This book was amazing. Touches on some really series issues. But does it in a way to keep you going, not the type of book you feel like you need to put down because you can’t “handle” the intensity. Highly recommend.

This is a great title to put in the hands of middle grade readers who are concerned about the state of our country. With that being said, it is not subtle.

After reading the synopsis, I was so excited for this book and thought it was going to be one I really loved. However, I was left disappointed and thought it was just an okay book. I definitely think the story is an important one and discusses difficult topics such as rape and victim blaming, but the execution just wasn’t quite there for me.

When I read that part of the book was in verse form, I was excited. I tend to enjoy stories that are told in verse, but when the verse was a made-up story by the main character I found it as a sort of space filler in the book (even though it had to do with what the story was about). I also didn’t really connect with the main character of the book. She seemed a little disconnected from those around her and a bit self-centered, and it just didn’t sit right with me.

I’m giving this three stars because it is such an important topic and it’s important to discuss the victim blaming, but otherwise, this book just wasn’t for me.

*Thank you to Penguin Teen, BookishFirst, and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Ohhhh yeah this was difficult to read major trigger warnings for rape. 

I'm giving this 3.5 stars FYI!

I... kind of had to sit with this after I finished. I kind of feel weird reviewing this just because of how deep and serious the topics discussed in the book were. Em describing her sister as she has to suffer through not only the trial/sentencing aspect of her rape but also having to go through life after as a victim. I think this book does a good job in portraying what is actually occurring in this country where victims are either not believed or their rapists walk away with a slap on the hand. 

Overall, I think this is a worthy read (please read the trigger warnings beforehand), and I don't really want to review the technical aspects of this because in my opinion this wasn't the purpose of this book. Rather it's to shout over and over: believe the victim, always and blame the rapist, always. 

Thank you Penguin Teen for sending me a copy (obligated to say of course this an unbiased review).

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire by Joy McCullough
Available Now

CW: rape, bullying, intentional misgendering

Many novels have tackled the trauma inflicted upon victims of sexual assault, but this is the first I’ve read that focuses on how the family members deal with that trauma. When a rapist’s guilty verdict lands him no jail time, the Morales family finds their hopes for justice for Nor completely devastated. After an already excruciating public trial, the public backlash against them for “disrupting” the beloved local college team is overwhelming for the entire family. While Nor tries to find some sense of peace and stability at college, Em finds herself obsessed with seeking justice online for her sister. As Em discovers that the wide online support she and her family received during the trial has waned for other victims of crimes, her ability to cope with the trauma becomes more than she can bear. As she spirals out of control with unauthorized columns in the school paper, onlines posts that create an unsafe environment for her sister, and a new found obsession with a legendary French noblewoman turned warrior, Em will push everyone who loves her away. It is only at her very lowest point that Em will find the strength and focus to help her family heal and move forward.
The Morales family felt incredibly real and relatable. Nor and Em’s relationship becomes increasingly strained as Em’s reactions to Nor’s silence make life harder for Nor, triggering a vicious cycle of Nor becoming angry and hurt and pushing Em away. Em parents are at a complete loss over how to handle any of it, both frustrated that they can’t get justice for their daughter and long to move on and go back to being a happy family. They’re an incredibly close family with strong bonds over food cooking. It’s that bond that slowly brings them back together when Em’s new friend Jess begins to spend more and more time at the Morales home. Jess has their own struggles with their family. Parents who are divorcing and possibly moving far apart, coming into their own sense of self and identity, and losing their best friend for the summer to a performance camp. As Em and Jess try to find the balance in their friendship, Em begins to find the way toward mending her relationship with her sister and parents. 
As Em struggles to find a way for her family to heal, which is a burden she has taken on herself, Jess introduces her to a fascinating historical figure and triggers an obsession. Em writes the life story of a fifteenth-century French noblewoman, Marguerite de Bressieux as Jess illuminates the pages. Marguerite’s story is written in verse and the back and forth between the prose and verse was beautiful to read. Em holds nothing back in describing the pain and hardship of Marguerite’s journey, just as McCullough holds nothing back in describing the pain and anguish of the Morales family. 
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire is an incredible story of revenge, trauma, and the bonds of family. It is an unflinching look at how women are treated within the legal system and how misogyny infiltrates our everyday lives. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

I think for the right person this could be a good book. I however I am not the right person. I think the right person is someone who is a young adult. I think that they’d be more apt to be able to relate to the book than someone in their 40s. 

With that being said I enjoy one of the stories in it more then the other. I am not a fan of the Marquerite story line. I am not sure if it’s the way it’s written or the story itself?

I'm so sad that I did not like this book. When I started it, it pulled me in with the court case for Nor from her sister, Em's, pov. After a while I realize we have slowly drifted away from what I thought was the central theme to focusing on a 15th century medieval story Em is writing and her budding friendship with Jess who is non-binary. The story is written in prose and verse. Each time a chapter started the verse always threw me off to the point I just breezed thru it, hoping it didn't have much to do with the storyline. I got almost halfway and I found myself forcing my way thru the book. As of now, this is a dnf for me. I am optimistic I may pick it up again later, probably a physical copy. 

Much appreciation to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Marguerite de Bressieux and think this story is both a gut-wrenching and empowering for women of all ages. The cover and illustrations within the book are beautiful.

Em’s older sister, Nor, was raped at a fraternity party. The rapist is found guilty, but the judge does not sentence him to any jail time, because the rapist needs to put “all this” behind him. But Nor and her family can’t put this violent crime behind them. It has torn them all apart. As journalists and writers they have always dealt with things by using their writing and their words. But what if their words create more trauma? How can they heal when there are no consequences? Em becomes obsessed with uncovering the story of a medieval female warrior, but as she tries to channel centuries of rage into her storytelling she only spirals deeper.
Yes it’s hard. But yes, you need this book in your life. Your need the Morales family (Jess included!) in your life. Freaking brilliant book. Joy McCullough knocks it out of the park with this one.

I really wanted to love this book. 
The cover is beautiful and the synopsis immediately caught my eye. 
Sadly I just didn’t love this book. I liked it enough to keep reading but there was something missing for me.

This novel is told in prose and verse. There’s a story within the story. 
We follow Em Morales and her story of poems written in prose where we meet Marguerite. 
While I enjoyed both stories I felt like towards the last half we mostly got one. 
I was more invested in Em’s story, trying to get justice for her sister Nor who was raped. Sadly Em’s character went downhill for me and I honestly didn’t like her much. I felt like she made everything that happened to her sister about herself, and she completely ignored everyone to write her story. 

I really did like the writing though I just think this book wasn’t for me. 
I plan to read more by this author soon! 

Thank you to penguin teen #partner for the ARC of this book.

I really admire the concept of this story alongside the likable characters. It tackles important issues that many people goes through each day but never acknowledges. The message is spot on. It is interesting, relatable and engaging

Quick Stats
Overall: 3.5 stars
Characters: 3.5/5
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 5/5
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I kept going back and forth on this one. Joy McCullough is a beautiful writer. The subject matter was so important. The addition of historical fiction and how Marguerite’s story is woven in was phenomenal. But I could not get myself to like Em.
I loved pretty much every other character—Sometimes Jess felt a bit immature to me. I felt like they were melodramatic at times. But Marianne drove me crazy. She was so selfish and self-righteous. Her character had a lot of potential for growth, but I feel as if she just regressed. Every thing that happened to her resulted in her lashing out overdramatically and immaturely. I understand she was struggling with trauma, but it was hard to read without getting annoyed. Also, I think she snapped out of it way too easily and suddenly. Within like one chapter towards the end she did a 180, and honestly? I feel like in reality, she probably would have needed a lot of therapy to get to that point at all, let alone in a 24 hour span.
The plot started out really strong. I was swept away and read the first 60% in one sitting. Seeing the way everyone was handling what happened to Nor differently, getting to know Jess, and getting led into Marguerite’s story was really well done and absorbing. I loved how Jess took Em to medieval sword fighting lessons. And I honestly couldn’t get enough of the writing itself. Plus, as someone who lives in Western Washington, all of the references to Seattle were fun. I now really want to visit that Illuminated Texts exhibit after COVID is over.
However, at about that 60% mark, Em started shutting everyone out and only writing Marguerite’s story. Don’t get me wrong, Marguerite’s story was one of my favorite parts of the novel, but it very suddenly took over and the actual plot of the book just completely dropped off the radar for several chapters. It was a very sudden change from mostly Em to mostly Marguerite and kind of made it hard to stay interested in the book for a while.
It did end strongly, if a little unrealistically.
I would still recommend giving this book a shot if it sounds up your alley, it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you @penguinteen for the e-arc!! This book released THIS WEEK so there's no need to wait for your copy! 

Wow. WOW. This book BLEW ME AWAY. I found myself highlighting and rereading sections more than I have in years. I know for a fact this one will be a loved reread for many years to come and will stick with me even as I read other books on my shelves. I basically finished it in two sittings because it would not let me go. 

TW: Heavy discussions of rape (none graphically depicted), victim blaming, toxic masculinity, an instance of misgendering, brief HP references

Em, a Guatemalan girl living in Seattle, tries to process her fury and sadness after her older sister's rapist walks free. 

Likes:
🔥 The parallel story told in verse. I did not expect to love it as much as I did, but it held me in the story and really hit home on so many points
🔥 Em is loud and angry and makes some huge mistakes. I loved her for it. 
🔥 The raw, bleeding, beauty of this story. McCullough captures the helplessness of being a woman in a society designed for men. It was unflinching as it faced the ugly truth of toxic masculinity and its impact on women through generations. 
🔥 Jess, Em's best friend, was very casually non-binary and I LOVED IT. 
🔥 How each person dealt with their demons in messy ways that hurt those around them, but they always had each other. 
🔥 Jess calling Em on her crap. 
🔥 The resolution was not what I expected. It was so much better and definitely left me thinking. 

Dislikes:
🔥 The relative lack of acknowledgement that not all men are evil. However there were excellent male characters, so this is perhaps too critical. 

I need a copy of this like YESTERDAY. I am so glad it came into my life and I can't wait to see what the author comes up with next!

Genre: Contemporary Realistic YA

What I liked 👍🏻:
• I love the medieval story tie in of Marguerite de Bressieux, I had never heard of her before but I mean... medieval woman wreaking havoc on men for raping people? Hell yeah. 🙌🏻
• The story switching back forth between Marguerite and Em was really intriguing, the pace was good and it was easy to just read and read.

What I didn’t like 👎🏻:
• Oh man... this is where it gets tough. On one hand Em is understandably angry. She hates men and wants justice. On the other hand... her hatred for men was almost... scary big. I totally understand why some women do have this knee jerk reaction to men, I but I got the impression that Em had decided that men were evil and to hate them long before anything happened to her sister and since she didn’t have any other experience to cause that hatred it just seemed odd and intense to me... 😬
• The second thing thing that bothered me was that while Em is obviously a strong feminist, she is a HORRIBLE friend, sister and daughter. If this were a real person in my life I would have cut her out for sure because she is obviously a very toxic friend. I felt like she kept being a giant jerk basically thinking “I’ll apologize later and they’ll forgive me.” 

Overall Thoughts 💭:
• Basically what I’m saying is that I LOVE the concept of this story but hated the MC and she honestly kind of ruined the book for me. I could have ignored the men hate thing because I know that’s a real feeling for some people. I just couldn’t with how horrible she was to the women in her life. BUT. I did still fly through and enjoy a lot of parts of this story, so I think I would still recommend it you love YA with deep real life issues.

I really love the concept of this book and the message is truly important, but there were a few triggers that I couldn’t get past. I ended up DNF’ing it around Page 50.

We Are The Ashes, We Are The Fire is truly a powerful book that makes you feel every emotion. You feel burning rage, sadness, heart ache, and you want justice for what happened.

The main character Em's sister got raped and the rapist got off with no jail time. The judge didn't want this one thing to ruin the boys life. Em is burning with anger because she can't believe that the boy who raped her sister gets to walk free. She wants justice. 

This book is kind of like a story within a story. It's told in verse and in prose. I really loved the alternating timelines. The only thing that had me confused was the beginning. I didn't really understand what I was reading right off as you just get thrown right into both prose and verse. After I figured it out and got immersed in the book I really loved it. I loved how this was also historical fiction as we learn about Marguerite Bressiuex who lived in the 15th century and got revenge on rapists. 

I lowkey did not like the main character as much as I wanted to. Em made me angry sometimes and I just didn't connect with her as much as I wanted to. Other than that I loved how powerful this book was, it was a tough book to read because time and time again we see rapists get off with a slap on the wrist. We need justice and while this book made me angry, I felt so deeply about what was happening. I think the author did an outstanding job writing about such an important topic and using different writing techniques and putting in historical aspects.

Trigger warning: rape
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WE ARE THE ASHES, WE ARE THE FIRE follows Em as she battles guilt, rage and the overwhelming need to get revenge after her sisters rapist is found guilty, but sentenced to no time in prison. 
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I couldn’t put this book down! It was hard hitting, raw and messy. It felt real. I found myself getting frustrated at Em— I felt as though she made so many mistakes. From her overstepping with her sisters case, to her fights with her friend Jess, to the way she snaps at her mother... I wanted to shake her. Then again, that’s life, isn’t it? We all make mistakes. Sometimes our pain makes us feel as though we’re the centre of the universe. Though her pain was much different than her sisters, it was still valid. I did appreciate her growth. My biggest issue with this book was that I didn’t really care to read so much of the story Em was writing about Marguerite de Bressieux. Eventually Marguerites story was being focused on more and more as Em lost herself in the world she was creating. I did like it, but it wasn’t the story I was most invested in.
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3.75/5 stars, WE ARE THE ASHES, WE ARE THE FIRE is available today, February 9, 2021! 
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Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for sending me an eARC to review!

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars 

Publication Date: February 9, 2021

Thank you PenguinTeen for an eARC via Netgalley. This is a voluntary and honest review, and all opinions are my own.

Rep: Spanish language, latine MC (Guatemalan dad), non-binary rep

If you’ve read the premise of the book, then you already know it deals with some heavy themes, so here are a few of the trigger/content warnings: rape, victim blaming, gore, misgendering, HP reference. I usually like to recommend booktriggerwarnings.com to make sure that all readers can safely and comfortably engage with their reading material. 

Okay, first of all there were fabulous illustrations in this novel done by Maia Kobabe, which were divine and really helped to set a periodic difference from our narrator’s present story to the story our narrator was crafting. I found it rather enjoyable that there was a tale within a tale, and that when Em was writing about Marguerite de Bressieux it was told in verse. I felt like the two storylines were interwoven very well, especially since one was a reflection of the other. 

As stated in the synopsis Em Morales is the sister of Nor, who was raped at a frat party. I’m glad that we were able to see the story of Nor’s sister, because it helps convey that when sexual violence occurs it doesn’t only distrupt the life of the victim. No, that type of violation has consequences that reverberate and manifest differently in the lives of many who may or may not be aware of the victim’s assault. I do not say this in any way, shape, or form to diminish the severity of Nor’s trauma and how her body was taken from her, when she was raped. Instead, I just want to emphasis that sexual violence is messy and the after-effects do not come with a rule book for any of the parties involved. The pain and the rage and how it manifests can vary greatly and it’s important that we acknowledge it. It’s important to acknowledge how people can be driven to hurt the ones they love, when they are trying to help. When they want to give the victim, the love, time, and understanding they need, while also working through their very different, but valid grief. 

Rape happens, and has happened, and it’s sick that we even still have to have this conversation, but it’s real. It hasn’t gone away, it may never go away, but we can continue to learn and educate and hopefully dismantle this system that enables rapists, perpetrators, defilers to reap a consequence befitting their crime. I wish I could say that I wish for justice, but in my heart, there is no true justice when a victim has to deal with the trauma for the rest of their lives. 

The cast of characters in this story, where relatable because they were imperfect, they were human. Of course, most of us know how we should act, and what we should and shouldn’t do if someone in our lives is assaulted. However, humans are well, human, and even the most well intentioned person is going to make mistakes. Should we give more space or less, should we initiate that conversation or let the person come to us, should we talk to those around us, or do we pour ourselves into a creative outlet? There is no right answer. There is no universal truth, for we are all distinctly unique, irrevocably human - and thus, we will hurt, and love and make mistakes. 

Sometimes, I find myself disliking Em, but I feel like that was kind of the point. She was not okay and she lashed out in her grief, while she was gripping to deal with the whirlwind of the While, the story is centered around the events that took place after Nor’s assault, she isn’t in the household, so we really spend more time with Em, Mom, Dad, and Jess. I loved Jess, and the integration of their non-binary idenity, how the author highlighted issues Jess faced in the world and pointed them out. Therefore, if you, as the reader, are unaware or don’t notice something, the author calls it to attention. It’s called to attention in a manner that, if you are someone who has the privilege of society accepting you as you are without question, or condition, will probably make you take a moment, pause, and think.

I will say that about halfway through the novel I became more invested in Marguerite de Bressieux’s story than Em’s direct story. Yes, I am aware that Marguerite de Bressieux’s story was heavily impacted by Nor/Em/Jess’s lives, but the pacing was different and captured me differently. If you like open endings this book has one, although there are a few conversations I wish we could have been privy to as the reader.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for review.

Nor was raped. The rapist got off barely punished because the judge didn't want the event to define the kids' life. Nor's sister Em is pissed off (and rightfully so!). She will do anything for justice and maybe even revenge. But Nor is the victim and Nor wants to drop it. Now what? 

This story isn't about the rape victim. It's about what happens to a family in the aftermath. Em takes to her writing to process all that is going on and the story ends up being a tale within a tale. 

I can see the pull for readers to this book. However, I was not one of them. I didn't like Em, making it hard for me to empathize with her. I did like Nor and wanted to hear more about her - but that is a story for another book. The back and forth of real time, fiction writing, and a combination of the two threw me a little and did not make for cohesive reading. 

One aspect I appreciated: Em's trans friend Jess is a great supporting character. Em and Nor's parents were spot on with using the correct pronouns in referring to Jess. The fact that gender/pronouns were not a defining issue in this book was refreshing. 

Recommend for high school and up.

I can understand why people loved this story, but it didn't immediately grab me like I expected. I felt that the balance between the prose and the verse was off so that in the beginning I was confused by the verse story and was more interested in what was happening in the prose, but as we got deeper into the verse, I was way more interested in it than what was happening in the actual prose story.

Jess was the best part of this story to me as they were just generally cool, and I liked how they added to Em's family, and yet weren't there just as a supporting character, but had their own desires, conflicts, and feelings.

I think the Bressieux story was a great contrast with Nor's experience and allowed you to get into the mindset of a survivor when Em and the reader didn't have access to Nor's feelings and thoughts. I also really liked the ending of this book, and the realization that Em came to for her story. 

This book also made me want to learn sword fighting.