Ashes

I don't know what it is but this is the fourth book in a row that deals with the Apocalypse and zombies. What the heck! This one is about Alex, who is running away into the mountains to bury her parents and die, as she has an inoperable brain tumor. She meets a couple of people- Ellie and her grandfather and as they are talking, a large EMP goes off and kills the grandfather. It also miraculously brings back her sense of smell, which had been missing for a year. Alex and Ellie decide to make their way to the Ranger station to see what happened and come upon a couple of high school kids- who were ,well- having a snack- Zombie style. As Ellie and Alex make a run for it, they are attacked by a pack of feral dogs and another- you guessed it-zombie- and are saved by Tom, a soldier on leave from Afghanistan. The three try and make their way to someplace safe. That, of course, doesn't work. Ellie is taken, Tom is shot and wounded and everyone under the age of about 60 is either dead or a zombie, except for the 'Spared'. Well, Alex leaves Tom to get help and comes upon the town of Rule. And that is where it really gets weird. Alex is taken in and quickly learns that all is not as good as it seems in Rule. It is like a cult, or scene from Deliverance. She wants to leave but isn't allowed. She meets a new boy named Chris and thinks she might like him, but feels guilty about Tom, who has disappeared from where she left him. She finds herself getting comfortable in Rule and that scares her even more. As she finally decides to escape, she gets help from an unlikely source who leads her down a fork in the road. What she finds there is horrifying- and the book ends. Dang it. So now I wonder- where is Ellie, where is Tom, will Chris come after her, will she escape, is her brain tumor gone, what was Jess trying to do in letting her go? etc. etc. etc. So I will be awaiting yet another sequel. My next book will not be apocalyptic, I swear! I also have an adult book to read from my favorite author- Harlan Coben, so it may be a few before my next review. In the meantime- happy reading my friends- and beware the zombie apocalypse!