Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin

Title: Ashen Winter (Ashfall #2)
Author: Mike Mullin
Publisher: Tanglewood Press IN
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 90% or A-
Buy It: Amazon

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 Thoughts::
I enjoyed Ashfall so much, which was no surprise to me. I love survival, end of the world type stories. But no matter how much I liked it I was a little worried about the sequel. Sure, there was more story to tell, but my favorite part is always the immediate reaction to the tragedy. I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy book 2 as much as the first book.

Let start off by saying I was both right and wrong about my worries. I still like the first book more because I love when things begin and survival mode kicks into gear, but I really liked this book too for a different reason. First of all, we get some long term implications of how the U.S is going to be like for while. Next, we see what society is doing about it. It is really interesting to see the awful reality of how people would use this horrible situation to their advantage. And I know it would happen too. But we also see some hope in communities where they can stay in control by working together.

Darla and Alex are just so good together without taking it to a nauseating point. I don't want to get all spoilery but  I have to say that I was rooting so hard for Alex every step of the way. Whenever he got closer to his goal, or completed part of it, I wanted to jump up and down even though it would freak out my neighbors because I often read outside. That death near the end totally ripped my hear apart. I already loved him so much and I didn't want him to go! These characters are all just so good and I liked how they are changing with the world and all that jazz.

The ending though kind of angered me. You just went through ALL OF THAT, and now you're going to put yourself in danger AGAIN!?  It is pretty frustrating. I want him to just make the mayor listen, but I'm guessing he eventually will. This book was a great sequel and I can't wait until book 3!