{"product_id":"ashes-to-asheville-isbn-9780399165047","title":"Ashes to Asheville","description":"\u003cb\u003eTwo sisters take off on a wild road trip in this poignant tale for fans of \u003ci\u003eCounting by 7s \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eFish in a Tree\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter Mama Lacy’s death, Fella was forced to move in with her grandmother, Mrs. Madison. The move brought Fella all sorts of comforts she wasn't used to at home, but it also meant saying goodbye to her sister Zoey (a.k.a. Zany) and her other mother, Mama Shannon. Though Mama Shannon fought hard to keep Fella, it was no use. The marriage act is still a few years away and the courts thought Fella would be better off with a blood relation. Already heartbroken, Fella soon finds herself alone in Mrs. Madison's house, grieving both the death of her mother and the loss of her entire family. \u003cbr\u003e     \u003cbr\u003eThen one night, Zany shows up at Mrs. Madison’s house determined to fulfill Mama Lacy’s dying wish: to have her ashes spread over the lawn of the last place they were all happy as a family. Of course, this means stealing Mama Lacy’s ashes and driving hundreds of miles in the middle of night to Asheville, North Carolina. Their adventure takes one disastrous turn after another, but their impulsive journey helps them rediscover the bonds that truly make them sisters.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA heartrending story of family torn apart and put back together again, \u003ci\u003eAshes to Asheville\u003c\/i\u003e is an important, timely tale.\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eAshes to Asheville\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA School Library Journal Best Book of 2017\u003cbr\u003eA 2018 ALSC Children’s Notable\u003cbr\u003e2018 Rainbow List Book\u003cbr\u003eA 2019 Intermediate Sequoya Master List Pick\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e★ “Dooley’s portrait of two sisters still struggling with grief and huge life changes makes for a powerful, absorbing read. . . . A \u003cb\u003etender, touching, and timely read\u003c\/b\u003e.”—\u003ci\u003eBooklist, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003estarred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e★  “Dooley (\u003ci\u003eFree Verse\u003c\/i\u003e) skillfully balances the troubling story of a family torn apart with Fella’s \u003cb\u003elively, humorous narrative\u003c\/b\u003e . . . in this \u003cb\u003emoving, entertaining, and thought-provoking\u003c\/b\u003e tale.”—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003cb\u003estarred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e★ \u003c\/b\u003e “\u003cb\u003ePoignantly told with verve and a splash of humor\u003c\/b\u003e, this novel explores sensitive topics with care and \u003cb\u003ebelongs in all middle grade collections\u003c\/b\u003e.”—\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003cb\u003e, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003estarred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e“Dooley\u003cb\u003e packs plenty of emotion\u003c\/b\u003e into this eventful road trip . . . \u003cb\u003eBreathless and engaging\u003c\/b\u003e, Fella's distinctive voice is convincingly childlike.”—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A \u003cb\u003ewarm tale\u003c\/b\u003e of family possibilities after bereavement.”—\u003ci\u003eBCCB \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Some books can \u003cb\u003esweep you away in the first sentence\u003c\/b\u003e.”—NPR \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In her \u003cb\u003eexquisite, poignant novel\u003c\/b\u003e, Sarah Dooley (\u003ci\u003eFree Verse\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eBody of Water\u003c\/i\u003e) explores the strange places grief takes people.”—\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] \u003cb\u003ebelievable, touching story\u003c\/b\u003e of loss and healing.”—\u003ci\u003eVOYA\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eFree Verse\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/u\u003e★  \u003c\/b\u003e“Dooley subtly exposes readers to poetic forms that invite engagement, understanding, and expression, while Sasha and her extended family are depicted with a sweetness reminiscent of Cynthia Rylant—\u003cb\u003ea southern soulfulness that is warm even as it reveals the downtrodden struggles of a mining community\u003c\/b\u003e.”—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003cb\u003estarred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e★  \u003c\/b\u003e“The changes in [Sasha’s] life, the anguish she feels, and her journey forward are expertly portrayed through Dooley’s use of first-person narration, which is sensitive and gentle without being soft or sentimental. \u003cb\u003eThe poetry is wonderful and feels authentic to Sasha’s years\u003c\/b\u003e…”—\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003estarred review \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e★  \u003c\/b\u003e“In this \u003cb\u003egripping story\u003c\/b\u003e, Dooley balances a clear-eyed depiction of families wrestling with addiction, financial stress, and trauma with the \u003cb\u003eastonishing resilience of children\u003c\/b\u003e and the \u003cb\u003ehuman capacity for love\u003c\/b\u003e.”—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003cb\u003estarred review\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Sarah Dooley mixes poetry and prose to \u003cb\u003epowerful, poignant effect\u003c\/b\u003e in her novel \u003ci\u003eFree Verse\u003c\/i\u003e... This story \u003cb\u003ebrims with hard-won insight\u003c\/b\u003e into the travails and small joys of life.”—\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Sasha is a natural with words. They bubble out of her, spilling emotions onto paper that she couldn’t otherwise articulate. And as she experiments with different forms, Sasha discovers poetry’s double blessing: The structure stabilizes her, while the creativity sets her free.”—\u003ci\u003eThe Christian Science Monitor \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “The story \u003cb\u003emounts a quiet defense of the nobility of broken people\u003c\/b\u003e… who hold on when all seems lost and sacrifice much out of love for their children. Sasha’s quietly moving poems… trace the evolution of her appreciation for what she has and her understanding that one must find one’s own way to wholeness after loss.”—\u003ci\u003eThe Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Dooley cleverly weaves into her novel different verse forms… giving her protagonist poet… the courage to stay put long enough to let the strength of her emotions settle inside. Dooley \u003cb\u003ewinningly combines engaging plot twists and rich character development\u003c\/b\u003e with the introspective and thematic power of poetry: \u003cb\u003enot to be missed\u003c\/b\u003e.”—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Dooley shows readers the r\u003cb\u003eichness of small-town life\u003c\/b\u003e… \u003cb\u003eTween fans of realistic fiction will find depth in this novel\u003c\/b\u003e.”—\u003ci\u003eVOYA \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Sasha lives in a tough coal mining world, and the hurts of her losses are deep. But her ability to see the beautiful and the lovely and the goodness of the world around her is equally deep, and her skill in expressing that depth is one of the things that will save her.  \u003cb\u003eThis novel is a triumph of art over loss, a story that will make you believe in the capacities of poetry\u003c\/b\u003e.”—Gary Schmidt, author of Newbery Honor-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Wednesday Wars\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eFree Verse\u003c\/i\u003e is exactly the sort of thing that we wish we saw more of in young people’s literature, and Sarah Dooley is exactly the sort of author who needs and deserves this fellowship. It is a startling book, surprising at every turn, and its exploration of poverty, trauma, and loss \u003cb\u003edeserves to be read by as wide an audience as possible\u003c\/b\u003e.”—Daniel Handler, Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Neal Shusterman, and Susanna Reich, judges for the 2012 PEN\/Phyllis Naylor fellowshipSarah Dooley is the critically acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eFree Verse\u003c\/i\u003e. She has lived in an assortment of small West Virginia towns, each of which she grew to love. Winner of the 2012 PEN\/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship, she has written two additional novels for middle-grade readers, \u003ci\u003eBody of Water \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eLivvie Owen Lived Here\u003c\/i\u003e. Sarah is a former special education teacher who now provides treatment to children with autism. She lives in Huntington, West Virginia, where she inadvertently collects cats. She's a 2006 graduate of Marshall University.","brand":"G.P. 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