Audiobook Review: Darla's Story (Ashfall #0.5) by Mike Mullin

I was lucky enough to see when the author was offering a few codes to read this and review it on his Facebook page.  I've been a huge fan of Mike Mullin's Ashfall series since I read the very first book.  This was a neat novella, kind of a prequel novella, that told about our other main character, Darla, and the events from the time of the volcano exploding up until Alex came into her life. 

Darla lives in Iowa, on a farm with  her mother.  The day it starts there is a plume of smoke from a neighbor's farm.  Darla's mother wants her to go check on them, but before they can go to do that, there is a terrible noise that starts, and they can only think to go hide in their storm cellar.  The noise goes on and on.  At one point Darla is able to get her mother some headphones that at least cut the noise back to a dull roar.  After a long time, at least a day, if not longer, the noise stops. And Darla and her mother go back to the house, and try to figure out what they are going to do for food and water.  There is no electricity, which means getting any water from the well will be impossible.  Unless Darla can come up with a way to build a manual pump for bringing the water up. 

You see, as we know about Darla from the other books, she is pretty handy, and seems to know her way around machines and the like.  We learn in this novella about why she is like that.  How her father played into her life.  We also learn about how her relationship with her mother is, and how their experience with others in the first few days or so of the disaster affect how she feels about strangers.

The detail told of how the ashes are totally relates and reminds me of reading the first book.  But in the different environment and with the different perspective on it in this book, it was very interesting to read about again.  My only issue with the story was that sometimes all the engineering/MacGyver type of things that Darla was doing got kind of long and too detailed maybe.  But then again, I know there are probably people, like Darla herself, who probably really loved the reality that I know the author built in to all of those aspects of the story.

Definitely another great addition to this world.  Now I am just waiting for the fourth book to be finished so that I can find out what will happen next!

Review: Sunrise (Ashfall #3) by Mike Mullin

I was able to get an ARC of this from the publisher, Tanglewood Press.  This is a series I have been a huge fan of since the very beginning.  Here is my post about the first in the series, Ashfall.   I got the sequel as an ARC at BEA 2012, and you can read my review of Ashen Winter HERE.  I have to say this is one of the best conclusions to a series I've ever read.  And there have been a few good ones lately to make up for some of the not so great ones of the past year.

As always, we are following our main character, Alex, as he tries to survive in what is left of the world after the giant eruption of the Yellowstone volcano.  He is living at his uncle's farm, along with the people from the town nearby who had to go there when their town was attacked.  But when they were attacked, they lost a lot of their food.  Living on what kale there is won't last forever.  Their greenhouses can only do so much.  So they mount an attack to get their food back.  They are up against what will come to be kind of the evil villain.  His name is Red, and that he says, is because of the blood that he likes to draw.  Using techniques suggested by Ben, the autistic boy we met in the last story, eventually they are able to get back their food, or most of it anyway.  But not without losses, and not without Red threatening to see them again.

But this isn't the only problem.  The townspeople want to move back to their town.  Which is fine, the farm is really only made for so many people, and it is nice for them to be just family and immediate friends for awhile.  But Alex's mother has changed since they lost his father.  She refuses to accept Darla.  But Darla and Alex are a pair, and will not be separated.  More family is lost in the battles.  And Ben keeps saying that they will not be safe like they are. That they should move to the town and build a wall around the town.  But try as Alex might, he can't convince the mayor to build the wall.  Darla and Uncle Paul have an idea to use some wind turbines and create a home there.  With Ben's help, they begin building a new home there, along with new greenhouses, and getting the turbines working to provide electricity.

Things aren't all roses and daisies at this point though.  There are more challenges.  Until they can get the kale growing, they need more food.  And they need supplies to build all these things they want to build.  So they try to trade.  First in town, but the mayor has set people against Alex.  Then the decide they must go to Chicago.  Along the way they find things they need, as well as more danger.

I don't want to give a lot away, so I won't tell too much more.  I just know that as I was reading this, I could totally see it as a tv series.  The things that happen to people in this are so real.  It's not all just getting away from the bad guys for the main characters.  They suffer loss of limbs, sickness, family issues, starvation, all of it.

There was a part at the end, when it seemed all was settled, they hadn't solved all their issues, but it seemed it might be the ending.  Working towards the final settlement.  But there was like 20 pages or so left, so I just knew there had to be something else.  And there was.  Just when it seemed things were where they should be, all wasn't as seemed. And it wasn't done in a hokey, throw something in at the last minute way.  It was done perfectly, the results were believable and perfect.  A great end to a great series!  Can't wait to purchase this final book for the high school library where I work now.  And once again I'll share my picture of meeting the author at BEA in 2012 after I read and loved the first book.

Stacking the Shelves - January 11th, 2014

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  I'm doing this today because I have to work tomorrow at my part time job, plus, maybe, just maybe, if I get a bunch of reading done today and tomorrow, I can actually do a review of the book I'm reading.  I hope.  This week I got a physical ARC in the mail, one that made me squeal with excitement!!

ARC:

When the author of the Ashfall series, Mike Mullin, posted on Facebook about emailing his agent at Tanglewood Press for an ARC of the finale in the Ashfall series, Sunrise, I immediately did just that.  Then the book came in the mail on Wednesday, and when I opened the manila envelope in my car, I squealed out loud with excitement!!  Can't wait to read it.

Free e-book:

This was an e-novella that went along with an e-galley I read earlier this week.  Now, it was only like 20 pages, so it was something I thought should be free.  You can read my review of it HERE.  

E-book/novella purchased:

Downloaded this short story that goes with the last Dean Koontz book I read, Innocence.  I think this is a prequel to that book.  Which I'm interested to read more about the main character and his past.

So really, not a ton of things this week, but I did request several e-galleys from Edelweiss that I'm waiting on, so that will come later.  And this was an awesome week with this awesome ARC I got!!  So what have you added to your bookshelf this week?

Waiting on Wednesday: Cover Reveal: Sunrise by Mike Mullins

Thanks to Savannah at Books With Bite for allowing me to be a part of this.  I don't normally do a lot of cover reveals, I'd rather post something more than just the cover.  But I'm excited to do this one because it is a book I'm really waiting on, so it kind of even works for Waiting on Wednesday posts!  Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  So I will use this cover reveal as my Waiting on Wednesday, and that should get it some extra exposure for the book as well!

Synopsis:

The Yellowstone supervolcano nearly wiped out the human race. Now, almost a year after the eruption, the survivors seem determined to finish the job. Communities wage war on each other, gangs of cannibals roam the countryside, and what little government survived the eruption has collapsed completely. The ham radio has gone silent. Sickness, cold, and starvation are the survivors' constant companions.

When it becomes apparent that their home is no longer safe and adults are not facing the stark realities, Alex and Darla must create a community that can survive the ongoing disaster, an almost impossible task requiring even more guts and more smarts than ever — and unthinkable sacrifice. If they fail . . . they, their loved ones, and the few remaining survivors will perish.

This epic finale has the heart of Ashfall, the action of Ashen Winter, and a depth all its own, examining questions of responsibility and bravery, civilization and society, illuminated by the story of an unshakable love that transcends a post-apocalyptic world and even life itself.
Sunrise Buy Links:

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Bio:

Mike holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and her three cats. Ashen Winter is his second novel. His debut, Ashfall, was named one of the top five young adult novels of 2011 by National Public Radio, a Best Teen Book of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews, and a New Voices selection by the American Booksellers Association.
 
Author Links:

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This giveaway is for (2) survival bands. US ONLY! Giveaway starts Oct 2nd and ends Oct 10th. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Awesome Giveaway from Mike Mullin, Author of the Ashfall Series

Just saw this posted by the author on Facebook, and I had to enter myself.  And I get points for sharing it with my readers, so here is a post to convince all of you to go enter the contest for a one of a kind copy of Darla's Story.  If you've read the series, you know Darla is a main character that we meet partway into the first book, and like me, you probably can't wait to read her backstory.  So go enter the contest!

Ashen Winter (Ashfall #2) by Mike Mullin

I finally got around to reading this!  Not that I didn't want to, just the size of it I think kept me from picking it up when I had sooooooo many other books to read.  Not that I don't still have a ton, I just decided with our late March snow last weekend that a book like this was the right way to go.  Once I picked it up, it was a quick read, well as quick as I could get through an over 500 page book while teaching every day this week! Not to mention it seemed I had something to do every night this week and I didn't have a lot of nights that I was just sitting around reading.  Until last night, when I finished the last 100-150 pages.  Once I started it I really just wanted to sit and read and find out what happened next, and then after that, and then next, and how would it all end?  And it was another good book.
Okay, so if you read the first book, Ashfall, you know that there was a supervolcano explosion, in Yellowstone National Park.  From that explosion there were major changes.  It threw dust and ashes up into the air, and basically created winter.  It got colder as the sun was blocked out, plants began to die as they had no sunlight and the ash just cover them.  Our main character in this book is again Alex.  He and his new girlfriend Darla, although after all they've been through she is more than just a "girlfriend", found their way at the end of the first book to his uncle's house, where his parents and younger sister were supposed to be.  Only once they got there, they found his parents were gone, they had left to try to find him.  For awhile they stayed and worked on the farm.  The farm did okay because they were able to grow kale, which was good because kale had a lot of vitamin C, which many people need in this time of ashen winter.  In fact the seeds are so valuable, they can use them as money for things that need.  Help from a doctor, information, etc.
The farm gets attacked, and Alex recognizes one of the guns as one that was owned by his father.  So he and Darla follow after these men, called flensers, to find out where they got the gun.  Flensers, a disgusting new group of people, many different groups actually, that eat people.  They are cannibals.  They find out that the gun was traded to this group from a FEMA camp.  Well Alex and Darla remember what it was like to be in one of those camps.  Alex insists on going to find his parents.  He takes many packets of kale seeds.  They also remembered from crossing the river before that there had been a whole barge of wheat grains.  So they, Alex anyway, decides to try to go by there first to get some of the wheat so that they can plant that as well as the kale.  Unfortunately when they reach the barge it is now swarming with the military.  Alex insists that they try to get some wheat from the guard shack.  But the heist goes wrong, and Darla gets shot when they're on a bridge, and she falls off the bridge onto the top of a truck.  And now, Alex must find Darla too.
So he is now looking for not only his parents, but Darla too.  And when or if he finds his parents, will they want to help him find Darla?  Along the way he meets a girl named Alyssa and her autistic brother Ben, and rescues them from one of the Flenser groups.  But will they be able to fit in and  help Alex as well?

Such a good book.  You're on pins and needles all the way.  It's a great apocalyptic survival story, reminded me in some places of The Walking Dead in how much you got involved with the characters.  The author does such a great job with Alex's Tae Kwan Do skills.  And his portrayal of Ben, the autistic character is right on from my experience of the few autistic students I've had in the past.  You can see the way they do have their quirks, and you even smile at points where you can feel Alex's exasperation, but also Alex's learning patience with Ben, and even coming to be able to be a part of Ben's life.  I do love how Ben calls Alyssa his "sister unit".  A great read.  Lots of action, great characters, and even some sadness and heartbreak.  But now, I have to wait until 2014 to read the third book.  *Sad Face*  On a kind of interesting note, the first book in the series was the first e-galley I ever read from Netgalley.  I got an ARC of this one at BEA 2012.
Oh yeah, and I have to include my picture with the author from BEA last summer.  He is such a neat guy!  And you can tell how much he appreciates teachers from just talking to him, and mentioning that I was a teacher got him talking to me for quite a while!

Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop

My last big Giveaway hop before my Blogoversary month!  And there will be lots of giveaways in August for that on my blog, so stay tuned!  But back to this one, in staying kind of with the theme, I'm feeling too lazy to pick exactly which book to give away, so the winner will have to choose from these four titles:

ARC

ARC

Hardcover

ARC


All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter below.  Then go click through the links below that for more great giveaways!

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Stacking the Shelves #2

Okay, week 2 of doing this meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  I feel like such a loser that I really only have one book each time I've done one of these memes.  But oh well.  I did actually get some egalleys on Netgalley, but don't remember when exactly, so I will just have to start keeping track of those better.  However, the one book that I did get, I am very excited about!  I really liked the book Ashfall by Mike Mullin, and when he posted information on how to get an ARC of the 2nd book, Ashen Winter, I immediately emailed and asked to get a copy, and it came in the mail this week!  So excited!  Can't wait to read it!  Of course I won't be able to post my review probably until closer to the publishing date in October, but still!  I do have to say, that when I first saw the cover, it was kind of a small picture, and it almost looked like an arm with no skin, showing only bones and muscles, but then you look at a good picture, like below, and see it is two hands reaching to each other.

So, what books are you stacking on your shelves this week?