November 2012
Ashfall by Call Number: CL YA Mul56a 2011_
Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don't realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geysers are caused by an underlying supervolcano. It has erupted three times in the last 2.1 million years, and it will erupt again, changing the Earth forever.
Fifteen-year-old Alex is home alone when the supervolcano erupts. His town collapses into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence, forcing him to flee. He begins a harrowing trek in search of his parents and sister, who were visiting relatives 140 miles away.
Metaphorically Resonant, but Delicious Menu
- Cornbread muffins
- Snickers
- "Snow-covered corn" (almond bark/chocolate covered puffcorn)
Discussion Questions
Ice breaker questions
- Any survival skills you have that might prove useful?
- What is the one scene that spoke to you the most?
- What was your take away lesson?
- If forced, could you become a cannibal?
Discussion Questions
- How do you think Alex reconciles his need to survive with his need to retain his humanity?
- How does Alex’s reaction to other people change as the book progresses?
- Let’s talk about the rabbit. What do you think it symbolized? To Darla? To Alex?
- When Alex gives away food to the family Darla says “It was dumb, not wrong.” Do you agree? What would you have done?
- Is the government response i.e. FEMA, a good solution? For Darla/Alex? For the other refugees? For the rest of the US? Who does it benefit?
- Which situation do you think is best for Darla and Alex in the long run?
