We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire, Joy McCullough
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire, Joy McCullough
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire

Author: Joy McCullough

Narrator: Frankie Corzo

Unabridged: 6 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/09/2021


Synopsis

From the author of the acclaimed Blood Water Paint, a new contemporary YA novel in prose and verse about a girl struggling with guilt and a desire for revenge after her sister's rapist escapes with no prison time.

Em Morales's older sister was raped by another student after a frat party. A jury eventually found the rapist guilty on all counts--a remarkable verdict that Em felt more than a little responsible for, since she was her sister's strongest advocate on social media during the trial. Her passion and outspokenness helped dissuade the DA from settling for a plea deal. Em's family would have real justice.

But the victory is short-lived. In a matter of minutes, justice vanishes as the judge turns the Morales family's world upside down again by sentencing the rapist to no prison time. While her family is stunned, Em is literally sick with rage and guilt. To make matters worse, a news clip of her saying that the sentence makes her want to learn "how to use a sword" goes viral.

From this low point, Em must find a new reason to go on and help her family heal, and she finds it in the unlikely form of the story of a fifteenth-century French noblewoman, Marguerite de Bressieux, who is legendary as an avenging knight for rape victims.

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire is a searing and nuanced portrait of a young woman torn between a persistent desire for revenge and a burning need for hope.

About Joy McCullough

Joy McCullough writes books and plays from her home in the Seattle area, where she lives with her husband and two children. She is the author of the middle grade novels Across the Pond, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Not Starring Zadie Louise, Code Red, and Basil & Dahlia, as well as the middle grade series Team Awkward, and the picture books Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers, Champ and Major: First Dogs, and The Story of a Book. Her debut novel Blood Water Paint was longlisted for the National Book Award and was a William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist. Visit her at JoyMcCullough.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kai on October 22, 2020

Who does not want to read about medieval women taking up swords, donning knights' armour, and killing their rapists on the battlefield? Especially when the title's so good.......more

Goodreads review by jessica on March 21, 2021

‘a woman broken, rebuilt, can conquer any sword.’ violence against women, victim shaming, and unaccountability are intertwined topics that i could stand on my soap box and preach about until my last breath. but GR is not the place for that. just know that the topic of this book is very important......more

Goodreads review by Melanie (mells_view) on February 09, 2021

“People are so fucking awful. But they also make things so beautiful they break your heart, you know?” Trigger Warning - rape, bullying, trauma discussion, gore We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire is an incredibly well written story within a story. It’s half first person narrative, and half verse. This......more

Goodreads review by Trinh on January 29, 2021

I'm so sad that I end up not liking this book. The first half was very good, but the last half went downhill so quickly. Around page 200, the main character suddenly ignores everyone in her life and focuses on the story that she's writing. I have an issue with this because it comes out of nowhere. A......more


Quotes

"What is art if not a sword? With We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire, Joy McCullough wields and strikes her sharp-edged, finely honed blade. A fierce beauty.”Elana K. Arnold, Printz Honoree and National Book Award Finalist

★"Intense, unrelenting, and inspiring."—Kirkus, starred review

★"McCullough emphatically confronts the toll that sexual violence takes and deftly questions who gets to control history’s narrative."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

★"McCullough borrows judiciously from the headlines, and readers will find her story all the more affecting because of its seemingly eternal relevance."—Booklist, starred review

★"Unforgettable.... A must read."—SLC, starred review

"A meditation on the power of uncovering past heroines, especially for young women who are looking for strength."—Bitch Magazine

"Ferociously honest, unequivocally feminist…. Appreciators of Elana K. Arnold's Red Hood or Courtney Summers's Sadie should pick up this title immediately."—Shelf Awareness

A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2021
A Kirkus Best Book of 2021