Ashes, Ashes

by Jo Treggiari Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In this lovingly detailed adventure, Treggiari (The Curious Misadventures of Feltus Ovalton) hits a postapocalyptic trifecta: environmental disasters, plague, and amoral scientists. After five years of floods, weather gone mad, and a mutated smallpox epidemic, the vast majority of humanity has been wiped out, leaving tiny bands of survivors to roam the devastated remnants of civilization. With everyone she knew dead, 16-year-old Lucy has been living in what's left of New York City's Central Park, foraging off the land. After a tsunami wipes out her camp, she seeks refuge with the handsome Aidan and his ragtag group of scavengers, who are routinely plagued by ruthless Sweepers, who kidnap the healthy for experimentation. No sooner has Lucy started to settle in with her new friends then the Sweepers strike again. The tense plot, cinematic moments, and highly capable protagonists make this a fast, gripping read. And although it's long on descriptive passages regarding the nuts and bolts of existing in this nightmarish world, and short on resolution, this thriller reads like a love letter to wilderness survival guides and disaster movies. Ages 12–up. (June)

From the Publisher

Praise for ASHES, ASHES"The tense plot, cinematic moments, and highly capable protagonists make this a fast, gripping read." —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY"Lucy . . . is a protagonist to whom teens will relate as she struggles through the chaos of her life." —SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Library Journal

Global warming finally has melted the polar ice caps, causing society to collapse as floods, droughts, and smallpox epidemics kill nearly everyone. Lucy is an anomaly, surviving the disasters that took her family, friends, and neighbors. At 16, she's already subsisted on her own for three years. But now a pack of wild dogs is closing in, until Aidan, a mysterious young boy, rescues Lucy and asks her to join his band of survivors. Danger remains as scary survivors known as the Sweepers descend on the camp, also trying to capture Lucy. This is an entertaining, if a bit predictable, young adult story that contrasts the strength of individual courage with the value of working in a group, all against the backdrop of this apocalypse. Cassandra Campbell provides capable narration. Recommended primarily for YA audiences.—Gloria Maxwell, Metropolitan Community Coll.-Penn Valley Lib., Kansas City, MO

School Library Journal - Audio

Gr 9 Up—Lucy has survived environmental catastrophes and an epidemic that killed most of the population in Jo Treggiari's dystopian novel (Scholastic, 2011) set in a post-apocalyptic New York City. The girl lost her entire family in the last wave of the plague and now lives alone, hunting and scavenging for food. She's attacked by wild dogs and rescued by a boy named Aidan, a member of the Scavengers, a group of survivors who have banded together for safety and companionship. But just as she joins the group, Sweepers kidnap several of the members, and it becomes apparent that they are inoculating their victims with the Plague in an attempt at medical experimentation. It appears that Lucy is immune to the disease, and her blood could be used to develop an antidote. Although the story starts a bit slowly, it gathers speed and tension as Lucy, Aidan, and others confront the director of the medical experimentation program. Cassandra Clare contributes to that tension through her narration and suspenseful voicing of each character. A better than average dystopian adventure.—Ann Brownson, Ballenger Teachers Center, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Treggiari's novel is undone by a far-fetched, overcrowded premise. Global warming has left most of New York City under water, and the remaining bits of dry land are mostly uninhabited thanks to a worldwide plague. Sixteen-year-old Lucy is carrying on as best she can on her own, but when a tsunami threatens her shelter, she must seek out fellow survivors. As if erratic weather patterns, plagues, and melting ice caps are not enough, the small settlement Lucy joins is threatened constantly by Sweepers (the requisite bad guys in uniform). The sympathetically drawn characters are the book's greatest strength; Lucy, in particular, is a protagonist to whom teens will relate as she struggles through the chaos of her life. The author writes with an immediacy that envelops readers, bringing to mind the work of Suzanne Collins and Carrie Ryan. But where their titles are deftly plotted page-turners, Ashes, Ashes is actually a bit of a yawner. Long, drawn-out descriptions of survival techniques may appeal to some teens, but many won't make it past the first chapter.—Sam Bloom, Groesbeck Branch Library, Cincinnati, OH

JUNE 2011 - AudioFile

Cassandra Campbell draws out the combination of innocence and wariness that characterizes 16-year-old Lucy. Lucy has survived the plague that killed her parents and great numbers of others, destroying the world as she knew it. After living on her own for many months, she meets Aidan, who helps save her from the Sweepers. She decides to leave her solitary refuge in Central Park and seek out Aidan’s small community—which consists of a few adults, a handful of teenagers, and a number of small children. Campbell maintains an underlying tone of hope even when things look bleak. She excels, in particular, at expressing the sweetness between Lucy and Aidan that is an oasis in their postapocalyptic world. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169113648
Publisher:	Oasis Audio
Publication date:	06/01/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged

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