Book Review: Ashen Winter (Ashfall #2) by Mike Mullin

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.

Ashen Winter is the second book in the series;  I reviewed the first book, Ashfall, last year.  The Ashfall series is a powerful view of a post-apocalyptic world.  It's chilling to read how humans can react when world order is destroyed.

With the start of Ashen Winter, we see a more mature Alex.  All the softness of his youth was chiseled off in Ashfall. The author, Mike Mullin, does an excellent job with the characters.  They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and grow as the story unfolds.

The book is full of action and is a very entertaining read.  Ashen Winter can be read as a stand alone, but I would recommend reading Ashfall first.  You have time to grab it now, Ashen Winter will be available October 16.   There is a good bit of violence in the series, so it may not be appropriate for younger kids, but young adults and adults who enjoy post-apocalyptic settings should definitely read this series!

Thanks to NetGalley and Tanglewood Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

I give this book 4 Bookworms.