Ashes, Ashes [Hardcover]

Jo Treggiari (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2011

A thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl's unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

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

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Jo Treggiari was born in London, England, and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. Her first attempts at writing were when she started revising classic fairy tales at age eight. Jo spent several years in San Francisco, where she trained as a boxer, wrote for punk magazines, and owned her own record label. She now lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, and still enjoys shadowboxing when she isn't working at her local bookstore.

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (June 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545255635
• ISBN-13: 978-0545255639
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #256,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in London, England but grew up in Canada, Roccasinibalda, Italy and California.
I used to work in the music industry and eventually owned my own indie record label. The first CD we ever put out was by a gangsta rap group. We also did alt rock and punk.
I have trained as a boxer. I could have been a contender. (Not really).
I started writing stories for my little sister when I was about 8. Often I would rework fairytales so that the princesses had a little more grit. Then I would write them out on white paper, roll them up and tie with a red ribbon.
Later on in high school I penned personalized naughty limericks by request.
I love dogs and octopi.I blog. And I enjoy baking desserts. I am a tattooed person.
My most recent book, a post-apocalyptic adventure YA, ASHES,ASHES was published summer 2011 by Scholastic Press. The paperback will be released in January 2013.
I am also the author of a creative non-fiction e-book novella, LOVE YOU LIKE SUICIDE (Fierce Ink Press) which is now available for download.

You can follow me on Twitter @jotreggiari or check out my website at www.jotreggiari.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The portrayal of this ruined New York is vivid and haunting & Lucy's story of survival is both pitiful and inspiring. June 2, 2011

By Abigail TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Are you ready for another dystopian novel? You should be. ASHES, ASHES by Jo Treggiari destroys the world and throws a sixteen year old girl into the ruins. My favorite thing about ASHES, ASHES was the evolution of the character of Lucy. In most dystopian novels, the characters have grown up in their dystopian world. They don't know anything else. Not Lucy. She grew up much like teenagers today. She went to high school, worried about boys and bullies, had a normal family. Until a series of environmental catastrophes brought civilization to it's knees. And before humanity could even begin to rebuild, a plague swept across the planet instantly killing 99% of the population.

Lucy didn't grow up knowing how to survive in an urban wilderness. But she learned. After everyone she knew succumbed to the plague, she left behind a corpse filled neighborhood for an unrecognizable New York City, and she hung on to life by sheer stubbornness. When ASHES, ASHES begins, Lucy has survived for a year on her own with little more than her father's pocket knife and an old survivor's guide from a ransacked bookstore. She becomes like an urban Robinson Crusoe. Alone with only her thoughts and memories until she meets Aidan.

Those who survived the plague have banded together into one of three groups. The Scavengers, like Aiden, take what they can and make what they can't to survive. The S'ans are the pitiful leper-like people who somehow survived the plague that ruined their bodies. And then there are the Sweepers. They patrol the streets abducting survivors and raiding Scavenger camps and stealing a few people each time for reasons unknown. Lucy has chosen to live on her own, but when the Sweepers seem to target her specifically, she has no choice but to join with Aidan.

The first in a planned series, ASHES, ASHES deserves a spot on your dystopian shelf. It's not as grand as some of it's predecessors, but the portrayal of this ruined New York is vivid and haunting, and Lucy's story of survival is both pitiful and inspiring. I enjoyed every page.

Sexual Content:
Kissing

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A mediocre addition to the dystopian genre... July 2, 2011

By gracegap

Format:Hardcover

It seems that dystopian is the way to go with YA fic these days, and Im not complaining. I really wanted to like Ashes, Ashes. But mostly i felt disappointed. Im sorry to say that this book was forgettable for me.
The action wasnt as thrilling as is capable through a dystopian setting, and the world building was not spectacular. That aside my biggest complaint is that the characters were flat. As with many YA couples,I felt that Lucy and Aidan lost personality as their "romance" developed. I had less of an idea of who they were than who they were attracted to. Even the secondary characters failed to really stand out or gain my sympathies.
I feel like there is likely a sequel in the making, but Im on the fence if I will continue reading.

For a more engaging dystopian read I suggest The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins(That is if you havent read it yet, and if you havent-why not?)or Anne Aguirre's Enclave.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great big gobbets of awesome! June 5, 2011

By Ms J. Travers

Format:Hardcover

At first glance, Ashes, Ashes is your typical post-apocalyptic novel. The main character, Lucy, is living alone in a shelter she's created, barely surviving as she hunts and scavenges nearby. She knows there are other settlements of humans in what was once New York, but scarred and damaged by the loss of her entire family and way of life she avoids them and lives hermit-like. Till one day... chased by the packs of dogs that are now being used by the Sweepers, who round up survivors for mysterious reasons, she meets Aidan and everything changes.

What I love most about this book is the details of survival that hit just the right tone; informative, but without swamping the narrative. It's a difficult balance to strike and many disaster novels fail to get it right, but Treggiari hits the nail on the head. Maybe it's the nerd in me, but I liked knowing that Lucy was as clueless as I would be when it comes to parting a turtle from its shell, and that far from somehow being an adept survivalist and martial arts expert, she was just a teenage girl living on wits and blind luck. Ashes, Ashes was real, accessible and believable. I couldn't put it down, and felt bereft when I finished it. Highly recommended.