Synopsis:

It’s been over six months since the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Alex and Darla have been staying with Alex’s relatives, trying to cope with the new reality of the primitive world so vividly portrayed in Ashfall, the first book in this series. It’s also been six months of waiting for Alex’s parents to return from Iowa. Alex and Darla decide they can wait no longer and must retrace their journey into Iowa to find and bring back Alex’s parents to the tenuous safety of Illinois. But the landscape they cross is even more perilous than before, with life-and-death battles for food and power between the remaining communities. When the unthinkable happens, Alex must find new reserves of strength and determination to survive.

Praise:

Los Angeles Public Library, Best Teen Reads of 2012

5P, 5Q rating in VOYA–the highest rating for writing quality and teen interest they award.

“How would you rate this book? 6 Even better than 5!!” –Donny, Teen Reviewer for Bethesda Library’s YALSA YA galley program.

“Teens who enjoyed Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games (Scholastic, 2008) and Michael Grant’s Gone (HarperTeen, 2008) will find Mullin’s story equally engaging.” –School Library Journal.

“The story hits the pavement running and doesn’t stop until the very last sentence. Mullin has created a disturbingly realistic world, and his narration is detailed and believable. While many dystopian novels create futuristic worlds that lean more toward science fiction, Mullin succeeds in presenting an accurate “What if?” scenario that is almost too real for comfort.” —Laurisa White Reyes, author of The Rock of Ivanore.

“As fast, furious, action-packed, and, yes, gruesome, as Ashfall (2011), this sprawling sequel follows the continuation of 16-year-old Alex’s journey with tough, gorgeous Darla through the ash and snow of a postvolcanic, dystopian Midwestern world.” — Hazel Rochman, Booklist

“An edge of your seat apocalyptic thriller you’ll get lost in.” —KidsBookShelf.com

“Wow, just wow . . . Mike Mullin has done it again! Ashen Winter is filled to the brim with heart stopping, hold-your-breath action as well as believable characters you continue to root for with each turn of the page. This second novel in his trilogy will not disappoint any of his fans. —Sherry Gick, Media Specialist, Rossville Jr/Sr. High.

“Wow, what a freakin’ thrill ride.” —Carol Oates, author of Shades of Atlantis