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Ash & Feather
Illustrated novel in verse for young teens.When fourteen-year-old Phoenix learns of her parent, Eagle’s cancer diagnosis, her shoulder blades start to itch. It’s the end of summer vacation, eighth grade starts next week, and Phoenix’s world collapses. Every hall she runs down, every room she hides in, Phoenix feels herself changing, growing wings while Eagle may be dying. She builds a new nest from the comfort of grandparent Duck, counselor Hen, and sweetheart Ing. But cancer is like a coyote howling in the hills waiting for Phoenix to land so it can destroy everything. If she is to rise from the ashes of this uncertain world– one of surgery and medicine, classes and teachers–Phoenix must learn to feel everything, and become the bird she always imagined.
Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 25, 2025
A beautiful story about growing up and letting go
This is a poignant, poetic exploration of grief, transformation, and emotional growth. What makes this novel stand out isn’t just its lyrical prose or symbolic richness, but it's fearless honesty in tackling adolescence shadowed by illness. It’s a coming of age story where metaphor and reality seamlessly blur, wings sprouting with grief, pain manifesting in physical change, and healing wrapped in flight.
Frances uses avian imagery not only as a metaphor for transformation but as a coping mechanism for the protagonist, Phoenix. Her name itself is symbolic, evoking rebirth and fire, themes that resonate as she confronts her parent’s cancer diagnosis. The language flutters between grounded realism and magical suggestion, reflecting how young people often process trauma, part truth, part imagination, all feeling.
For readers who appreciate emotionally intelligent fiction that respects young voices and uses symbolism with care, this is a gentle, aching, and quietly powerful read. It’s a story that teaches us how to sit with our sorrow and still find the strength to fly.
This is a poignant, poetic exploration of grief, transformation, and emotional growth. What makes this novel stand out isn’t just its lyrical prose or symbolic richness, but it's fearless honesty in tackling adolescence shadowed by illness. It’s a coming of age story where metaphor and reality seamlessly blur, wings sprouting with grief, pain manifesting in physical change, and healing wrapped in flight.
Frances uses avian imagery not only as a metaphor for transformation but as a coping mechanism for the protagonist, Phoenix. Her name itself is symbolic, evoking rebirth and fire, themes that resonate as she confronts her parent’s cancer diagnosis. The language flutters between grounded realism and magical suggestion, reflecting how young people often process trauma, part truth, part imagination, all feeling.
For readers who appreciate emotionally intelligent fiction that respects young voices and uses symbolism with care, this is a gentle, aching, and quietly powerful read. It’s a story that teaches us how to sit with our sorrow and still find the strength to fly.
May 31, 2025
I feel like Ash and Feather is such a heart-wrenching but also a heart-warming book at the same time. Using allegory and anthromorphism, it shows how a family, especially a child in the family, deals with disease and pain which seems to happen all of a sudden. There are multiple themes that have been explored in the poetry of Ash and Feather like rebirth, oneness with nature, and the lessons we can take from the world around us.
What is also remarkable is that the author wrote this based on her own experiences. I can only imagine the strength it must have taken her to revisit those memories and write about it. The poetry provided a space that was full of hope and feeling, even as fear and confusion seemed to venture in very once in a while. At the same time it highlights the importance of community and family in difficult times, and how it is not just okay, but even important to lean into them.
I’d be doing a disservice to the book if I did not mention the brilliant artwork in it that elevated it even more for me. It complemented the poetry so well and made reading the book a much richer experience.
What is also remarkable is that the author wrote this based on her own experiences. I can only imagine the strength it must have taken her to revisit those memories and write about it. The poetry provided a space that was full of hope and feeling, even as fear and confusion seemed to venture in very once in a while. At the same time it highlights the importance of community and family in difficult times, and how it is not just okay, but even important to lean into them.
I’d be doing a disservice to the book if I did not mention the brilliant artwork in it that elevated it even more for me. It complemented the poetry so well and made reading the book a much richer experience.
October 13, 2025
Ash & Feather by Sharon Frances is a tender and luminous illustrated novel in verse that captures the raw beauty of adolescence, loss, and transformation. Through spare, lyrical language, Frances tells the story of Phoenix a fourteen-year-old girl facing her parent’s cancer diagnosis and her own awakening into courage, grief, and self-discovery.
The poetry sings with both ache and hope, balancing the heaviness of illness with the transcendent imagery of wings, flight, and renewal. Each line feels alive with emotion, offering young readers a safe space to explore fear and resilience while reminding adults of the fragile strength that comes with growing up too soon.
Ash & Feather is as much about metamorphosis as it is about mourning a story of love, loss, and the ways we rise again. A deeply moving and beautifully illustrated work that belongs on every middle-grade and YA bookshelf. Fans of Brown Girl Dreaming and Inside Out & Back Again will be deeply touched.
The poetry sings with both ache and hope, balancing the heaviness of illness with the transcendent imagery of wings, flight, and renewal. Each line feels alive with emotion, offering young readers a safe space to explore fear and resilience while reminding adults of the fragile strength that comes with growing up too soon.
Ash & Feather is as much about metamorphosis as it is about mourning a story of love, loss, and the ways we rise again. A deeply moving and beautifully illustrated work that belongs on every middle-grade and YA bookshelf. Fans of Brown Girl Dreaming and Inside Out & Back Again will be deeply touched.
May 27, 2025
Wow! There’s much to love about this poem book by Sharon Frances. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but I came out with a truly soulful, emotional experience.
Ash and Feather is a collection of short poems that detail the authors life in a beautiful way. However, the author doesn’t just present their life in prose- they do so through vivid metaphors and symbolism. In her single-parent household, she is a bird, her strong, loving mother an eagle, and her grandmother a wise old duck. She, the young bird learns to soar on the wings of these helpers.
This is a beautifully told story about growing up, delivered through beautiful poems and decorated with apt illustrations. I loved it!
Ash and Feather is a collection of short poems that detail the authors life in a beautiful way. However, the author doesn’t just present their life in prose- they do so through vivid metaphors and symbolism. In her single-parent household, she is a bird, her strong, loving mother an eagle, and her grandmother a wise old duck. She, the young bird learns to soar on the wings of these helpers.
This is a beautifully told story about growing up, delivered through beautiful poems and decorated with apt illustrations. I loved it!
June 5, 2025
Ash & Feather is a raw, lyrical coming-of-age story that blends emotional honesty with a touch of surreal magic. When Phoenix’s parent is diagnosed with cancer, her world unravels, and she starts growing wings. Not fantasy, but metaphor made real, the wings reflect her grief, fear, and transformation.
Sharon Frances captures what it’s like to be a teenager dealing with way too much: the messy emotions, the small comforts of friends and family, and the slow, painful process of finding your strength. Beautiful, strange, and deeply human. Highly recommended for anyone who’s navigated loss or just felt like they were becoming someone new, whether they wanted to or not.
Sharon Frances captures what it’s like to be a teenager dealing with way too much: the messy emotions, the small comforts of friends and family, and the slow, painful process of finding your strength. Beautiful, strange, and deeply human. Highly recommended for anyone who’s navigated loss or just felt like they were becoming someone new, whether they wanted to or not.
June 9, 2025
This is a very unique book. It’s not for everyone. Very poignant and powerful.
Full of black and white illustrations and a format that is close to how poetry would be, it’s a story that pulls you in.
I can’t really explain it. It’s I just know that I feel what the main character is feeling.
As I said in the beginning of my review it’s not a book for everyone. It’s hard to read not because of it being a bad book. But I know that Phoenix, Duck and Eagle are characters I won’t soon forget.
Full of black and white illustrations and a format that is close to how poetry would be, it’s a story that pulls you in.
I can’t really explain it. It’s I just know that I feel what the main character is feeling.
As I said in the beginning of my review it’s not a book for everyone. It’s hard to read not because of it being a bad book. But I know that Phoenix, Duck and Eagle are characters I won’t soon forget.
April 4, 2025
This title was selected for IngramSpark's Indie Title Discovery Spotlight 2025!
A poignant and beautifully written (and illustrated!) novel that explores grief, self-discovery, and mental health with comfort and hope. This piece of magical realism is a must-read for teens navigating difficult emotions.
A poignant and beautifully written (and illustrated!) novel that explores grief, self-discovery, and mental health with comfort and hope. This piece of magical realism is a must-read for teens navigating difficult emotions.
November 8, 2025
Congratulations on this incredible achievement! The B.R.A.G. Medallion (Book Readers’ Appreciation Group) is a prestigious recognition, and it speaks volumes about the quality and appeal of ASH & FEATHER by Sharon Francis. This honor places it among a distinguished group of award-winning, reader-recommended works.
June 4, 2025
I thought this was a remarkable and thoughtful illustrated set of poems for young teens. I thought the author did a great job of getting into a teen’s head and writing from that perspective. The poems make a story that go with striking black and white illustrations.
Phoenix is dealing with a lot, and even though I’ve never dealt with the same things, I could relate to much of her feelings. I would recommend this to any teen, boy or girl. Everyone should read something like this to learn empathy and insight about the lives of others. This is really a wonderful book.
Phoenix is dealing with a lot, and even though I’ve never dealt with the same things, I could relate to much of her feelings. I would recommend this to any teen, boy or girl. Everyone should read something like this to learn empathy and insight about the lives of others. This is really a wonderful book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews