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    Ashes, Ashes
    Ashes, Ashes
    Ashes, Ashes
    Audiobook9 hours

    Ashes, Ashes

    Written by Jo Treggiari

    Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The world has ended... What comes next?

    Smallpox epidemics, floods, droughts-for sixteen-year old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, stealing with it everyone she ever loved. Even the landscape of her beloved New York City is ever-shifting and full of hidden dangers. As the weather rages out of control, she survives alone in the wilds of Central Park, hunting and foraging for food and making do with the little she has, while avoiding roving scavengers and thieves. But when an unrelenting pack of vicious hounds begins to hunt her, Lucy is not sure she can continue on her own. Then, suddenly, she is swept to safety by a mysterious boy named Aidan, who helps her escape the hounds and urgers her to join a band of survivors. Reluctantly, she finds him after her home is destroyed; however, new dangers await her.

    An army of Sweepers terrorizes the camp, carting off innocent people and infecting them with the plague. Lucy and Aidan realize that it's up to them to save their friends, but Lucy doesn't know that the Sweepers have laid a trap-for her. There is something special about Lucy, and the Sweepers will stop at nothing to have her in their clutches.

    Jo Treggiari spins a thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl's unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOasis Audio
    Release dateJun 1, 2011
    ISBN9781608148622
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    Reviews for Ashes, Ashes

    4/5

    61 ratings38 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Truth be told I am being very generous and rounding up to a three star. If I were to review this as an audiobook I'd give it a 1 but the story is not horrible. But because I also had a library copy of it I was able to skim the parts that I fast forwarded. Lucy has been living without other people for about six months. She's made her shelter, rigged a few snares, gathered her own supplies and survived well all on her own. Then she finds herself running for her life away from feral wild dogs that have caught on to her scent. Lucy has nowhere to hide until she literally gets a helping hand from a blond haired boy with green eyes high up in the trees. This guy named Aiden helps her escape and she's contemplating what to do until the time comes to return the favor.I've heard of this story before I read it but for some reason never picked up the book. It was like reading the beginning of The Hatchet with the plot of The Scorch Trials and a smidge from the Death Cure from James Dashner though it was recommended to me because it resembled *Life As We Knew It but personally I didn't see much resemblance other than the whole natural disasters destroying the states. Treggiari is very wordy and descriptive which I really liked at first but after the third chapter with too much exposing and not enough moving made me want to skip ahead but I forced myself not too. All was going well until the romance got in and truthfully I'm getting really tired of books in the post-apocalyptic nature going down the drain once romance is involved...so in that aspect I guess it does resemble the *Last Survivors series. I was expecting thrills and adventure but got catty underhanded comments and longing stares. But because it started off strong I'd say it's overall the story is just okay.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      This book was just ok, it had some good parts but it just meh. I felt like I've read this before and I just wasn't excited about it like I am with other books.

      Overall it wasn't a terrible book, but I've read better books.
    • 5/5
      I really got into this book. It is quite a high when a book can absorb you to a point that you can hardly bear putting it down and this book did that. As it was a YA book it was a really fast read but not so "young-ish" that as an adult I couldn't enjoy it. Thumbs up on this one. Hope this one continues on as a series
    • 3/5
      Ashes, Ashes is a YA dystopian that takes place in future New York. The country has been ravaged by a viral epidemic and weather related disasters, the population has been decimated and there are pockets of survivors doing the best they can to manage from day to day. Lucy, the main character, is isolated, dirty, living in caves, doing what she needs to do to survive and not draw the attention of the "sweepers". The sweepers are a sinister group that hunts down and kidnaps survivors. Lucy meets Aiden and is introduced to the people in his group when he saves her from a pack of dogs that were apparently sent by these sweepers to hunt for her.

      I've really been enjoying dystopians lately, and while Ashes, ashes is not among my favorites of those, it was an okay read. It starts off rather sluggish but I think the author did a good job of showing what it would take to survive in a world like this. I think the interactions between Lucy, Aiden, and her nemesis Del are entertaining and believable. I enjoyed the rivalry between Lucy and Del. The romance between Lucy and Aiden, however, seemed rather hollow.

      The plot was interesting but had an odd kind of flow to it. I sometimes found myself a little confused about where it was heading and why. Ultimately I felt Ashes, Ashes was a good debut. I believe that if the plot had been a little more developed, it would have been amazing. It held my interest and kept me reading, I wasn't blown away but I wasn't bored to tears either.
    • 4/5
      The Good Stuff * characters are pretty realistic for a dystopian book * Good character development with Lucy. At the beginning I really didn't like her, but she developed and grew and by the end I was cheering for her * intriguing secondary characters that I would have liked to have more of * Love the cover, would have picked it up for that alone * Intriguing and creepy beginning hooks you into the story * Fantastic job at setting the mood and the landscape. At times when I stopped reading I became disjointed because I felt so much a part of their world * The landscape is almost another character in the story, its almost haunting * Story was nice and fast paced and kept you intrigued with what was going to happen next * Some nice dry humourThe Not so Good Stuff * Needed some more back-story to characters - might have worked better as a trilogy or at least a book 1 and 2 - but hey I'm just being selfish and wanting more * OK this one is being really picky but major error when she first meets Aidan - all of a sudden she knows his name and he never mentions it (went back and reread the pages to make sure I hadn't skipped something)Favorite Quotes/Passages"Instead of globe-eyed aliens or a gigantic meteorite headed straight for Earth, it was the resurgence of a killer disease that had reduced the global population to less than 1 percent of what it had been within three short months. Eating healthy, exercising, living in a big house, driving a fancy car - none of that mattered at all. The pox took almost everybody, and it seemed that people between the ages of thirty and sixty died faster and harder than anyone.""You're a lot like Del," he said. "Hot-tempered. What's the nice word? Impetuous." His mouth twisted into a wry grin."She estimated that she was around Second Avenue and 92nd Street, although acres of road and earth had been shifted in the big quake,the landscape completely reconfigured. Sometimes she thought it looked as if a toddler had built a city out of blocks and then knocked them all down in a rage."What I Learned * Must get me a Survival handbook - or I am a goner if this particular scenario came true * Have no urge to ever eat TurtleWho should/shouldn't read * Just sayin, probably not a good one to read after 5 days of continuous rain, it will freak you out (trust me, it was creepy reading it when the weather was so crappy here) * This one is pretty intense, not for the sensitive reader * Obviously fans of Dystopian fiction will enjoy4 Dewey'sI received this from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review
    • 3/5

      This review can also be found on Reading Between Classes

      Cover Impressions: This cover screams Dystopia. The ruined buildings and rising waters do an excellent job of introducing the reader to the ruined world that Jo Treggiari has created for her characters. I was a little disappointed at the portrayal of Lucy. Another version of this cover showed her in the hoodie and leather jacket that she wears for most of the novel and I much prefer that to the pristine white tank top that she dons in this version. I also wish that the cover model had Lucy's curly, unruly hair rather than the slightly wavy hair that is featured. For all the complaining that Lucy does about her hair, I would think it is an important feature.

      The Gist: Lucy is struggling to survive the post-apocalyptic world. Plague, floods and droughts have ravaged the human population and taken away everyone that Lucy loves. On the run for her life, she encounters the mysterious Aiden and is forced to consider whether or not she is willing to open her life to another human being. Forced from her makeshift home, Lucy is sent on the run and discovers that the threat from the Sweepers scouring the land is more real to her than she ever imagined.

      Review: Ashes, Ashes presents a wonderfully terrifying wilderness where dangers lurk around every corner. Here we meet Lucy, a typical American teenager, struggling to survive with her meager supplies and the skills she has gleaned from a survival handbook. I was behind Lucy 100% and watched with fascination as she went about her daily routine to find food, maintain her shelter and stay warm enough in order to wake up and do it all over again. When she encounters Aiden, the first human being she has seen in months, we see the first tendrils of a crush wrap themselves around Lucy's heart. However, our little survivalist will not let these new-found emotions distract her from the task of living. This is a dystopian adventure with just a smattering of romance and this fact keeps it appropriate for a young audience and allows it to appeal to teen boys as well.

      The characters are real and relatable. I found the camp life to be interesting and loved the no-nonsense approach of Grammalie Rose. Here we get to learn about the Sa'an or plague survivors who remain marked and social pariahs. There was a considerable amount of time spend here developing the world building aspect of the novel, which would have been understandable if this were the first in a series, but to my knowledge, this is a stand-alone. As it was, these sections slowed down the action and dampened the sense of urgency that our time alone with Lucy had created. We learn about the threat to the remaining humans fairly early on, however, it takes a great deal of time for the characters to decide to do something about it.

      Once action has been decided upon, things happen almost entirely too quickly and then suddenly slow to a near stop. This is where the novel started to fall apart for me. The pacing seemed off and the reactions of the characters were questionable. The fight scenes were extremely odd, with moments of action followed by moments of standing around - talking or preparing - then back to action, over and over again. In the end, I was left with more questions than answers and was, ultimately, unsatisfied.

      Jo Treggiari's world building is spot-on. She creates a realistic and terrifying world and a group of people willing to face it head on. While the plot fell apart for me, I do believe it will appeal to fans of post-apocalyptic novels.

      Teaching/Parental Notes:
      Age: 12 and up
      Gender: Either
      Sex: None
      Violence: Plague, Dog Attacks, Stun Guns, Knifeplay
      Inappropriate Language: None
      Substance Abuse: None
    • 4/5
      An interesting post-apocalyptic story. ASHES didn't manage to supplant ENCLAVE or AFTERTIME at the top of my list, but Lucy's solitary survival was vivid and memorable.
    • 5/5
      This book is a very intriguing read. The main character, Lucy, has survived a virus that killed off 99% of the Earth's population-including her family. Lucy is a very industrious girl; she lives on her own and survives by herself. The action begins right away in this novel; the reader will not be bored. Lucy meets Aidan after he helps her evade a pack of wild dogs. She joins him and the other survivors; the reader will enjoy meeting the various different personalities. Of course, there is always the danger aspect. Lucy is not entirely safe; there are "sweepers" on the loose. Sweepers work for the government to round up survivors like Lucy to study them and attempt to discover why they survived the virus. It is not long before Lucy catches on that she is an integral part in discovering a cure. The book is not written entirely in the present tense, there are flashbacks to the past. The reader will experience, alongside Lucy, how life was before the virus. Lucy and her family were happy and "normal." There are a few different qualities to this story: action, romance, mystery, drama, etc... Lucy is a strong female character; readers will appreciate this since strong females leads are not common in survivalist novels. Lucy and Aidan have a bit of a budding romance; however, this is not the forefront of the story. The author allows the reader into this post-apocalyptic world; the environment is tangible to the reader. There is a lack of dialogue in the beginning of the novel as Lucy is alone for the first portion, but there is dialogue throughout the rest of the novel. The story is very fast-paced and new developments occur to hold the reader's interest. This novel is highly recommended for young adult/teen readers, specifically those who enjoy science fiction and action-filled novels.
    • 4/5
      A typical, albeit somewhat darker, dystopian novel. It was good, though not great, but I enjoyed reading it, even if it was at times a bit unnerving. It reminded me in a way of Life As We Knew It, and like that book, our main character was an extremely strong young woman named Lucy. I liked that she was tough the whole time we met her, even after the budding romance that develops throughout the course of the novel. I'm pleased that Treggiari's novel doesn't seem to be part of a series, as I'm getting tired of them. I think there could be more books, but I was left satisfied and definitely not in need of any more. I'd recommend this to fans of dysopian novels, especially kids who like survival type books. I really liked the bleak setting of the novel, but that's what makes dypstopia such a great genre to begin with.
    • 3/5
      One of the many dystopias that’s on the shelves, one that I decided to pick up because the plot itself looked and sounded interesting. For the most part it was. Albeit, the pace itself of the story was a bit slow. The setting itself isn’t so bad, Lucy herself is a survivor and knows how to live on her own - something I liked in her because sometimes the mopey heroines just don’t quite cut it in this type of setting. What I found amusing was despite how the world was, with everything totally upside down, teenagers will always act like teenagers. The petty bickering between Lucy, Del, and Aidan was out of place, but it also shows they’re still normal teenagers despite the circumstances. That was interesting to see, because it gives them a more ‘human’ feel instead of just standard characters on paper. There were a couple of things with the book that didn’t sit well with me. There were just so many unanswered questions! and I’m not sure there’s even going to be sequel? (if there is correct me if I’m wrong). You’re left with a “now what?” feeling at the end of the book.Besides the list of unanswered questions, the chemistry between Lucy and Aidan was just not there. I didn’t seem to really get a feel for both of them and they didn’t seem to go along well together. Some couples just...don’t mix well.It’s not the best read out there, but certainly worth a look see. I’d say take it or leave it. There’s much better, but there’s also a lot worse.
    • 5/5
      This was a very nice dystopian young adult book. It had a similar feel to Enclave, but it was mostly because of the setting. Other than that, it was completely different. The mood of the book was sort of depressing, but the ending was a great one. It wasn't as action packed as other dystopian books, but I liked it just like that. I thought it was much more realistic than other books out there. I definitely thought this could happen someday. I absolutely recommend this book, especially to fans of Enclave and other post-apocalyptic books.
    • 1/5
      I read this because it was recommended to me by a former colleague who raved it was "the next Hunger Games." Um, no. It's not. Ashes, Ashes starts off strong, but after the first few chapters the plot and characters begin to dissolve, and the whole scientists-are-evil trope is a sad cliche that has plagued science fiction for far too long. Medical doctors aren't crazy murderers out to kill your children. Seriously. The premise of Ashes is that natural disasters destroyed the landscape and the buildings, then came a plague that wiped out all but one percent of humanity. Lucy is a teenage girl who survived the disasters and the plague, all because her parents didn't believe in vaccinations. At the start of the novel, she is struggling for survival in a transformed New York City - these are the strongest chapters, well written, gritty, and establish sympathy for the main character.When a cute teenage boy named Aiden saves her from a dog pack, Lucy learns that there is a whole community of survivors - mostly elderly people and little kids, but there are enough pretty teens left alive to form the required YA fic love triangle! Upon meeting the first human beings she has seen in a year, Lucy immediately decides that she hates one of them, all because she's too pretty and a romantic rival. *sigh* My favourite character was Leo - a thirty year old black-belt with tattoos, who did his best to protect everyone, which was more than any of the teenagers tried to do.I should also mention that no one in the community of survivors is a doctor. The author goes out of her way to state that Leo and Henry (the two adults) are NOT doctors and that the wise old woman can get by on natural remedies. Doctors are just plain evil in Treggiari's world. MDs employ masked, taser-wielding henchmen, kidnap children and murder people with their evil medicines! The villain of Ashes, Ashes is a medical doctor who knows that Lucy survived the plague against all odds and wants to study her blood, so that she can create a vaccine. Seem reasonable? Hell, no! That's Lucy's blood and she doesn't want one of those evil doctor-types using it! Of course, the scientists in Treggiari's eyes are merely evil automatons bent on finding the solution to their formulas and equations, no matter how many children they have to kill to do it! Thoroughly disappointing.
    • 5/5
      This book was one of those books that really gets you thinking and planning for a disaster. But that's definitely not a bad thing. As a matter of fact this book was really fantastic and it felt very real to me. One thing that made it more real feeling is the main character, Lucy, has lived a normal life. She talked about living in the suburbs and how the natural disasters first hit and then later the plague goes through. In the end only 1% of the population has survived. We watch Lucy from when she's afraid and pretty close minded about things and lives all alone to avoid conflict, and because she doesn't trust people. Once she's forced to move on and lives with people again she really finds her true self within herself and we watch her grow into a wonderful person.I really liked all the characters in this book, especially Aiden. There's something about him that you can't help but love. There are other characters that play their roles perfectly, as people we love and hate or love to hate. I felt like the things people went through, and the way they reacted to things felt realistic.The romance is light, it's there but doesn't get a real chance to get real far. However we feel the attraction between the two and the tension is fantastic.This was a clean read but I think that it's not a book that everyone would have an easy time with. Keep in mind what it's about and I think that should give you a good enough idea whether the subject matter is for you. I loved this book but I found myself needing to take some breaks from it. Even though I did take breaks and read something else I still cruised through the book in no time at all.The book ended with a conclusion, but there's definitely room for a sequel and I really hope that the author is writing one. I think Lucy's journey has only just begun and I would like to see her travel a bit and see how the rest of the country is faring. So my fingers are crossed!
    • 2/5
      I bought Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari about a year ago as a Kindle Daily Deal, and actually had very little expectations and at first I was pleasantly surprised. The book started off with a young girl surviving on her own in a world changed forever by disasters and disease. Unfortunately the story broke down about a third of the way through and this downward trend continued until the end. A disappointing read as the concept was interesting, but unfortunately the final product was a mishmash that totally bogged down the flow of the story. I understand that in most dystopian books the reader must set aside certain beliefs to allow the author to carry you into a new world, but in this case the flow of the story was constantly being interrupted by something silly or pointless. I also lost my concentration many times when the author jumped her plot forward without any explanation and eventually everything these characters did made no sense at all.I don’t know if there is a sequel to Ashes, Ashes and frankly I really don’t care. This one had enough teenage melodrama, pointless storyline and unbelievable plot points for me to even consider another book by this author
    • 4/5
      The only thing I didnt like about this book was the cover. In the book Lucy hasnt showered for weeks and stinks like crazy, but on the cover she has perfect hair and clean white tank top. Come on!Okkkk...besides that I loved it. Lucy was tough and handle her self. She had to get move on after her family died and she survived. I loved Aiden and all the other characters. Sammy and Henry were great characters and added a little humor to the book.Overall a great story. :)
    • 3/5
      I bought an ARC of this book at The Strand bookstore when I was in NYC for the Book Expo this year. I had been trying to decide if I wanted to read this book or not. I love post-apocalyptic survival stories so I decided to pick it up. It was okay, not nearly as good as some of the other options out there, but an okay story.Lucy has been surviving on her own for nearly a year in Central Park in NYC. After small-pox epidemics annihilated the population, the climate changed alternating droughts and horrible flooding. When dogs and floods drive her out of her makeshift home she ends up with a group of survivors living commune stle. The mysterious Sweepers have started picking off members of the commune one by one an Lucy is frustrated with the groups acceptance of the situation. Lucy is intrigued by a boy named Aidan and is urging him to rally the group to fight, but there are things about herself Lucy doesn't know that complicates the issue.This book starts out very slow. Around page 80 or so I almost stopped reading it, I didn't like Lucy as a character and Treggiari's writing style was just a bit too mechanical for me. She does an excellent job describing the gritty side of survival; blisters and uncleanliness, gutting animals etc but somehow it just wasn't that interesting..the writing style was a bit to disconnected or something. Once Lucy meets up with the large survivor camp things pick up and get a bit more interesting.The "romance" between Lucy and Aidan is pretty thin, which is odd since the book touts itself as a romantic read. There are lingering glances and a kiss or two, not much meaningful conversion. The romance is definitely pushed to the back of the story, the story focuses more on survival and figuring out the mystery behind the Sweepers and their purpose.The plot was a little schizophrenic. In the beginning is was a book about survival, the mid portion focuses more on commune living, and the end is suddenly about genetic engineering and the science of vaccinations. I think somewhere in here there could have been a really great story, but it got confused because Treggiari couldn't figure out what to focus on. I was a bit thrown with the whole evil scientist thing at the end of the book. I mean come on, that was so predictable and so cliche, I expected something more profound or deeper to happen. I was also a bit disappointed that we don't get any insight into the rest of the world. The book is very focused on just Lucy's little world.The characters were okay. Lucy, Aiden, and Del are fairly engaging, if not really likable. As readers we never get enough incite into them to really make us care a whole lot about what happens to them. The book ends well enough and resolves the major plot point while leaving the characters overall survival problems unsolved.Overall this was an okay book. It starts out slow but the second half is engaging enough if a bit cliche and unfocused. The characters are okay, the plot is a bit unfocused, and the book didn't have as big of an impact on me as I hoped for. The problem is there are so many great post-apocalyptic young adult books out there. I would personally recommend skipping this book and checking out the following books: Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Blood Red Road by Moira Young, The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell, Feed by Mira Grant (more of an adult read), Divergent by Veronica Roth (more of a dystopia), and Wither by Lauren DeStefano (more of a dystopia). After you read all of those if you crave more post-apocalyptic survival YA reads then maybe check this out.
    • 3/5
      I listened to the audio version.After the world is drowned due to climate change, whole coastlines are decimated, weather patterns change bringing two seasons, monsoon or drought, people are trying to get back on their feet when plague strikes, killing at least 95% of the surviving people. We join our main character, Lucy, 17, who lives alone in the woods, trying to make a turtle into an edible meal.  Depending on how you look at it she's had amazingly good luck, to be alive, or bad luck to have her family die, lose her home, and to not have seen another human in at least 6 months.  After all this, then she has to run from a tsunami! Tis all happens within the first two chapters. I didn't think it was possible to outrun a tsunami but if anyone could it'd be this character. Her life suddenly changes for the better when she meets Aden, who rescues her from some savage dogs.( who chase her after she outruns the tsunami.) She discovers a community of a under a hundred people has been living less then a day's hike away.  As she begins to trust people again she must battle the teenage jealously of Dell, Aden's female bestie, get over being bossed around by the camp matriarch, and deal with her fear of the survivors of the plague, who have been left terribly scarred but are no longer infectious. to top things off their are gangs of uniformed and masked mercenaries called sweepers kidnapping survivors. This leads Lucy into a rescue mission with Aden and Dell. Adventure ensues. In the end I thought it was a decent YA, survivalist story. It does feel a bit like the movie 2012 with disaster heaped upon disaster leading to the collapse, but if you can get over that the story wasn't bad.  AudiobookNarration was just okay, not fantastic, but got the job done and the characters were well defined. Not very exciting or gripping.   
    • 3/5
      Sixteen-year-old Lucy Holloway lives in a transformed landscape that used to be New York City before environmental upheaval. It was destroyed by melting polar caps; rising sea levels; and the constant occurrence of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. But it wasn’t only this that reduced the population: a resurgence of smallpox in a more virulent form wiped out all but one percent of the population left from the ecological chaos. Lucy lives on her own in primitive circumstances, surviving as best she can, until one day, trying to escape a pack of feral dogs, she encounters someone else. Well yes, of course it happens to be a cute young guy about her age named Aidan.When Lucy’s campsite is destroyed by a tsunami, she joins Aidan’s settlement, and immediately the heretofore happy settlement is the subject of repeated attacks by The Sweepers, an armed force supposedly looking for plague-infected individuals to protect the rest of the population. But it turns out they are really looking for Lucy.Discussion: The book starts out as a slow, post-apocalyptic survival book, reminding me of the Tom Hanks movie, “Cast Away.” It takes a turn to the dystopic when Lucy joins Aidan and runs into Nefarious People with Power and Weapons. And then it adds a romance, complete with obligatory triangle (although in truth, not much of either). The genre jumping makes not only the book a bit inconsistent, but the characters as well, who seem to change personalities in each segment. In the beginning Lucy is a savvy survivalist and loner; then she morphs into a lovesick lonely teen; and then she becomes a totally naïve incompetent. Aidan takes a couple of complete u-turns as well. As for the precipitating factors leading to the devastated landscape of the book, it felt like as many as possible were thrown in to ensure the preconditions of population reduction. None, however, were fully developed. A tantalizing side story was introduced regarding the plague survivors, but it was left to simmer along with the other ingredients in this plot stew.Evaluation: A hodgepodge of plot lines and styles and character personality changes militate against too much emotional investment in this book. It isn’t the worst of its several genres, but not the best, by far.
    • 1/5
      It's fine. I wouldn't have paid more than the kindle daily deal price for this one. It filled the time, but not more than that.
    • 3/5
      Ashes, Ashes is a YA dystopian that takes place in future New York. The country has been ravaged by a viral epidemic and weather related disasters, the population has been decimated and there are pockets of survivors doing the best they can to manage from day to day. Lucy, the main character, is isolated, dirty, living in caves, doing what she needs to do to survive and not draw the attention of the "sweepers". The sweepers are a sinister group that hunts down and kidnaps survivors. Lucy meets Aiden and is introduced to the people in his group when he saves her from a pack of dogs that were apparently sent by these sweepers to hunt for her.

      I've really been enjoying dystopians lately, and while Ashes, ashes is not among my favorites of those, it was an okay read. It starts off rather sluggish but I think the author did a good job of showing what it would take to survive in a world like this. I think the interactions between Lucy, Aiden, and her nemesis Del are entertaining and believable. I enjoyed the rivalry between Lucy and Del. The romance between Lucy and Aiden, however, seemed rather hollow.

      The plot was interesting but had an odd kind of flow to it. I sometimes found myself a little confused about where it was heading and why. Ultimately I felt Ashes, Ashes was a good debut. I believe that if the plot had been a little more developed, it would have been amazing. It held my interest and kept me reading, I wasn't blown away but I wasn't bored to tears either.
    • 1/5
      Quick Review: I tried to like this book... I just, well, didn't.

      Long Review:

      Forgive my frankness, but I didn't enjoy 'Ashes, Ashes' at all. And you know what? That disappoints me a bit. This is one instance where I really liked the cover and the title, but not the words or story inside. I didn't get into book blogging to 'bash' books, but I feel that I owe it to those who read these reviews to give my honest opinion of this title.

      There were many flaws in 'Ashes, Ashes'. The most major flaw I found after reading the book beginning to end was that it didn't seem complete and I don't mean in a cliffhanger/series sort of way. I never felt like I knew enough about anything (characters, society, ethics of new world) to really care about the eventual conflict at the end of the novel. Even the anti-climatic conflict at the end of 'Ashes, Ashes' left me wondering, 'that's it?' and not in a good way. There was an undercurrent that was missing from the storytelling, is the best way I can describe it. It was like turning on a movie somewhere in the middle, watching 20 minutes of it, and then turning it off before the end. No real resolution anywhere.

      The concept sounded (and still sounds) amazingly entertaining, but the execution of the novel just didn't work. If you're looking for a dystopian read, there are better choices out there. Try 'Enclave' by Ann Aguirre, 'The Big Empty' by J.B Stephens, or 'Life as We Knew It' by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

      By no means do I want you to cast this off your 'to read' list. I don't recommend buying it, but if you see it at your local library and think it sounds interesting, then by all means, go for it. You never know, you may love it. I, however, did not. 'Ashes, Ashes' gets 1 out of 5 stars and can be found at your local library or bookstore.

      (One last odd thing about this title-- the cover image posted here is not the final cover. The final cover has a model completely different looking. Ironically, the character from the tossed away cover is far more accurate to the book! Both images can be found on here on goodreads.
    • 1/5
      Like with most hot summer flings, my borderline obsessive, punch-drunk infatuation with YA dystopian fiction has finally blown its spark plug and officially fizzled out. Looking back on it all, there were definitely some good times (namely the awesomely gory zombie killing and the adrenaline-pumped running for your mother-loving life), but there were also A LOT of bad times.Therefore, I was really hoping that my last farewell rendezvous would turn out to be a fun one and that YA dystopian fiction and I could part ways on a happy note. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, our tumultuous relationship ended in even more disappointment...and a bit of mild, bilingual cussing.Bloody hell, I hate to say it ('cos I'm kinda starting to sound like a broken record), but I just didn't enjoy this book. Allow me to elaborate.Ashes Ashes, started off on the right foot. Immediately, the reader is introduced to Lucy, a klutzy average teen girl trying her best to survive on her own in the wilderness after the world as we know it has been brought to ruin by a series of wide-sweeping environmental disasters and a deadly, highly contagious plague.Being a tutorial and how to guide junkie myself, I was actually able to get behind the idea that Lucy was capable of learning valuable skills & techniques from a survival guide she picked up along her travels. In my mind, I imagined the guide to be written by the very resourceful & ballsy Bear Grylls. In fact, I got excited because I was hoping that Lucy's story would take the Man vs Wild route and focus on her post-apocalyptic adventures facing off against a seriously pissed off Mother Nature. Therefore, the first handful of chapters kept me quite interested and had me looking forward to seeing Lucy tackle various challenges thrown her way.Sadly, my excitement wore off rather quickly, and the moment Lucy joined up with a camp of other survivors, the story pretty much went downhill and eventually crashed & burned for me.In all honesty, the camp might as well have been named West Beverly High 'cos the majority of what happened there involved silly teenage melodrama & angst a la 90210. There was a whole lot of I-hate-him-but-I-like-him nonsense, cheesy flirting, repressed feelings, childish rivalry, icy glares, and non-communication leading to unnecessary misunderstandings.Seriously, there was a whole big chunk of the book in which nothing of real significance or plot development happened...it felt like pointless filler. The interactions between the characters weren't even meaningful and neither was much of the dialogue. It all felt very superficial. And I never felt as though I really got to know any of the characters. They all seemed like flat paper cutouts of common cliches. There was the insecure plain Jane heroine, the quiet broody love interest, the goofy flirt, the beautiful mean girl, the wise matriarchal granny, and the mad scientist/evil villain. And that's all they were; they had no depth or complexity to them. Consequently, I couldn't bring myself to be interested in or care about anyone one of them.Finally, there was also quite a bit of stuff that didn't make logical sense or completely add up in my mind. In particular, the explanations behind the plague, its spread, and immunity didn't jive well with what I've personally studied & learned about viral diseases. And I didn't understand why the camp just waited around (out in the open) to get picked off one by one, and why the Sweepers had such laughably incompetent security.So, yeah, I truly wanted to like Ashes Ashes, and I saw potential in the story, but there wasn't enough substance to the characters and the plot was too simplistic, linear, and predictable for me to get engrossed in the adventure and enjoy the book.
    • 4/5
      I love dystopians, I love them! Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari is a good read for any dystopian lover. However, I did have a few mixed feelings. Ashes, Ashes follows Lucy, the only survivor out of her family after a plague wiped out 99.9% of the population. She is just trying to survive, but she sees the water levels rising and what's left the animal population dwindling down. She doesn't have a comfortable life, but she has a place to live, and she's figured out what it is she needs to do every day. But how much longer can she go on like this? Just as she is starting to grasp reality, she meets Aidan, the first person she's met in a long time. Everything she knows seems to change, romances emerge, lives are lost and secrets are revealed. This book was an adventure, and I enjoyed that aspect. I loved the world that Jo Treggiari created. Well, loved may not be the word... It was a terrifying, solemn, interesting and surprisingly hopeful. I loved how there was a group of people who didn't give up. They are still fighting to survive, even though the demise of the human race seems evident. It is groups of characters like those that are optimistic towards humanity that are somewhat comforting. That is one of my favorite things about dystopians. When the end of the world is in full swing, people still hold on. The book as a whole was nice. I liked the characters and the plot, but I just felt like something was missing. I felt like either this was the first book in a series, or half of the book was missing. It just needed a little more, I would have loved this book if there was. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it (hence the "liked it"/4 star rating), I just wish there was more. So, long story short, I would recommend Ashes, Ashes, especially if you like dystopians.
    • 3/5
      This book was okay. I was barely able to finish it but it was still interesting. And different.
    • 4/5
      A good read. The characters were well written. I look forward to the next book.
    • 5/5
      Imagine if you will a city that is completely torn apart. Buildings are crumbled, highways decimated, and the population that is left is holding onto the hope that they'll be okay long enough to rebuild and just live. That is the picture that Jo Treggiari builds for the reader from the instant you open Ashes, Ashes. I was so blown away by the drive that all these characters had, just to survive from day to day. I tell you, books like this remind me why I should be so glad to have everything I do.

      As the story begins, we meet "Lucky" Lucy and find out her back story. She has chosen to live alone, and rely on her own survival skills to get buy. I have to say that I fell in love with her instantly. Lucy isn't a character who is tough, strong, and somehow impenetrable despite the odds. She's also very human. The fact that I got to see her falter, see her second guess her choices, was amazing to me. It reminded me that she was just a person who, thrown into a very desperate situation, was doing the best that she could. Add in the fact that she's rather young, and you have a character that I can get behind 100%.

      However it wasn't just Lucy who had me smitten with this book. All the characters who come onto the scene are different, interesting and have a depth that I couldn't get enough of. I don't want to ruin a minute of this amazing book for you, but Ashes, Ashes is populated with some of the most believable characters I've met in a long time. Following them in their daily work, watching them band together to protect one another and survive. It was kind of tough, I'll admit, but also amazingly rewarding. Jo Treggiari shows us the deepest depths of the human spirit, and I can't say enough how much I appreciated that.

      Lest I gush about characters for days, and I could, I'll move on to the plot. The story line in this book moves quickly, but never too fast that I was left behind. There are portions that might seem a little description heavy, but I understood quickly that these were there to show me the daily monotony that these survivors faced. Jo Treggiari writes so descriptively, in fact, that if I closed my eyes I could almost see myself working right beside them, amongst the rubble and desolate landscape. Even imaging it now sends shivers up my spine. Well-written is a bit of an understatement, but not even I am sure how to aptly describe what you'll find between these pages. There is a deeper plot hidden in here as well, but I won't divulge what it is.You'll have to see for yourself. Suffice it say that Lucy is very important in this book, and it was fascinating watching it all unfold.

      It boils down to this. I am a huge fan of dystopian fiction. To me, the two most important things in books like Ashes, Ashes are the setting and the characters. Treggiari not only successfully showed me both of these, but essentially hit them out of the park. I was in love with every minute of this book while I read it, and I'm holding on to my copy so I can read it again. Ashes, Ashes will be a book that is now added to my pile of dog-eared, constantly read, and well-loved books. I cannot recommend this title enough.
    • 4/5
      When a plague of hemorrhagic small pox wipes out 99% of the world's population, 16 year old Lucy is a survivor. She's alone, having made a camp in the The Wilds, what had been Central Park. At least until a pack of dogs, trained by The Sweepers (people who are looking supposedly looking for the infected) causes her to meet Aidan, a teenage boy living in a scavenger settlement several miles away. He saves her from the dogs and leaves her rattled--it was her first contact with another human being in over a year.The global warming has wreaked havoc on the planet, and the seasons are different and brutal. Lucy wakes up one morning in her camp to look out at the Hudson sea and knew what was coming--the water was sucking itself out to sea in order to come roaring back as a tsunami. She grabs what she can and just barely makes it to safety, everything she had gone with the water. Reluctantly, she goes to Aidan's camp to try to live with people again.There she finds out a bigger picture, and sees a Sweeper raid where they take part of that community away for seemingly no reason, and she wants to fight back. When she's nearly taken in a second raid, and a member of the community "escapes" from the Sweepers only to tell them that they had infected him with the plague on purpose, she become part of a small band to go rescue the others taken by the Sweepers. Only to discover that SHE is the one the Sweepers want most of all.This is a fantastic read, and, sadly, all to easy to visualize happening.
    • 3/5
      The world has been effectively destroyed be a series of natural catastrophes and a horrific plague. Lucy managed to survive, though she lost her family, her home and her friends. For the last year, she's been surviving alone in a homemade shelter in New York, with not much more than a survival guide taken from a bookstore and a pocket knife. She meets Aidan, who lives with a small group of Scavengers who search for supplies and attempt to make what they need. They are all avoiding the Sweepers, who have been raiding camps, stealing supplies and kidnapping people. Lucy doesn't want to become part of Aidan's group, but when the Sweepers come looking for her specifically, she needs the protection of the group. The mangled New York City setting is well done, and the questions about choices, survival and ethics will get you thinking. 6th grade and up.
    • 5/5
      This book was a surprise for me and it was so delightful with the richness and depth in both the world and relationships. A great weekend read for sure!
    • 4/5
      This is Postapocalyptic Fiction, although it is not a nuclear reason but a plague that wipes out almost everyone on earth. Teenager Lucy has been struggling to survive on her own since her family died. She meets another survivor named Aidan. When her makeshift home is destroyed by a tsunami she seeks Aidan out. He is living with a motley crew of other survives that she tries to fit in with, while trying not to be captrued by the sweepers who come in what hazmat suits and take people away to who knwows where.