Book Review: Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Title: Ashfall
Author: Mike Mullin
Genre: Dystopian Young Adult
Publication date: 14 October 2011
Author’s website: http://www.mikemullinauthor.com/
Source: eCopy received from NetGalley

Goodreads blurb:
Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

My thoughts:
We are so lucky to have so many dystopian novels to choose from these days and choosing ASHFALL will be a good choice!  I loved this book from the first page and Alex immediately crawled into my heart.

Alex is home alone for the weekend, playing his favourite computer game when a huge roar signals the end of civilisation.   Before he knows what is happening, his home is caving in on him – literally.  A huge volcano has erupted and soon ash is falling down on everything and blocking out the sun.  Alex is trapped in a hazy world where people are turning against each other in a desperate fight for food and life!

But Alex is not one to sit trapped with his neighbours and wait for things to get back to normal – he wants to get to his family.  So begins the long and often scary journey across the country to find home.  This new world is filled with mad men, desperate people that will do anything to protect themselves or take what you have.

Along the way, Alex finds Darla.  She is a strong willed girl used to fending for herself and her family.  Darla and her mom take Alex in and nurses him back to health.  It was fun having a female character who could literally teach Alex a thing or two (and often did!). 

The love story between Alex and Darla grows slowly throughout the book and it made is feel more real for me.  I cannot image going through what this couple has to endure but they face each new day heroically.

I am looking forward to the second in this trilogy.