to survive in a world devoid of the technologies we take for granted and full of the things of nightmares.
Opinion:
This book is fabulous. Written in first person, the book shows a post-apocalyptic world reminiscent of I am Legend. In this book the title, Ashes, carries a much deeper meaning than you often see. The word is used many times in the story; all with different contexts and all with slightly different meanings. I particularly liked this because its uncommon. Most titles are fairly literal and its refreshing to have such a symbolic meaning hidden in this one. The emotional journey in this book is astounding and you're with Alex every step of the way. Her thoughts and feelings are so well conveyed it's almost difficult to separate her feelings from yours. I have one warning for the reader; this is a gory book. There isn't really a way for it not to be. That said, Ilsa J. Bick does an admirable job of toning down the blood and guts to a reasonable level. All in all I give this book five stars!
