Jones Cristina L Ashes is set in what seems to be the present, three years after the main character Alex's parents died. Alex is hiking the Waucamaw Wilderness in Michigan when the zap hits. I think this setting is probably important because Alex is left in the middle of the forest with no resources and little Ellie to look after. Being stuck in an unfamiliar place makes it a lot more difficult for the two girls to survive given their strange situation. The two main characters are Alex and Ellie. Alex is a 17 year old orphan with a large brain tumor that took away her sense of smell and taste. Odly enough, both of those senses came back to her after the mysterious zap. Ellie is what Alex thought to be "...maybe eight or nine and already had too much 'tude" (p.16). Ellie's father also passed away and her mother wasn't around so she was left living with her grandfather who passed away due to the zap in the first chapters of the book. Now the girls are alone in the forest, trying to get along and find a way back home.
Jones Jacob C I agree that setting seems very important to the book as the two are set up to be in a sticky situation. In the book it seems that Alex loses hope because of the situation she was put in saying "Her reasons for coming to Waucamaw to begin with had just gone up in those proverbial flames (page 46). With this new situation Alex most likely feels now that she is left in unknown territory for her stuck with Ellie as a burden that her journey has gone down the drain.
Jones Jacob C The setting of ashes takes place in a woods/forest in modern times probably where the main character Alex must travel through to get to Michigan where she can be healed for her severely large tumor otherwise known as the "monster". I think that the setting is important to the novel because it will force the main characters into a specific situation where they can't just leave and they will be trapped in the forest with many dangers present at anytime, which will lead to plot development. Ellie is one of the main characters introduced with her grandfather when he finds Alex and attempts to befriend her, Ellie is indirectly characterized with her actions always being upset somehow or sassy telling us she has underlying problems as she is only a child, she is directly characterized as being a short little girl with a pink backpack and parka and that she is not actually as mean as she acts. Alex is the other main character who is the most primary of the two, she has been ridden by a tumor and is seeking treatment but must first past through this forest. She is indirectly characterized as a smart survivalist as when she gets into trouble she naturally responds with the best possible response. She is also directly characterized as said by her aunt "That you're stubborn" (page 6).
Jones Cristina L I agree that the setting is important to the novel because it forces the characters into certain situations that they can't easily get out of. One of these major conflicts would have to be Alex and Ellie's encounter with the pack of wild dogs. "If she was far enough from the V, the dogs would have to come single file, and that she could defend" (pg 110). Luckily for them, what you said to be Alex's smart survival skills allowed them to gain some time and later be saved by Tom.
"where are you?" "i just passed into michigan." (bick 1) the author begins the book quickly with a setting, more specifically the waucamaw forest, the time of this is present day as the technology used such as casio watches and ipods, the importance of the setting is most likely its ability to be easily related to a large amount of people, also giving it a sense of realism as events unfold and adding extra danger to the situation, the main characters introduced so far is alex; a 17 year old who was orphaned 3 years proior to the events of the book, her motives for travelling alone are unclear but are meaningless as things sudden turn to a survival situation with Ellie, the other main character, an 8 year old with a hatred of all things living, her father died in iraq leaving her only his military work dog, mina, who was injured in the blast that killled him, and her mother ran off before she was one, now in the hands of her grandfather she often loses her temper yelling "i hate this, i hate you, i hate everything!" (bick 22) before making a brash decision and causing trouble
Jones Cristina L The main characters Alex and Ellie are described both directly and indirectly. For example, I agree on the fact that Ellie often loses her temper and causes trouble, as she is also directly described by her grandfather as being short tempered and unpredictable when he says "It's Ellie got me worried. She's a little time bomb" (pg. 23).
Jones Jacob C I disagree with the setting being easily related to most people, I've been lost but I don't think most have been in such a large forest, when people go camping they usually have an idea of where they are. Especially with them being unable to navigate the area as Ellie destroyed the map with Alex explaining "I'm taking the shorter trail, the one I showed you on the map..." (page 47). Not many people have wandered through a forest with very little idea of where to travel.
Jones Cristina L A constant external conflict Alex and all the other characters are struggling with throughout the novel is themselves against nature. Being stuck in the middle of the forest with very little resources during the cold winter months makes it difficult for the characters to find food, shelter and keep warm. Also, they have to protect themselves from wild dogs, wolves, "zombies" and anyone else who could possibly be a threat to them. Often, Bick describes events of violence with a lot of detail. "The girl sprawled, hands wrapped around her throat, gargling as blood pumped between her fingers" (244). She doesn't hesitate to leave out the most repulsing pieces of information creating a very violent and gruesome mood.
Jones Brendan B i agree with both points, the constant struggle of whats mother nature going to throw at us next, coupled with who want to hurt us now, the constant struggle of simply having food and shelter and other such necessities and the amount of effort and energy given for such things, and i feel that if the amount of detail put into the violence and other such parts the be would be rather bland, instead of the quote given previously imagine simply "the girls struggled, the brain zapped one began choking her, alex began to bleed" the book wold have nothing to keep the reader interested
Jones Jacob C Bick definitely leaves a violent after taste after every dramatic scene usually being extremely gory or surprising, often drawing the reader in making us want to keep reading to know why these things had to happen. "He smashed the collie against the tree. There was a sickening thunk, and then the dog let out an abortive ungh!" (page 121) gives a small glimpse of the gore scenes that the author often uses to get his images of the situations across.
Jones Jacob C I agree that the group often fight against nature in order to survive, with no resources they are forced into a situation which they must do everything in their power to survive. They encounter many different obstacles like the dogs or changed which often impacts how they decide to survive. Early on they were stuck in the situation with the dogs attacking "There are more dogs, Ellie. Move, move!" (page 106) and had to problem solve on how to get out of the sticky situation.
Jones Jacob C An external conflict that Alex and everyone else in the book experience is the struggle to survive in the forest with all sorts of problems ahead of them. Alex is burdened with the task of surviving in the winter with no supplies but also being responsible for Ellie's needs as well. I think that the book will end with the group being reunited and find a habitable shelter and begin to live without the constant need to look for shelter and food. The tone that I would use to describe Ashes would be horrific, this is because he often has very gory scenes that are extremely vivid using imagery as his tool of description. The first scene would probably be the most impactful so far to me would be "The deer catapulted off the ridge over the cliff into empty space" (page 27). In an already horrific scene the deer committing suicide tipped the scale for me.
i think horrific is simply the only appropriate tone word, others possibly would be gory, disturbing to some senses and even suspenseful as all you begin to feel is a sense of anxiety as you simply expect something to go wrong, the constant use of imagery is a huge part of setting all this up, giving the reader more in the way of feeling and experiencing that of the characters without having to actually experience such scarring events
Jones Cristina L I agree that the scene with the deer committing suicide was a lot more than I could handle. Starting to read this book I wasn't aware of what I was getting myself into and when I came across phrases like "one massive wing was bent all the way back, and its black beak had snapped clean off, like lead in a pencil" (page 27) I knew the mood of this book was going to be very different than what I am accustomed to.
Jones Cristina L I have to disagree with your prediction of how the book will end. "She didn't know if the tightness in her heart meant that he was there; that they were connected somehow" (page 374). After reading the section where Alex thinks of Tom, I predict that by the end of the book, Tom stumbles into Rule and is reunited with Alex. At that point a lot more drama will be created between Tom and Chris, considering Chris close to taking Tom's place in Alex's heart. Alex will be stuck deciding between the two boys and nothing good will come out of that.
Jones Cristina L Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick tells the story of a Alex, seventeen-year-old running from her brain tumor: Tom, a soldier looking to get some release: and Ellie, an angry eight-year-old. These three are all brought together in an effort to survive after an electromagnetic pulse kills most of the population, transforms others in zombies and gives some people supernatural senses. “The girl sprawled, hands wrapped around her throat, gargling as blood pumped between her fingers” (245). Ashes is a very descriptive and often gory novel providing much detail when the characters encounter zombies or other people struggling to survive. The author’s use of details can sometimes be disturbing but nevertheless, I believe the novel would not be the same without the gruesome language. Towards the end, the book becomes less bloody; the characters get separated and the focus is moved to Alex and to the survivors who found a peaceful way to live after the pulse. It was really well thought out to stop the violence halfway through the book and add a tranquil civilization but not exclude the drama. Having the whole book be gruesome and violent would have gotten overwhelming for the reader. As I anticipated, the ending of this book was good but a major cliff hanger, making me feel forced to read the sequel. The second book will probably end the same way so I’ll have to read all three before I get to a complete, satisfying, ending. I think this novel was nominated for a Gateway Book Award because it's a really good read for kids my age. Not everyone in high school likes to read but this book definitely hooks you from the start and keeps you interested, making reading more enjoyable for teenagers.
Jone Jacob C Ashes by Ilsa J. Black is about a 17 year old girl who is terminally ill with an extremely large tumor who ventures into a woods to get to Michigan where she will spread the ashes of her parents, as she is in the woods she meets an old man and his granddaughter Ellie. During this moment an EMP is dropped causing many to die and the rest to become zombies with few normal survivors, during this time Alex must take Ellie and survive in the woods where she later meets Tom. The plot and character development were good and its surreal usage of imagery really brings the book to life. My favorite quote was when Kincaid asked alex ".. with his best one-eyed squint, " what exactly is living in that head of yours" (Bick 358)? I personally was not satisfied with the ending because it was a cliffhanger used to promote the selling of the next book. I don't think this book won the Gateway Book Award it was good but not the best book, because it so reminds me of Hunger Games with the whole regurgitated survival in woods setting/plot.
Jones
ReplyDeleteCristina L
Ashes is set in what seems to be the present, three years after the main character Alex's parents died. Alex is hiking the Waucamaw Wilderness in Michigan when the zap hits. I think this setting is probably important because Alex is left in the middle of the forest with no resources and little Ellie to look after. Being stuck in an unfamiliar place makes it a lot more difficult for the two girls to survive given their strange situation.
The two main characters are Alex and Ellie. Alex is a 17 year old orphan with a large brain tumor that took away her sense of smell and taste. Odly enough, both of those senses came back to her after the mysterious zap. Ellie is what Alex thought to be "...maybe eight or nine and already had too much 'tude" (p.16). Ellie's father also passed away and her mother wasn't around so she was left living with her grandfather who passed away due to the zap in the first chapters of the book. Now the girls are alone in the forest, trying to get along and find a way back home.
Jones
DeleteJacob C
I agree that setting seems very important to the book as the two are set up to be in a sticky situation. In the book it seems that Alex loses hope because of the situation she was put in saying "Her reasons for coming to Waucamaw to begin with had just gone up in those proverbial flames (page 46). With this new situation Alex most likely feels now that she is left in unknown territory for her stuck with Ellie as a burden that her journey has gone down the drain.
Jones
ReplyDeleteJacob C
The setting of ashes takes place in a woods/forest in modern times probably where the main character Alex must travel through to get to Michigan where she can be healed for her severely large tumor otherwise known as the "monster". I think that the setting is important to the novel because it will force the main characters into a specific situation where they can't just leave and they will be trapped in the forest with many dangers present at anytime, which will lead to plot development. Ellie is one of the main characters introduced with her grandfather when he finds Alex and attempts to befriend her, Ellie is indirectly characterized with her actions always being upset somehow or sassy telling us she has underlying problems as she is only a child, she is directly characterized as being a short little girl with a pink backpack and parka and that she is not actually as mean as she acts. Alex is the other main character who is the most primary of the two, she has been ridden by a tumor and is seeking treatment but must first past through this forest. She is indirectly characterized as a smart survivalist as when she gets into trouble she naturally responds with the best possible response. She is also directly characterized as said by her aunt "That you're stubborn" (page 6).
Jones
DeleteCristina L
I agree that the setting is important to the novel because it forces the characters into certain situations that they can't easily get out of. One of these major conflicts would have to be Alex and Ellie's encounter with the pack of wild dogs. "If she was far enough from the V, the dogs would have to come single file, and that she could defend" (pg 110). Luckily for them, what you said to be Alex's smart survival skills allowed them to gain some time and later be saved by Tom.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"where are you?" "i just passed into michigan." (bick 1) the author begins the book quickly with a setting, more specifically the waucamaw forest, the time of this is present day as the technology used such as casio watches and ipods, the importance of the setting is most likely its ability to be easily related to a large amount of people, also giving it a sense of realism as events unfold and adding extra danger to the situation, the main characters introduced so far is alex; a 17 year old who was orphaned 3 years proior to the events of the book, her motives for travelling alone are unclear but are meaningless as things sudden turn to a survival situation with Ellie, the other main character, an 8 year old with a hatred of all things living, her father died in iraq leaving her only his military work dog, mina, who was injured in the blast that killled him, and her mother ran off before she was one, now in the hands of her grandfather she often loses her temper yelling "i hate this, i hate you, i hate everything!" (bick 22) before making a brash decision and causing trouble
ReplyDeleteJones
DeleteCristina L
The main characters Alex and Ellie are described both directly and indirectly. For example, I agree on the fact that Ellie often loses her temper and causes trouble, as she is also directly described by her grandfather as being short tempered and unpredictable when he says "It's Ellie got me worried. She's a little time bomb" (pg. 23).
Jones
DeleteJacob C
I disagree with the setting being easily related to most people, I've been lost but I don't think most have been in such a large forest, when people go camping they usually have an idea of where they are. Especially with them being unable to navigate the area as Ellie destroyed the map with Alex explaining "I'm taking the shorter trail, the one I showed you on the map..." (page 47). Not many people have wandered through a forest with very little idea of where to travel.
Jones
ReplyDeleteCristina L
A constant external conflict Alex and all the other characters are struggling with throughout the novel is themselves against nature. Being stuck in the middle of the forest with very little resources during the cold winter months makes it difficult for the characters to find food, shelter and keep warm. Also, they have to protect themselves from wild dogs, wolves, "zombies" and anyone else who could possibly be a threat to them.
Often, Bick describes events of violence with a lot of detail. "The girl sprawled, hands wrapped around her throat, gargling as blood pumped between her fingers" (244). She doesn't hesitate to leave out the most repulsing pieces of information creating a very violent and gruesome mood.
Jones
DeleteBrendan B
i agree with both points, the constant struggle of whats mother nature going to throw at us next, coupled with who want to hurt us now, the constant struggle of simply having food and shelter and other such necessities and the amount of effort and energy given for such things, and i feel that if the amount of detail put into the violence and other such parts the be would be rather bland, instead of the quote given previously imagine simply "the girls struggled, the brain zapped one began choking her, alex began to bleed" the book wold have nothing to keep the reader interested
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteJones
DeleteJacob C
Bick definitely leaves a violent after taste after every dramatic scene usually being extremely gory or surprising, often drawing the reader in making us want to keep reading to know why these things had to happen. "He smashed the collie against the tree. There was a sickening thunk, and then the dog let out an abortive ungh!" (page 121) gives a small glimpse of the gore scenes that the author often uses to get his images of the situations across.
Jones
DeleteJacob C
I agree that the group often fight against nature in order to survive, with no resources they are forced into a situation which they must do everything in their power to survive. They encounter many different obstacles like the dogs or changed which often impacts how they decide to survive. Early on they were stuck in the situation with the dogs attacking "There are more dogs, Ellie. Move, move!" (page 106) and had to problem solve on how to get out of the sticky situation.
Jones
ReplyDeleteJacob C
An external conflict that Alex and everyone else in the book experience is the struggle to survive in the forest with all sorts of problems ahead of them. Alex is burdened with the task of surviving in the winter with no supplies but also being responsible for Ellie's needs as well. I think that the book will end with the group being reunited and find a habitable shelter and begin to live without the constant need to look for shelter and food. The tone that I would use to describe Ashes would be horrific, this is because he often has very gory scenes that are extremely vivid using imagery as his tool of description. The first scene would probably be the most impactful so far to me would be "The deer catapulted off the ridge over the cliff into empty space" (page 27). In an already horrific scene the deer committing suicide tipped the scale for me.
i think horrific is simply the only appropriate tone word, others possibly would be gory, disturbing to some senses and even suspenseful as all you begin to feel is a sense of anxiety as you simply expect something to go wrong, the constant use of imagery is a huge part of setting all this up, giving the reader more in the way of feeling and experiencing that of the characters without having to actually experience such scarring events
DeleteJones
DeleteCristina L
I agree that the scene with the deer committing suicide was a lot more than I could handle. Starting to read this book I wasn't aware of what I was getting myself into and when I came across phrases like "one massive wing was bent all the way back, and its black beak had snapped clean off, like lead in a pencil" (page 27) I knew the mood of this book was going to be very different than what I am accustomed to.
Jones
DeleteCristina L
I have to disagree with your prediction of how the book will end. "She didn't know if the tightness in her heart meant that he was there; that they were connected somehow" (page 374). After reading the section where Alex thinks of Tom, I predict that by the end of the book, Tom stumbles into Rule and is reunited with Alex. At that point a lot more drama will be created between Tom and Chris, considering Chris close to taking Tom's place in Alex's heart. Alex will be stuck deciding between the two boys and nothing good will come out of that.
Jones
ReplyDeleteCristina L
Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick tells the story of a Alex, seventeen-year-old running from her brain tumor: Tom, a soldier looking to get some release: and Ellie, an angry eight-year-old. These three are all brought together in an effort to survive after an electromagnetic pulse kills most of the population, transforms others in zombies and gives some people supernatural senses. “The girl sprawled, hands wrapped around her throat, gargling as blood pumped between her fingers” (245). Ashes is a very descriptive and often gory novel providing much detail when the characters encounter zombies or other people struggling to survive. The author’s use of details can sometimes be disturbing but nevertheless, I believe the novel would not be the same without the gruesome language. Towards the end, the book becomes less bloody; the characters get separated and the focus is moved to Alex and to the survivors who found a peaceful way to live after the pulse. It was really well thought out to stop the violence halfway through the book and add a tranquil civilization but not exclude the drama. Having the whole book be gruesome and violent would have gotten overwhelming for the reader. As I anticipated, the ending of this book was good but a major cliff hanger, making me feel forced to read the sequel. The second book will probably end the same way so I’ll have to read all three before I get to a complete, satisfying, ending.
I think this novel was nominated for a Gateway Book Award because it's a really good read for kids my age. Not everyone in high school likes to read but this book definitely hooks you from the start and keeps you interested, making reading more enjoyable for teenagers.
Jone
ReplyDeleteJacob C
Ashes by Ilsa J. Black is about a 17 year old girl who is terminally ill with an extremely large tumor who ventures into a woods to get to Michigan where she will spread the ashes of her parents, as she is in the woods she meets an old man and his granddaughter Ellie. During this moment an EMP is dropped causing many to die and the rest to become zombies with few normal survivors, during this time Alex must take Ellie and survive in the woods where she later meets Tom. The plot and character development were good and its surreal usage of imagery really brings the book to life. My favorite quote was when Kincaid asked alex ".. with his best one-eyed squint, " what exactly is living in that head of yours" (Bick 358)? I personally was not satisfied with the ending because it was a cliffhanger used to promote the selling of the next book. I don't think this book won the Gateway Book Award it was good but not the best book, because it so reminds me of Hunger Games with the whole regurgitated survival in woods setting/plot.