Ashfall

My guilty pleasure has always been disaster stories.  I absolutely love them in any form.  I've seen Armageddon at least 20 times, The Core is one of my favorites, and I may be the only person out there who enjoys 2012.  My dad even bought me a collection of 'B' disaster movies for Christmas this year.  So when a friend recommended Ashfall, all she had to say was, "There's a supervolcano" and I was in.

I loved the whole story of this novel, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy (mostly, I'm hopeful that it doesn't pan out like other YA trilogies I haven't enjoyed lately, that would certainly be nice).

What's most interesting is that, as much as I liked this book, I don't have a ton to say about it.  It opens with the explosion of the supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park, a fictional event with absolutely true backstory and possibility.  The main character, Alex Halprin, is home alone in Cedar Falls, Iowa, when it blows, and the story unfolds as his trek across the state to find his family, who were on a vacation in northern Illinois at the time.  Along his way, he encounters plenty of post-apocalyptic dangers as well as makes a friend in Darla, a mechanical genius of a girl who eventually joins him on his journey east.

It's a well done story -- I kept expecting the standard encounter with the farmers who've been eating visitors that seems to show up in end-of-the-world narratives, but it never did, never fell into cliche as it could have easily done.  The characters seem fairly realistic, and more importantly, they are well-balanced to their situation.  The backstories -- Alex's taekwondo work and Darla's mechanical gifts -- fit their origins: Alex has been learning the martial art since he was a kid, and Darla grew up on a fairly isolated farm.  Neither seems forced, like Mullin decided those would be useful skills after a catastrophe and thus imposed them on his characters; instead, they feel organic, just hobbies of two people that ended up being more useful than their previous comfortable lives would have suggested.

Ashfall makes me want to read its sequels, ending on just the right enticing note to keep me going.  There isn't much I found overwhelmingly amazing about it, nothing where I was say you MUST go out and read this book immediately, but it is a good read.

What was incredibly entertaining was hearing this author speak.  My awesome school librarian had arranged for him to visit us, which inspired me to pick up the book, and after I enjoyed it so much, I made sure I took my students to hear him.   (Actually, several of my students asked if we could go see him before I had even heard about it. I was really proud.)

Mike Mullin proved to be a fabulous speaker.  He was very enthusiastic, running around before the presentation with a taekwondo board and grabbing students to break it.  After he goaded one of my students into breaking it, they then poked me until I tried it out -- it was pretty fun! :) With that kind of start, the kids were already involved, and Mullin clearly wanted those kids paying attention and talking to him.  He asked them questions and shouted and pulled volunteers,  all stuff that helps kids actually stay awake and listen to what he had to say. And his message was one that even I found inspiring -- all about the value of hard work, how taekwondo and writing and getting better at anything takes practice, and he even brings in some of the psychology of practice and how to become an expert at something.  Of course, he also talked a lot about supervolcanoes (which are super interesting!) and his novel, and at the end he even broke a concrete block!

I loved seeing him speak.  He comes across like such a fun, geeky writer-guy, someone who is so happy to be doing something he loves and sharing that enthusiasm with not only his fans but also just young people in general.  And he was inspirational even to me, reinforcing that sometimes-sagging motivation I experience to work toward my own goals.  I have to hope that my students were listening :)

Mullin actually broke a cement block during his presentation, as part of his taekwondo skill set. Awesome! 

As one student put it (after we'd gone to see him and were back in the classroom), "He's super engaging.  I wasn't bored at all!"  That's high praise coming from an 18-year-old.

Seeing a professional writer is a cool chance for my students.  Not at all of them care, and that's fine, but those who do can really benefit from the opportunity to see how writing can influence the real world, how English has value out in the real world.  Sometimes they get so caught up in the cycle of grades and colleges that they ignore the practical value of being able to think critically and analytically, of being able to think creatively and have fun with language.  It gets lost in the shuffle of credits and graduation, especially at the end of the year.  And it's something I don't want to get lost, something I try very hard to make sure doesn't get lost.  Thankfully, all it takes sometimes is 49 minutes with a professional like Mike Mullin to bring that all rushing back.