Title: Ashes to Ashes
Author: Jenny Han
First published September 16, 2014
387 pages, Hardcover
Rating: 3.65
Overview
When Rennie dies on New Year’s Eve, Kat and Lillia are shattered. They are haunted by the guilt of not being able to save her.
Mary knows the truth about that night and about what she is. She also knows about Lillia and Reeve’s love story.
She is out for revenge and nothing is going to stop her. The three friends, who once stood together, are now torn apart.
Mary’s revenge is ruthless and dangerous. Will the secrets and lies they have kept from each other cause their downfall, or will they rise from the ashes of their past mistakes?
Ashes to Ashes is an emotionally gripping story that will keep you on the edge of your seat till the very end.
Editoral Review
Jenny Hans Ashes to Ashes is a young adult novel that explores the intricacies of love, loss, and growth. Han is an American author who is widely known for her bestselling To All the Boys Ive Loved Before series.
Her writing style is engaging, witty and emotionally realistic. In Ashes to Ashes, Han infuses her intimate knowledge of teenage life with the struggles of grief to create a moving and captivating story.
Ashes to Ashes is a novel that explores the challenges of moving on from grief. The book centers on the story of seventeen-year-old Cassie Thomas who loses her best friend, Dorothea.
Cassie is consumed by guilt because she feels responsible for Dorothea’s death, which happened two years earlier. She cannot find peace until she discovers the truth about the night her friend died.
The novel’s setting is in the summer of 2010 in a small beach town in California. Here, Cassie gets a job at her grandmother’s bookstore, and she spends her days sorting books and slowly uncovering the truth behind Dorotheas death.
Cassies love interest, Liam, adds an enjoyable element that complicates the storyline. Liam has known Cassie since they were children, and his presence becomes significant as the story progresses.
One of the strengths of Ashes to Ashes is the depth of Han’s characters. Cassie is a well-crafted character, who is both relatable and believable.
Han’s portrayal of Cassie’s struggles with grief is sensitive and emotionally rich. All the characters in the novel, including Dorothea and Liam, are layered, and they all have their motivations, making it easy to get invested in their lives.
Another strength of the novel is Han’s exploration of the theme of grief. Han handles the topic of grief with sensitivity and realism, and the result is a touching and relatable story.
She explores the complex emotions that come with grief and shows how it affects people differently. The story also touches on themes of friendship, family, first love, and self-discovery with all its beauty and pain.
One flaw of the novel is the pacing, which drags at times. The story takes a while to pick up, and some readers may struggle to get into it.
Additionally, the novels ending feels rushed, and some of the conflicts do not get resolved satisfactorily. Overall, Ashes to Ashes is a well-crafted coming-of-age novel with relatable characters, heartwarming moments, and a moving storyline that delves into the complex emotions of grief.
It will appeal to young adults who enjoy contemporary literature and books that deal with realistic issues. Ashes to Ashes is a testament to the deeply intimate and universal nature of grief, and it is a story that young adults need to read.
It shows how people can learn and grow from the losses they experience, and how the journey of self-discovery can be both challenging and rewarding. For its emotional authenticity and relatable characters, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a deeply nuanced young adult novel with substance.
Therefore, I would give Ashes to Ashes a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
