BOOK REVIEW: ASHEN WINTER by Mike Mullin

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ASHEN WINTER
Mike Mullin
Tanglewood Press
567 pp.
Young Adult
Release Date:  October 16, 2012

It’s been over six months since the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Alex and Darla have been staying with Alex’s relatives, trying to cope with the new reality of the primitive world so vividly portrayed in Ashfall, the first book in this series. It’s also been six months of waiting for Alex’s parents to return from Iowa. Alex and Darla decide they can wait no longer and must retrace their journey into Iowa to find and bring back Alex’s parents to the tenuous safety of Illinois. But the landscape they cross is even more perilous than before, with life-and-death battles for food and power between the remaining communities. When the unthinkable happens, Alex must find new reserves of strength and determination to survive.

MY REVIEW:

Great sequel to Mullin's debut novel Ashfall. In Ashen Winter Alex and Darla take off across Iowa in search of his parents. The volcanic eruption from the first book has left much of the United States in a perpetual winter. Everything is covered in snow and anyone who managed to survive the eruption now struggles to survive freezing temperatures and starvation. Individual cities isolate themselves from outsiders who have taken to cannibalism and human slavery. When Darla gets injured and ends up in the hands of the Dirty White Boys, Alex does everything in his power to save her.

The story hits the pavement running and doesn't stop until the very last sentence. Mullin has created a disturbingly realistic world, and his narration is detailed and believable. While many dystopian novels create futuristic worlds that lean more toward science fiction, Mullin succeeds in presenting an accurate "What if?" scenario that is almost too real for comfort.

This book will appeal to both male and female teen readers. I recommend pre-ordering this book because it is sure to be hit. And FYI - if you haven't read the first book, it comes out in paperback next month. Read my review of ASHFALL here.

MY RATINGS:

Profanity: Moderate
Violence:  High
Sex:  Moderate