Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari

ASHES, ASHES by JO TREGGIARI

Movie Rating: PG-13 for scenes of peril, scary images, and light swearing
Book Rating: @@@@@
Genre: Dystopian
Swearing: couples uses of the h-word
Inappropriate scenes: None
Number of Pages: 341(hardcover)
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Back Blurb:
      Smallpox epidemics, floods, droughts--for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, stealing with it everyone she ever loved. Even the landscape of her beloved New York City is ever-shifting and full of hidden dangers. As the weather rages out of control, she survives alone in the wilds of of Central Park, hunting and foraging for food and making do with the little she has, while avoiding roving scavengers and thieves. But when an unrelenting pack of vicious hounds begins to hunt her, Lucy is not sure she can continue on her own. Then, suddenly, she is swept to safety by a mysterious boy named Aidan, who helps her to join a band of survivors. Reluctantly, she finds him after her home was destroyed; however, new dangers await her.
      An army of Sweepers terrorizes the camp, carting off innocent people and infecting them with the plague. Lucy and Aidan realize that it's up to them to save their friends, but Lucy doesn't know that the Sweepers have laid a trap--for her. There is something special about Lucy, and the Sweepers will stop at nothing to have her in their clutches.
      Jo Treggiari spins a thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl's unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.

Ring around the roses A pocket full of posies Ashes, Ashes We all fall down.

My review:
     Plagues, Cures, Evil Scientists, One girl surviving, One boy watching. This. Book. Was. Terrific. It's like Dystopian and Sci-fi combined. My two favorite genres! :D One of things I like most about this book is that Treggiari doesn't live in a fantasy world. Where even after a couple of weeks without a shower the main character is still gorgeously clean, they don't stink, their hair isn't greasy. No, nothing like that. Here it's written like the real world would be like. Most of the islands are gone. Australia is half it's size now. Coastal cities are gone. The only thing that connects the characters to the world before is memories. A book of pictures, a blanket, etc. The book was very well written and focused on making you see what the world really would be like if something like this happened. And Lucy's secret?
Yeah, I know what it is. But I ain't gonna tell ya. ;)