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Thursday, December 26, 2013

Review: Ashes to ashes by Melissa C. Walker

Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to ashes by Melissa C. Walker
If I Stay meets the movie Ghost in this first book in a teen duology about a teenage-girl-turned-ghost who must cling to the echoes of her former life to save the people she left behind.
Ashes to Ashes is author Melissa Walker's sweeping, romantic, and emotionally rich story about the things that torment and tempt us, even from the Great Beyond. This book is perfect for fans of Die for Me and Imaginary Girls, and its breathtaking ending will leave readers anxiously awaiting the series conclusion, Dust to Dust.
When Callie's life is cut short by a tragic accident, she expects to find nothingness, or maybe some version of heaven.
Instead, her spirit travels to the Prism, an ethereal plane populated by the ghosts she thought were fictional. Here she meets a striking and mysterious ghost named Thatcher, who is meant to guide her as she learns to haunt and bring peace to the loved ones she left behind.
However, Callie uncovers a dark secret about the spirit world: The angry souls who always populate ghost stories are real, dangerous, and willing to do whatever it takes to stay on Earth, threatening the existence of everyone she ever cared about.
As she fights to save them, Callie will learn that while it may no longer beat, her heart can still love-and break.
GR
Publishes in US:  December 23rd 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: YA fantasy
Source: Harper Teen
Series? No

Buy it: Amazon BN

Author stalk away: ~site  ~blog 


 
    I wasn't expecting to enjoy Ashes to Ashes as much as I did, so I am very glad I was sent a review copy. I read some of Melissa's other books, but they seemed so different, and I felt like I was done with ghost stories, but this had a spin that I enjoyed. 
    I enjoyed Callie, and wanted to know why she was special, having all of the energy, clear memories and emotions when she first crossed into the Prism, and I was curious about the mysterious Thatcher. There is also another group that does not want to move on to Solace, the version of heaven per Thatcher in this book.
   The grief and emotions jump off the page, and while it seems it would be a completely down book, there are plenty of lighter moments and even flashbacks to get some romance and bestie time. 
    What I also appreciate is the message--you don't know if you will have another day, another chance to speak to the people you love, and she was looking back wishing that her and her father would have been closer, and that once we die, there is no way to fix that, so focus on what is important. 
    One thing that bothered me was some repetition of the rules and facts about Prism where different people says different things about what is okay or not, what you're supposed to do or not. And then there are details that I felt should have been given a tad earlier to avoid said repetition. If we had more info, the why, how, etc then it wouldn't be like, oh here's the rule again, and no reason behind it. 
    I figured out the twist before I got there as well as a few other details that maybe should have been more mysterious, but it didn't take away my enjoyment, and this is a series that I will continue with. Besides my affirmed suspicions about the end, they did a good job wrapping things up and stopped at a point that definitely made me wonder where exactly the series will go next, and wanting more. 

Bottom Line: Good, fast read even if a bit predictable.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Do you believe in an afterlife?
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13 comments:

  1. OOh nice review! I am looking forward to reading this one myself! Spent all the days before Christmas and the 24th trying to track it down at the bookstore, but apparently no one got it, so I had to order it online. Glad to hear it was a good read!

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  2. Great review! I have been wanting to read this one, and though the twist was a bit predictable, I will have to still get to it! Sounds like a good read!

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  3. I'm glad this ended up being good because I'm always leery of books that compare themselves to others. Especially something like If I Stay. Those are some big shoes to fill.

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  4. This one sounds like an interesting read. Sometimes predictable books bother me and sometimes I don't care.

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  5. I'm glad it was a good surprise but not sure it's for me...

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  6. Lovely review. The world sounds interesting and despite figuring things out I am glad you enjoyed it

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  7. I like that message, too, Brandi. None of us know what tomorrow will bring so make sure to make today count! :)

    I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

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  8. I've been reading a lot of reviews for this one lately. I'm thinking it might be one that I'd enjoy!

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  9. I've read Unbreak My Heard and I thought that was okay, so I wasn't in a rush to read Ashes to Ashes, compounded with the fact that I don't really like ghost stories, but I think I might bump this up on my tbr.

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  10. I haven't read any of Melissa's books before but now I am interested. Great review

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  11. This sounds kind of odd but interesting! I've heard a lot of good things about her writing! I'm glad you liked this one!

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  12. I've been so curious about this book recently but haven't seen too many reviews. The summary sounds right up my alley. I hate that the rules were repeated over and over. This kind of reminds me of the issues I had with TWINMAKER. I still think I'll read this, though!

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