We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire

Product Description 
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.\nEm 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 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.\nBut 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.\nFrom 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.\nWe 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. 
 From School Library Journal 
Gr 9 Up-When a drunk university football player and fraternity boy rapes her sister Elinor, Marianne fights back in a blog, losing her place at a prestigious journalism summer program. The trial ends with the rapist being found guilty, but receiving no jail time or punishment, and Marianne comments that she feels like learning to use a sword. When the media picks up the statement, they stereotype Marianne's Guatemalan American family as violent. Alienated from friends and even, in a sense, family, Marianne spends the summer trying to deal with the untenable situation by writing a verse novel about the medieval Marguerite de Bressieux, who fought rapists. While the writing and structure of the book is superb, with the two stories of rape and degradation being told back to back, the lack of background about Marguerite may be confusing to teen readers. As the book proceeds, the parallels become much clearer, but since very little textual information is given early on, Marguerite's story is often vague. Partially because little is known about Marguerite and Marianne is using her imagination, this approach makes sense, but may not be entirely effective. McCullough's characters are well-drawn, including a strong Latinx family and an endearing best friend who is transgender. Marianne's narration is especially compelling as she deals with her sister's rape and shows how it impacts the entire family. VERDICT A well-written book on an important topic that will appeal to a mature and discerning reader.-Janet Hilbun, Univ. of North Texas, Dentonα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. 
 Review 
"What is art if not a sword? With 
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire, Joy McCullough wields and strikes her sharp-edged, finely honed blade. A fierce beauty.” 
—Elana K. Arnold, Printz Honoree and National Book Award Finalist\n★"Intense, unrelenting, and inspiring." 
—Kirkus, starred review\n★"McCullough emphatically confronts the toll that sexual violence takes and deftly questions who gets to control history’s narrative."— 
Publishers Weekly, starred review\n★"McCullough borrows judiciously from the headlines, and readers will find her story all the more affecting because of its seemingly eternal relevance."— 
Booklist, starred review\n★"Unforgettable.... A must read."— 
SLC, starred review\n"A meditation on the power of uncovering past heroines, especially for young women who are looking for strength."— 
Bitch Maga

Teen & Young Adult

McCullough, Joy

Literature & Fiction

Dutton Books for Young Readers

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.\nEm 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 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.\nBut 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.\nFrom 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.\nWe 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.

Great or Nothing

A reimagining of Little Women set in 1942, when the United States is suddenly embroiled in the second World War, this story, told from each March sister's point of view, is one of grief, love, and self-discovery.\nIn the fall of 1942, the United States is still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor. While the US starts sending troops to the front, the March family of Concord, Massachusetts grieves their own enormous loss: the death of their daughter, Beth.\nUnder the strain of their grief, Beth's remaining sisters fracture, each going their own way with Jo nursing her wounds and building planes in Connecticut, Meg holding down the home front with Marmee, and Amy living a secret life as a Red Cross volunteer in London--the same city where one Mr. Theodore Laurence is stationed as an army pilot.\nEach March sister's point of view is written by a separate author, three in prose and Beth's in verse, still holding the family together from beyond the grave. Woven together, these threads tell a story of finding one's way in a world undergoing catastrophic change.

Sharpe, Tess

Tung Richmond, Caroline

Spotswood, Jessica

Children's Books

DELACORTE PRESS

A reimagining of Little Women set in 1942, when the United States is suddenly embroiled in the Second World War, this story, told from each March sister's point of view, is one of grief, love, and self-discovery.\nIn the fall of 1942, the United States is still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor. While the US starts sending troops to the front, the March family of Concord, Massachusetts, grieves their own enormous loss: the death of daughter Beth.\nUnder the strain of their grief, Beth's remaining sisters fracture, each going their own way, with Jo nursing her wounds and building planes in Connecticut, Meg holding down the home front with Marmee, and Amy living a secret life as a Red Cross volunteer in London—the same city where one Mr. Theodore Laurence is stationed as an army pilot.\nEach March sister's point of view is written by a separate author, three in prose and Beth's in verse, still holding the family together from beyond the grave. Woven together, these threads tell a story of finding one's way in a world undergoing catastrophic change.

Ember

Enter the Body

"At once tender, poetic and ferocious,&nbsp;Enter The Body&nbsp;breathes new life into the Bard's most tragic heroines. More than a tribute to Shakespeare, this kaleidoscopic, ambitious novel-in-verse gives Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and Lavinia the chance to tell their own stories full of passion, justice, sisterhood, and love. Simply spectacular."--Michael L. Printz Award winner&nbsp;Laura Ruby, author of&nbsp;Bone Gap In the room beneath a stage's trapdoor, Shakespeare's dead teenage girls compare their experiences and retell the stories of their lives, their loves, and their fates in their own words. Bestselling author Joy McCullough offers a brilliant testement to&nbsp;how young women can support each other and reclaim their stories in the aftermath of trauma.

A picture book about Champ and Major, President-elect Joe Biden's two adorable dogs! Major will be the first shelter dog in the White House, and Champ can't wait to show him around. Champ and Major's dad, Joe Biden, just got a really important job- He's going to be the new president of the United States! Champ is excited to go back to the White House--he got to visit it when his dad was the vice president, before the family adopted Major, and he knows about all the important work that happens there. Major is going to be one of the first rescue dogs to live in the White House, and Champ can't wait to show his little brother around. Soon, Champ and Major will be in their new home, and they're going to bring a lot of fun with them!

Champ and Major: First Dogs

Animals

Dial Books

"Haunting ... teems with raw emotion, and McCullough deftly captures the experience of learning to behave in a male-driven society and then breaking outside of it."—The New Yorker "I will be haunted and empowered by Artemisia Gentileschi's story for the rest of my life."—Amanda Lovelace, bestselling author of the princess saves herself in this one A William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist 2018 National Book Award Longlist Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father's paint. She chose paint. By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia did more than grind pigment. She was one of Rome's most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the cost. He will not consume my every thought. I am a painter. I will paint. Joy McCullough's bold novel in verse is a portrait of an artist as a young woman, filled with the soaring highs of creative inspiration and the devastating setbacks of a system built to break her. McCullough weaves Artemisia's heartbreaking story with the stories of the ancient heroines, Susanna and Judith, who become not only the subjects of two of Artemisia's most famous paintings but sources of strength as she battles to paint a woman's timeless truth in the face of unspeakable and all-too-familiar violence. I will show you what a woman can do. ★"A captivating and impressive."—Booklist, starred review ★"Belongs on every YA shelf."—SLJ, starred review ★"Haunting."—Publishers Weekly, starred review ★"Luminous."—Shelf Awareness, starred review

Blood Water Paint

Historical Fiction

Penguin??Books

Blood Water Paint (Thorndike Press Large Print Young Adult)

Thorndike Press Large Print

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McCullough, Joy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by McCullough, Joy

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McCullough, Joy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire

Great or Nothing

Great or Nothing

Enter the Body

Enter the Body

Champ and Major: First Dogs

Blood Water Paint

Blood Water Paint

Blood Water Paint (Thorndike Press Large Print Young Adult)