Ashes to Ashes

by Melissa Walker

Overview

A timeless and romantic ghost story that will haunt readers long after the last page is turned.

When Callie's life is cut short by a tragic accident in her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, her spirit travels to another dimension called the Prism. Here she meets a striking and mysterious ghost named Thatcher, who guides her as she learns how to bring peace to those she left behind. But Callie soon uncovers a dark secret about the spirit world: some of the souls in it are angry, and they desperately want revenge. These souls are willing to do whatever it takes to stay on Earth, threatening the existence of everyone she ever cared about.

Perfect for fans of Gayle Forman's If I Stay and Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall, this thoughtful and suspenseful novel will have readers eager to read the sequel, Dust to Dust.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062077349
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	12/23/2013
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	HL750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 Years

About the Author

Melissa Walker grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and is the author of eight young adult novels, including the Violet on the Runway series and Small Town Sinners. In the nonfiction world, she is a magazine editor and writer who works from the comfort of coffee shops in Brooklyn, where she lives with her husband and two young daughters. Find Melissa on Twitter @melissacwalker or visit www.melissacwalker.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/02/2013
Walker's (Unbreak My Heart) paranormal coming-of-age story is built on a premise that drains the narrative tension before it really gets going. Callie McPhee is an improbable adrenaline junkie, calm and introverted in manner but addicted to stunts like gunning her new BMW convertible at top speed down an open Charleston pier. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Callie is soon dead. Her afterworld is called the Prism, a way station of sorts between Earth and "the Solus." She's given a Ghost Guide, Thatcher, who escorts her to visit all her grieving loved ones—her boyfriend, Nick, her best friend, Carson, and her father—and instructs her to let go of earthly concerns. Thatcher speaks by rote, communicating little conviction with his pedantry and leading Callie to seek alternative answers. There's no question what Callie's reaction is going to be, but there's a lot of purgatorial waffling before she rebels. The intrinsic appeal of afterlife speculation may carry readers despite the predictability, but the story suffers from a lack of suspense and a somewhat weaseling denouement. Ages 13–up. Agent: Douglas Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Walker infuses standard romance with larger issues of mortality, afterlife, forgiveness, and morality.

Booklist

A beautiful novel about the power of love over life and death.

Alex Flinn

Intense, suspense–laden and full of surprising twists. This story will haunt you in every sense of the word!

Sophie Jordan

01/01/2014
Gr 7 Up—On the night 16-year-old Callie McPhee hopes to take the next step in her physical relationship with her boyfriend, she dies in a tragic car accident. Instead of going to heaven, she is stuck in the Prism, "the celestial plane between Earth and the next dimension," where all ghosts stay to help their living loved ones accept their deaths and move on. However, Callie isn't like other ghosts. She remembers everything from her life and is full of an energy that her fellow spirits lack. She attracts the attention of ghosts who are determined to stay on Earth—no matter the cost to the living. Callie struggles with her attraction to her Ghost Guide, Thatcher, and tries to bring peace to her loved ones. Walker's vivid imagery paints a rich picture of Charleston, South Carolina, as well as the Prism, where Callie must return between her stints on Earth. The secondary characters have distinct personalities and histories. Hand this supernatural romance to fans of self-discovery novels.—Natalie Struecker, Rock Island Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

2013-08-03
Walker's imaginative first installment of a two-part afterlife drama about what comes next. Six when her mother died, teenage Callie lives with her dad and doesn't believe in ghosts, other than "the ones that haunt the corners of my dad's mind. The ones that keep him quiet, unable to give me a real hug…." Dad may have locked in his feelings, but Callie still knows how to get a rush: with her boyfriend, Nick, and with risky driving in the new convertible her dad has given her. Frequent allusions to Charleston's storied ghost history and best friend Carson's obsession with the spirit world all portend one outcome: tragedy. Post-death Callie has a soft landing into the Prism, where dreamy guide Thatcher, stalled in his own quest to move on to the next level, explains her post-death haunting assignment: act as a silent, hidden grief counselor to the living. But Callie ("my curiosity has always overwhelmed my caution") is drawn to ghostly outliers Leo and Reena, who have their own plans. Rather than provide comfort and progress from the Prism to Solus (Solace? Soulless? Callie notices the ambiguity…), they are determined to rejoin the living, and Callie's unique energy is crucial to their success. Callie's present-tense narration emphasizes her limbo status. An appealing and sometimes-poignant blend of savvy adolescents, young romance and paranormal evil suggests there's no escaping teen drama--even in the afterlife. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews