Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

EgmontUSA, September 27, 2011

Summary from Goodreads:

It could happen tomorrow . . . 
An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions. 
Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP. 
For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human. 
Author Ilsa J. Bick crafts a terrifying and thrilling novel about a world that could be ours at any moment, where those left standing must learn what it means not just to survive, but to live amidst the devastation.

I was so looking forward to this book--I pre-purchased it for my nook and everything. So naturally, that meant I put it aside for months, saving it for a special occasion :) I started reading Ashes on the plane ride to Disney, and I was absolutely captivated for that 2 hour plane ride. It was such an amazing story--something wicked happens to the world and most of the teenage survivors turn into some kind of zombie-slash-cannibal creatures. What, exactly happened? Why is Alex, suffering from an inoperable brain tumor, not one of the cannibal kids? For the love of God, will Alex and Tom just hook up already and get it over with? I'm telling you, I was fascinated by the first half of this book, and was already trying to figure out where it would fit on my top ten of 2011.

And then...ugh. Something really pivotal happens, and instead of walking us through it, the next chapter starts three days later! All this major stuff went down and really, really important stuff happened to the main characters that I've started really caring about, and the author glosses over it in just a few paragraphs. THEN proceeds to introduce a completely new cast of characters and setting! The Alex from the first half is completely different from Alex in the second half. It was so aggravating, and almost like there were two different authors writing the book.

Ashes is the first of a trilogy, and I'm way too invested in the (part 1) story line to give up now. I will definitely be on the lookout for Shadows, which is expected sometime in 2012, hoping it's more like the awesomeness of the first part of Ashes.

Bought book.
Enjoy your reading!
Christi