Book Review: Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Book Description:
Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to seach for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.
My Thoughts:
An excellent book. This is what Trapped should have been. 

So. Yellowstone explodes. Earthquakes. Volcanic ash. Nuclear winter. 16 year old left alone at home sets off to find his family in the midst of all this. This book reads very well. It could absolutely happen, and every single character is written very realistically. Frighteningly so, in some cases. 

Being narrated by a 16 year old boy, it does get a little overly descriptive in parts. There is also a very good deal of graphic violence in this book. This one factor is why I won't purchase Ashfall, though I may check it out again from my local library. The violence, again, is all true-to-life and probably extremely toned down compared to what we'd really see in such circumstances, but it does get a little overwhelming every now and then. 

I liked the characters. I liked the story. I thought the ending was fantastic. I can't to read part 2.

4/5 Stars