After Mama Lacy's death, Fella was forced to move in with her grandmother, Mrs. Madison. Though the move brought Fella her own much nicer room and all sorts of comforts she wasn't used to, it also meant saying goodbye to her sisterZoey (aka Zany) and her other mother, Mama Shannon - the only family she's ever known. Mama Shannon fought hard to keep Fella, but it was no use. The Supreme Court ruling making gay marriage legal is still years away and the courts thought Fella would be better off with a blood relation; even though Fella's grandmother was a virtual stranger who disapproved of her daughter's life and family. Already heartbroken, Fella is helpless as she's ripped away from Zany and Mama Shannon. Soon she finds herself alone in Mrs. Madison's house grieving both the death of her mother and the loss of her entire family. Then one night, Zany shows up intent on fulfilling Mama Lacy's final wish - to spread her ashes over the lawn of their old home. Of course, this means stealing Mama Lacy's ashes from Mrs. Madison's mantel and driving hundreds of miles in the thick of night to Asheville, North Carolina. Though Fella thinks Zany's finally lost it, she still gets caught up in the adventure, happy to be back with her sister again. But nothing goes as planned - it's just one calamity after another, including a robbery at a rest stop. Even so, the girls are determined to continue on to Asheville together, and the impulsive journey helps them rediscover the bonds that truly make them family and heal from their grief. A heartrending story of family torn apart and put back together again, Ashes to Asheville is an important, timely tale.

 

This book has been graded for interest at 10+ years.

There are 256 pages in this book. This book was published 2017 by Penguin Putnam Inc .

Sarah Dooley 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 previous novels for middle-grade readers. 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.