*Review* Ashfall – Mike Mullin

 Ashfall

Mike Mullin

466 pages

ISBN: 9781933718552

Source: Library

Format: Hardcover

 

     Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don’t know it’s there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

     Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

Ashfall is a wonderful debut novel by Mike Mullin.  It’s very well thought out and realistic.  The eruption of a supervolcano that destroys so much is a very scary thing.  He does an excellent job of showing the nature of people when a natural disaster of this magnitude strikes.  The good, and the very, very bad.  People can become very ugly when a crisis like this happens, and the author put to page some of the worst  humans can become when desperate.

I liked the characters very much, and I could feel my heart breaking for them in several places of the book.  Some situations are very gruesome and tough to deal with, but in a world so rough, there are going to be plenty of harsh times.   Alex did a lot of changing through his journey, starting off as a shelfish teenager who wants to stay at home instead of going to have a good family weekend at his uncle’s farm and turning into a much stronger, grown version of himself who would do anything for those he cared for.  I really liked Darla as well; she is a very strong female, and having been raised on a farm, is very resourceful and smart.

This book is so raw and real.  I liked the romantic aspect of it because it wasn’t the typical type of YA romance.   How could it be in this kind of world?  I liked the bond between Alex and Darla, and that they could find something good in a place so wrought with destruction and ugliness.

Ashfall evokes plenty of emotions and is a very powerful story.  There were numerous times I was so mad at the behavior of people, but it is most likely what would happen if people were in this kind of situation.  The only thing I wasn’t crazy about were the slower points during travels.  The action points were good and fast-paced, but while travelling through the ashen wasteland, it dragged a bit for me.  All in all, I really enjoyed it and I will definitely be reading the next installment.

Very real, emotionally involving, riveting, thought some slow points.

Sincerely Sunday (8)

 Sincerely Sunday is a weekly meme that I host here at On The Shelf that will be like a micro-review or blurb of a book.  Anyone can participate, and you can leave a link to yours in the comments or, if you do not have a blog, you can just leave a comment with your Sincerely Sunday choice.  All you have to do is:

*Pick a book, any book.  It can be new, ARC, old, or one you read 10 years ago, as long as you have read it.
*Tell us the title and author.
*Tell us what made you read this book.
*Give us a short, sincere opinion on the book you chose.

My choice for this week is:

 The Lightning Thief
Rick Riordan

I watched the movie for this one first, then I had to read the book!

Percy Jackson  is a demigod who knows how to get himself into a lot of trouble, even when he isn’t looking for it.  This book has a lot of mythological elements in it and is a very fun, very fast read.  The characters are incredibly likeable and the worlds in the book are very strong.  If you want a quick, enjoyable read, you should definitely check this one out!