Ashfall (2011) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 3 stars

“This must be my post-apocolyptic summer, because this is the third book with that theme I have read so far. This was about the aftermath of eruption of the super-volcano at Yellowstone National Park. Life was bleak for most people. In many ways it reminded me alot of the book, Life as We Knew It, by Pfeffer. The volcanic ash and the volcanic weather wreaked havoc on the world. It was pretty depressing to consider what happens to human beings when the survival instinct kicks in...not a pretty picture. It certainly was a page turner, though I would save this book for readers in 8th grade and above who would be able to handle the graphic violence. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“good premise and the author did his homework. The idea of a super volcano and the effects of an eruption is fascinating if not a little scary. ”

• Rated 3 stars

“Interesting story, although not as well-written as some other dystopian/survival lit I have read...”

• Rated 1 stars

“This was honestly the worst book i have ever read, not only was the book filled with useless details when it failed to add the important ones. To summarise the story a usually quiet nerdy kid named alex is just living a normal life in his home town, Worthington, when his family is suposed to go on a trip to his granpas farm up north but alex doesnt want to go. So his parents decide to leave him at home but take alexs sister with them . But as soon as they are gone the super volcano in yellowstone acts up and a peice of rock flys out of the valcano and hits his house. Alex doesent know what to do so he leaves his house to go to his nabors house across the street. After they settle in the ash from the valcano starts to fall like snow. The ash soon covers te ground and if people dont keep the ash off of their houses the roofs will collapse. Alot of buildings get crushed as the ash continues to fall, food becomes scarce and thugs break into Alexs nabors house and they have to kill the thugs. Alex gets scared out of his mind and sets off to find his parents, so he collects his things and sets out. He encounters alot of bad people and good people on te way, but he finds a barn and he is almost dead. He passes out in the barn and a girl named Darla and her mother finds him and nurses him back to health. After their house gets raided by thugs and Darlas mother gets killed. Alex and Darla decide to head out to his grandpas house. Their trip is very hard and painful they have alot of hardships to go through and Darla and Alex fall in love. They finally find their grandpas farm and they live there for a while and at the end of the book they leave the terible clifhanger of him leaving to go back and find his parents. I wish the vocabulary in this book might have been a lot more chalenging and the book did not keep my attention at all, I almost gave up reading this book about six times. The characters where boring and even though this was a fast paced and supposedly exiting book I lacked interest after the first few chapters. I would not recommend this book and I seriously consider not reading any of this authors books ever again, but everyone deserves a second chace.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Ashfall is a realistic post-apocalyptic story centered around a teen boy's struggle to survive the aftermath of a cataclysmic natural disaster. This was an interesting page turner, but it contains graphic situations which could upset sensitive readers.”

• Rated 4 stars

“This was a fun one to read. It wasn't as "dystopian" as I expected, but it was still very good. Looking forward to the sequel.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Sixteen year old Alex does not want to accompany his family to his uncles farm in nearby Illinois so convinces his mother that he is old enough to stay home by himself. The first night, Yellowstone's super volcano erupts and ash starts to fall for months. Alex's home is destroyed so he decides to make the journey from his home in Iowa to his Uncles house. He meets friendly people and awful people on the way. I loved this book that imagines what a disaster of this magnitude would be like for the world. ”

• Rated 3 stars

“good survivalist lit, but it doesn't really conclude; it just ceases.”

• Rated 4 stars

“I wasn't expecting so much violence. It was very eerie since the beginning is set in Cedar Falls and it is a realistic apocalypse. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“It's very realistic and surprisingly scary. It is well written and was so emotional i felt the pain of the characters.”