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 … 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.
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This book wasn’t the right fit for me. I liked Jess. They take care of others because it’s the right thing to do, and I related to that a lot. I looked up illuminated manuscripts, and while I had seen them before, I didn’t know they had a formal title. I loved that something similar is part of the prose. It adds a touch of magic to those portions of the story.
I appreciate how McCullough weaved this poetic journey into the overarching storyline. But I found that there wasn’t a fair balance between the two, and I didn’t feel invested in Marguerite. It pulls away from the overall story too much. But I have read a lot of reviews before reading this, and people really like this one. It’s an important subject that needs discussing. I’m grateful to the publisher for sending this along.
enjoyed this book a lot!
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire is a compelling and powerful story about what it is like to be a woman in a world dominated by inequality.
Powerful Subject
First and foremost, this is a story about rape and surviving rape. I have no wish to trigger anyone or force anyone to relieve that pain. If you believe that it will do so, please stop reading.
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire deals with rape. Em’s sister was raped at a frat party, and the story begins with Em and her family entering a courthouse to hear the verdict. Guilty on all counts. This verdict is a big win until the judge, an old white man, says time served.
It is terrible how realistic that is, but McCullough did a fantastic job of capturing the characters’ pain through their body language and exploring the rape narrative from Em’s perspective.
Em’s feminist and young perception gives readers a look into the world and the unfairness of it all. However, it has also affected her greatly. Filled with grief and anger, Em lets her emotions drive her to speak out and act out, even if that means hurting those she loves.
For Em, it is an extensive journey about learning to find hope in a world that seems so bleak and unrepentant. However, more than that, it is about learning to trust people, fight the good fight, fight for justice, and give a voice to those who feel like they do not have one.
Strong Characterization & Compelling Narrative
What also blew me away while reading was the way McCullough decided to tell the story. Following Em, she discovers the legend of a 15th-century French noblewoman, Marguerite de Bressieux, a woman legendary as an avenging knight for rape victims. Now Em cannot find any more information on her, and it is debatable whether she existed or not, but her legend inspires Em to write.
Through verse, McCullough explores the strength of women everywhere, and she is exploring their pain and perseverance. It is incredible to read this story, to see this legend come to life through McCullough’s view. What McCullough is also doing is creating Em as a character.
Through the storytelling, the reader sees Em, and we see her struggling with her rage and guilt. She has a fractured relationship with her sister, and she does not quite understand why. Em does not think about how her actions affect her sister, her sister, the victim who wants to move on and live her life. It is hard for her to reconcile her actions because she believes she is right. Don’t get me wrong, she is right, but the way she goes about it is wrong.
Nevertheless, through her ink, she grows and develops through the story, she begins to understand that the world will have challenges, it will be cruel and unfair, but that is no reason to give up fighting and to lose hope.
Final Thoughts
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire is a compelling narrative because of how powerful it is, how breathtaking it is. McCullough does an incredible job telling this story, lifting the veil of readers, and highlighting that hope is always on the horizon, giving a voice to those who feel like they don’t have one.
I’ll start out by saying that parts of this book are hard to read due to the subject matter…the story very much revolves around rape and its aftermath. If this is a trigger subject for you, please be forewarned.
With that out of the way….I found the book very impressive. It centers on Em, a teenaged girl who supports and defends her older sister during her rape trial and afterwards. I though the author did an amazing job of showing the various ways in which both rape and the related trial affect both the victim and her family. There was also a lot about the justice system, and how it sometimes doesn’t actually find justice during sentencing.
Em was a very realistic character. I truly thought her actions and statements rang true for a young woman her age. While I didn’t agree with everything she said and did, I found it all true to character.
A unique aspect of this book comes as Em learns more about the true historical figure of Marguerite de Bressieux, a 15th-century French noblewoman. This woman became a knight and avenged victims of rape during a time when society did nothing to help. I was intrigued to read about Marguerite, and would love to learn more about her.
I really enjoyed this book, and got a lot out of it. I was also pleased to discover Joy McCullough, a new-to-me author.
“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 first person part of the story follows Em Morales before and after her older sister’s rape and the following trial. You see that her family is supportive and close, sort of living in a happy lyrical life bubble, but after her sister’s attack things change. Of course they change. We follow Em and see from her POV how rape affects someone and the people around them as well. How a conviction can feel hopeful and then a sentencing becomes a let down. How speaking out against a rapist truly affects the lives of a victim/survivor, even though they’ve done nothing wrong. You’re doing what you feel is right, but then it’s like some of the world turns against you. The victim blaming, the shaming, and just the ugly vitriol that comes out against the victim/survivor with the rape culture in this country. It was honestly heartbreaking to read all that Nor and her family went through post trial, and it’s even more upsetting because it’s a reality for many victims/survivors. Such a helpless feeling that I think this author portrayed well in this book.
**[[As a side note I just want to say right here to any victim/survivor who comes out and tells their story and brings charges against their rapist or abuser, thank you. I believe you. Same goes to those who aren’t ready to. I’m sorry, and I’ll believe you.]]
It was interesting reading all of these things from Em’s POV, because even though she isn’t the victim per say she wants to fight for her sister and protect her. She has a line where after the rapist is given a non-sentence where she says she wishes she knew how to wield a sword, because she’s angry and enraged. She wants to fight for her sister. In this story she learns how to use her “sword” and how not to. That being said, it really did rub me the wrong way at times how Em made things about herself, took actions without deeper thought on the consequences, and thought of Nor and others after. I understand that it’s sort of a realistic way a teenager or anyone may think, but it did frustrate me.
The verse parts of this are the story of Marguerite de Bressieux, who is legendary as an avenging knight for rape victims. I sort of loved how Em got out her rage at the unsatisfactory sentencing of the rape trial out with her pen, and through the power of another woman’s revenge after her, her family’s, and other women’s rapes. It’s like she felt the empowerment through that story and I thought that it was powerful as a reader. Do I feel she became a bit lost in it, yes, but I also understand that when you feel lost in the real world sometimes getting lost in fiction or other healthy ways is a nice escape and can heal you some.
All in all I thought this was a good read. I think it’s powerful, and could be a good conversation starter.