Feast of Ashes by Victoria Williamson | Book Review

Feast of Ashes
Author: Victoria Williamson
Pages: 334
Genre: YA | Dystopian | Fantasy
Publication Date: 5th October 2023

Buy the Book: Amazon

Happy Monday everyone! It is my stop on The Write Reads blog tour for Feast of Ashes by Victoria Williams and I am so excited to share my thoughts with you! I loved this book so much, I am a big fan of dystopians and smashed this out in 2 sittings. I have found it so hard to gather all my thoughts for this and I have rambled a bit but hopefully it gets across how much I enjoyed this book!

Synopsis

The Earth’s ecosystems have collapsed and only ashes remain. Is one girl’s courage enough to keep hope alive in the wastelands?

It’s the year 2123, and sixteen-year-old Adina has just accidentally killed fourteen thousand seven hundred and fifty-six people. Raised in the eco-bubble of Eden Five, Adina has always believed that the Amonston Corporation’s giant greenhouse would keep her safe forever. But when her own careless mistake leads to an explosion that incinerates Eden Five, she and a small group of survivors must brave the barren wastelands outside the ruined Dome to reach the Sanctuary before their biofilters give out and their DNA threatens to mutate in the toxic air.

They soon discover that the outside isn’t as deserted as they were made to believe, and the truth is unearthed on their dangerous expedition. As time runs out, Adina must tackle her guilty conscience and find the courage to get everyone to safety. Will she make it alive, or will the Nomalies get to her first?

Review

Feast of Ashes is a very thought provoking YA dystopian set in Africa in 2123 and wow did this book blow me away. I was completely invested from start to finish and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see how everything would turn out. This has left me in such a weird state and I really can’t stop thinking about this book.

Adina is a 16 year old girl who works as a techie in Eden 5, a government controlled biodome that was built to help preserve and feed the world after all the ecosystems have collapsed. She’s extremely intelligent and talented at what she does, that is until a careless and I would say selfish mistake leads to the death of 14 thousand people within Eden 5. When Adina, her two sisters, her best friend, the hot planter boy and the local oddity and his dog are the only ones to make it out, they must make their way across this barren toxic land to try and seek help and safety. In a world of genetically mutated animals and plants, deadly air and toxic water, things will not be easy.

The journey these characters go on is one I wouldn’t wish on anybody but it was extremely interesting and addictive to read about. The deeper you get into this book, the worse the world gets. The author has done a great job at capturing the unhabitable world of post apocalyptic Africa and it really paints a picture of what the world could become. I really like the science behind everything and the many many questions I had were all answered in detail, I was actually quite sad to have finished it. I would happily read more about these characters and follow more of their story.

I really liked all the characters in this but Adina was a weird one for me. I found her very unlikable and I’m sure you’ll know what I mean when you read it but this made it that more exciting for me. Her character made this book stand out from other dystopians and it must be hard growing up in a dying world, later to find out things weren’t as they seem. Her character develops a lot throughout the book and by the end I really loved how brave and considerate she had become.

Overall, Feast of Ashes is such a fast-paced, captivating book that has so many layers to it. There were just so many things that I loved that I haven’t even mentioned like the other characters, how they survived out in the world, the actually inside of Eden 5 and even down to the chapter names with the days and hours until something happened. I have already recommended this book to so many people and I could ramble on about it for hours but I won’t. If you are a big fan of dystopian and love books like the Hunger Games, Divergent, Breathe and The Maze Runner you need to pick up this book!

About the Author

Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

Buy the Book: Amazon