Synopsis: Epidemics, floods, droughts–for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she’s rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can’t continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There’s something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her. -Goodreads

Review: This week I finally finished reading Ashes, Ashes. It was a decent book and had some great action scenes but I never really felt like it sucked me in. Big points for the cover though (which isn’t something I comment on all that often), it really captured the essence of the post-apocalyptic world the characters live in and is colored beautifully.

The best quality of the entire novel for me was the characters. The main people Lucy is unquestionably a survivor and is pretty adept at making it on her own out in the wilderness. It’s an interesting read to see her work herself back into society and meet others who have been through just as much as she has. Everyone in this book has an understandably dark and twisty side so there are lots of heads butting from beginning to end.

One thing that kept me from truly engaging in this story was the apocalyptic medium of choice. There wasn’t just one, it was a little bit of everything. The biggest contender for world domination seems to have been constantly evolving strains of the plague. Never fun. When you add in a wide variety of natural disasters and a city that has come crumbling down in only a few short years… well it can be a lot to take. Of course, this adds a lot of different challenges for the characters, which were interested to read, but I felt like this book could have used a bit more focus.

I didn’t realize going in that this is a stand alone (I pretty much just assume everything is a series now) so it was a nice surprise to get some genuine closure for a change. Plus, Jo Treggiari just left enough to the imagination to let your imagination fill in the blanks after everything is said and done. There were still some unanswered questions, but I didn’t really find myself dwelling on.

From time to time I go out of my way to find a stand alone book that will leave me feeling like I really got an entire story in one book. If that’s you too and you’re in the mood for a little apocalypse then I’d recommend checking out Ashes, Ashes.

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Second Opinions:
@Hippies, Beauty & Books Oh My!
@Oh My Books!
@The Moody Teenager