Ashes, Ashes - Jo Treggiari

Treggiari, Jo. Ashes, Ashes. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2011.


Summary: Lucy Holloway lives in a post-apocalyptic world.  Ninety-nine percent of the world's population has been wiped out by a vicious plague.  Living in Manhattan, Lucy builds a small hut in what used to be Central Park.  There she takes care of herself, avoiding the Sweepers and Scavengers, until one day she runs into Aidan.  Aidan is a scavenger living in a small colony of people leftover from the plague.  When a tsunami chases her out of her home, Lucy reluctantly marches to the colony, planning to leave as soon as possible.  When the sweepers come and take some of her new friends away, however, Lucy can't help but to want to go to the hospital and free them.  As it turns out, the sweepers do not want Lucy's friends.  They want Lucy herself.  Most of those who survived the plague were vaccinated, but Lucy has not been vaccinated for anything in her life, and yet she survives.  The sweepers and they're leader, Dr. Lessing, seek out Lucy in order to drain her of her blood and find the answer to the plague.  Lucy herself is eventually captured, and with the help of her friends, must choose whether to escape or to stay in the hospital and give herself to a cure.


Dystopia: Ashes, Ashes contains more traditional elements of a dystopia than While I Live.  Like the other novels, there is a new power structure in place.  At the start of the novel, Lucy must take care of herself.  She has lost her parents, friends and anyone she was close with.  Similar to Ellie, Lucy is thrust into an extreme situation and must survive using a survival book and her common sense and perseverance.  She does not remain alone for long though, when she runs into Aidan.  These two become the heroes of the novel like the ones I have encountered before.  They will be the ones who discover the true operations of the dystopian society, in this case the hospital, and they will challenge these operations and overcome them.  Although the story begins as more of a survival story, it becomes clear as the plot progresses that there are things happening that do not seem quite kosher to Lucy and her companions.  The sweepers begin kidnapping people from the colony and running tests on them, even injecting them with the plague to see if they hold the secret to immunity.  Like the society in The Giver, the people in the hospital are killing others in order to further their goals.  Lucy struggles with this concept, just as Jonas did in The Giver.  Part of her knows it is important to battle the plague, but again the issue of choice arises.


Like all of the other novels, the drama in Ashes, Ashes hinges on the main character's ability to choose.  While in the hospital, Lucy in drugged and put to sleep, and her blood is taken from her without her permission.  She explicit thinks about how Dr. Lessing has taken away her ability to choose what she does with her own blood.  This does not sit well with the stubborn Lucy, and she decides to escape and take her records with her.  She does, however, leave the vials of her blood.  Like Jonas, she realizes that people should have the right to choose and to fight for themselves, but she also knows the plague must be dealt with.  


This novel has more in common with traditional dystopian novels, but it also reaches out to an interest in a post-apocalyptic niche.  I think that students will enjoy this novel.  I liked it a lot better than I have some of the other books.  The story is easy to follow, and the world Treggiari sets up is believable despite its extremes.  The characters in this novel are really well developed, and so I found myself highly invested in this story.  The plot is compelling, and there is conflict enough to please anyone.  This book would be helpful for teaching the importance of interdependence as well as the importance of staying critical of society and one's government.  Overall, this book comes highly recommended.