Ashes, Ashes

Ashes, Ashes

Jo Treggiari

Synopsis:
After disease has killed nearly the entirety of humanity and natural disasters have shaken her world, Lucy has been forced to live alone in the remnants of Central Park. For months, she has survived on her own, but one day a mysterious boy shows up and warns her of a pack of wild dogs that are hunting her. The boy, Aiden, tells Lucy about a band of survivors that live in the ruins of the city, but Lucy is hesitant to leave with Aiden. However, when a tsunami destroys Lucy's camp, she sees no choice but to seek refuge with Aiden. At first camp life seems wonderful with plenty of food, modified showers, and better shelters, but when a group of Sweepers invade the camp and kidnap some of its inhabitants, Lucy realizes she is not as safe as she believes. Moreover, she is angered that nobody in the camp is trying to rescue the kidnapped survivors, she decides to take charge and try to free them herself.

My Thoughts:
For the past few months, I have been hearing phenomenal reviews for Ashes, Ashes, but, in my opinion, the book does not deserve them. Something about the book just didn't seem plausible to me. The fact that Lucy could live alone for MONTHS and never see a single person until Aiden seems very unlikely, even given the large percentage of the population that died. New York is a big city. She would have found someone. I didn't have too much of a problem with the sweepers or medical staff, but a few of them were too much. I can understand drive to find a cure, but it wouldn't turn you into an evil maniac. The whole story just felt a little uncomfortable to me, so it is definitely not one I would recommend to most people. It tried to hard to be like the Scorch Trials and didn't work. (Sorry to sound so negative; it wasn't an awful book, it just wasn't good.)

Questions for Thought:
1. Were you immune, where would you go to live? Out in the woods like Lucy, find a group to live in (like Aiden's), or somewhere else?

2. How would you react if Sweepers invaded your camp?

3. Were people you barely knew kidnapped by Sweepers, would you risk your life to save them?

4. If it was thought that you carried the key to a cure in your blood, would you sacrifice yourself for the chance you could save humanity?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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