Ashes, Ashes

April 4, 2011
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 12âup.

August 1, 2011

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

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