Ashes: a book recommendation

5 out of 5 stars.

So, um…

There had BETTER BE A SEQUEL TO ASHES. Ms. Bick, how can you end your book on such a cliffhanger? YAARRGH!!

But it’s okay–I forgive you because you have crafted such an amazing story of survival, love, dystopia, and strength.

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.

Ashes was literally un-put-downable, and I read the book in one day–almost one sitting. Alex is such a likable protagonist (not to mention, she is the epitome of kick-butt heroine! Boy is she hardcore!); Tom is just…well, he’s just plain amazing; and Ellie is both annoying (as she’s meant to be) and utterly endearing.

And the action–oh, the action! My stomach was in knots constantly as Alex narrowly escapes from one mess only to find herself even worse off. This is one of those books where you’re constantly thinking, “She is so dead. How the heck is she gonna get out of this–OH NO, ZOMBIES!? Now she’s really, really dead.”

This is also one of those books where you flip the last page and are stunned there isn’t another. (I’m pretty sure I screamed.) I literally don’t know how I’ll wait a year for the sequel, Shadows.

This book is The Hunger Games meets The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and I cannot recommend it enough. If you like survival, love, or page-turning action, then be sure to pick up Ilsa J. Bick’s Ashes.

You tell me: Have you read Ashes? Or anything else by Ms. Bick?