We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire

December 15, 2020
The brazen younger daughter in a family scorched by tragedy examines the ashes of the aftermath. Em Morales is closely bonded to her older sister, Nor. When Nor is violently raped at a frat party, Em goes hard for #JusticeforNor--most significantly by convincing Nor to take her case to trial rather than accept a plea deal. A jury finds the defendant guilty on multiple counts, but a judge releases him based on time served, leaving the entire Morales family devasted. After Em makes friends with witty theater and medieval history nerd Jess (who uses they/them pronouns), she begins writing a fictionalized verse account of the life of Marguerite de Bressieux, a 15th-century noblewoman-turned-knight who avenged the horrific deaths and rapes of her family, adorned by Jess' illustrations inspired by illuminated manuscripts. McCullough has created an absorbing firecracker of a young woman who bleeds rage and grief as she wrestles with transcending not only her sister's trauma, but society's general malevolence toward women. The effect is engrossing, especially as Marguerite's and Em's stories become intertwined. With a focus on those who surround victims, McCullough underscores the importance of collective healing. Kobabe's illustrations elicit the medieval era, but the delicate, rounded lines do not match the grit of Em's words. Em and Nor are biracial, with a presumably White mom and Guatemalan immigrant dad. Intense, unrelenting, and inspiring. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from January 4, 2021
McCullough (Blood Water Paint) uses the legend of Marguerite de Bressieux, a medieval French noblewoman who avenged her sexual assault by going into battle against her attackers, to view the story of Em Morales, a biracial (Guatemalan and presumed white) Seattle high schooler reeling after her sister Nor’s brutal rape at a fraternity house. When Em’s attempts at social justice surrounding the event cause Nor harassment at college, Em begins writing Marguerite’s story through free verse as a way to express her anger at the patriarchal structure that seeks to silence both Em and Nor. With the help of nonbinary medieval enthusiast Jess, Em explores parallels between Marguerite’s and Nor’s experiences. When Em uncovers a painful family secret and becomes consumed by her research, she withdraws from those around her. In a moving back-and-forth between Marguerite’s verse story and Em’s prose recounting, McCullough questions chivalric codes of the Middle Ages and today’s meet-cute expectations. Though extended metaphor use can feel labored, McCullough emphatically confronts the toll that sexual violence takes and deftly questions who gets to control history’s narrative. Kobabe’s black-and-white illustrations border the poems, reflecting illuminated manuscripts. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

January 1, 2021

Gr 9 Up-When a drunk university football player and fraternity boy rapes her sister Elinor, Marianne fights back in a blog, losing her place at a prestigious journalism summer program. The trial ends with the rapist being found guilty, but receiving no jail time or punishment, and Marianne comments that she feels like learning to use a sword. When the media picks up the statement, they stereotype Marianne's Guatemalan American family as violent. Alienated from friends and even, in a sense, family, Marianne spends the summer trying to deal with the untenable situation by writing a verse novel about the medieval Marguerite de Bressieux, who fought rapists. While the writing and structure of the book is superb, with the two stories of rape and degradation being told back to back, the lack of background about Marguerite may be confusing to teen readers. As the book proceeds, the parallels become much clearer, but since very little textual information is given early on, Marguerite's story is often vague. Partially because little is known about Marguerite and Marianne is using her imagination, this approach makes sense, but may not be entirely effective. McCullough's characters are well-drawn, including a strong Latinx family and an endearing best friend who is transgender. Marianne's narration is especially compelling as she deals with her sister's rape and shows how it impacts the entire family. VERDICT A well-written book on an important topic that will appeal to a mature and discerning reader.-Janet Hilbun, Univ. of North Texas, Denton

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February 1, 2021
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* In a sophomore YA novel bristling with a rage that only builds from its opening chapters onward, McCullough (Blood, Water, Paint, 2018) brings to painful life the story of Marianne Morales, called Em, whose sister, Elinor, becomes the focus of national news when the boy who raped her after a frat party is found guilty of the crime by a jury but sentenced to no prison time by the judge. As Nor becomes a target for online threats and even in-person harassment on her college campus (she's the daughter of an immigrant; she was drinking at the party; football players protect their own), high-school junior Em, disillusioned by the failures of the justice system and social media advocacy, quits the school paper that has been her life for years and goes viral on the internet for telling the press she wants to learn how to use a sword. Through a budding friendship with nonbinary Jess, she learns the legend of fifteenth-century Marguerite de Bressieux, a lady knight who hunted rapists, and through her story, Em's anger begins to find form. Impulsive and sometimes selfish in her single-minded search for justice, Em offers a complex, deeply sympathetic vantage. Rooting her story firmly in two time periods--Marguerite's fifteenth century, told in verse, and Em's present-day voice, in prose--McCullough borrows judiciously from the headlines, and readers will find her story all the more affecting because of its seemingly eternal relevance.

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