Snow & Ash

Endless Winter #1

by Theresa Shaver

Bomb after bomb dropped across the globe sending the world tumbling into a seemingly never ending nuclear winter.
Skylar Ross is ten that day when she’s ripped from dance classes and sleepovers to being an orphan in a prepper’s paradise of a mountain bunker. Her determination to protect her baby brother keeps her locked away with nothing but responsibility and loneliness. Her father’s words are a continuous echo, “Trust no one. Help no one.”

Rex Larson is eleven that day. He’s left stranded on the side of the road in a strange place far from home when his mother dies the first day. With his own small brother to look after he is lost and alone. Rex has no choice but to trust complete strangers with his and his brother’s future.

Two different survivors in two different circumstances spend the next seven years trying to survive until an explosive meeting changes both their courses and lives forever. Trust is almost impossible when your whole life is spent in the Snow & Ash.

Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Post Apocalyptic, Fiction, Apocalyptic, Survival

345 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 11, 2015

About the author

Theresa Shaver lives in South Central Alberta Canada.
As an avid reader, I used to dream about writing and sharing my own stories with the world. Publishing was a far off and intimidating goal until Amazon opened the gates! I love that I get real feed back from my fans on my books instead of some guy behind a desk who studies market trends. I write to share my dreams with the world and now I can. My first series is a Young Adult Post-apocalypse story. I love writing about the growth of characters faced with such huge challenges and plan to continue future stories in wrecked worlds. It's a new do it yourself world in so many industries so never stop believing in your dreams and do it yourself!

Reviews

[Roger Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like first person narrative when appropriate, but using it with two different POVs didn't work for me. The two first person narrators sounded way too much alike. There were a lot more grammatical issues than I would have expected. They were distracting even to me (I can overlook a few). I think the secret, underground bunker was too well-equipped to have been kept a secret. Convenient plot devices overruled reality.

On the up side, it was not a bad story. and it was a quick read. I did finish the book, but I don't plan to continue with the series.

[Kate Mary]

I tried really hard, I did.

The premise was interesting, making me want to continue reading, but the run on sentences and utter lack of commas was distracting, as was the constant jumping from past to present tense. Also, the two timelines didn’t match up. I’d read a chapter from Skylar’s prospective where 2 1/2 years have passed only to flip to Rex’s point of view and find only 16 days had gone by. It made it difficult to keep track of how much time had passed. And, as other reviewers have mentioned, quotations marks to indicate dialogue were missing everywhere, making for a very confusing read at times. I also have to agree with other readers who pointed out that the dialogue was very stilted and didn't come across as authentic.

It's unfortunate, because I love post-apocalyptic fiction and I really wanted to find out what happened, but it was just too difficult to immerse myself in the story when there were so many errors. Editing is expensive, I know, but it's also necessary.

[Kel · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!!

I enjoyed this story, all the potential what ifs when reading it definitely had me questioning what I might do or not do in this situation.
Will be seeking out the next books in the series :)

[Carolyn F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. The author mentions in the forward that she likes a book that doesn't get bogged down in detailed descriptions of the surrounding or equipment or clothing (which I agree with) so this book just gets to the nitty-gritty. It's about two families and how they survive a nuclear war. Loved it.

[Dee/ bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! This one was free for Kindle on Amazon when I read it. Honestly with the free books my expectation is low, because you never know why they are free. This one is probably free to get you to get interested in the series because the next one is not a free book, but I will read it anyway. This one was a great read. I had a very hard time putting it down and can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

[Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it contains some syntactical errors and scenarios/items that I - and, I would've thought, the builders of the bunker - considered a flagrant waste of resources given the context to the story, Snow & Ash easily merits a four star rating.

There is a hell of a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction out there and a lot of it displays a frustrating lack of concern with straight-up survival. If the world as you know it is ending, you need water, food, warmth, shelter, and first aid supplies - and a way to protect yourself and the above - before anything else. Snow & Ash is, in my mind, much more believable than the majority of this fiction. Rex's story in particular is about day by day survival.

Sky's situation is rather more privileged but we still see her dealing with very grown up scenarios, parenting her little brother pretty much from birth, and having the occasional outburst of teenage hormones. I noticed a couple of reviewers picked up on this and yes, it can be irritating but hello - teenage hormonal meltdowns usually are irritating. Not to mention, I think it'd be unrealistic to take a young girl, change her whole life in about the biggest way imaginable and have her lose not just her whole world but also her mother overnight and not have her be emotional about it.

I loved the author's introduction at the beginning of the book, which I'll include here.

"Hello! It’s been a year since my last book was published and I’m happy to be back!  If you’ve read any of the Stranded Novels then you know I like to start a book off with a little chat. I like to give a brief overview of what I was thinking when I wrote the book and why I went in certain directions. Let’s start with the most important part, THANK YOU! Thank you for reading my stories and for all the feedback and comments you give. You probably have no idea just how important that is to me. I’m not a professional, educated writer. I’m a stay at home Mom with a big imagination. I read every single review and comment made and then go back and reread them when I start a new book. I take the advice and constructive criticisms from the most important people, you the reader, and try to apply them to my writing. So thanks, teacher, I’m getting better because of you!"

Isn't that lovely? Bearing in mind the request for feedback, there are (just) three things I'd like to see you pick up on Ms Shaver. First of all, spelling/grammar. Chiefly, should/would/could/must/had HAVE not "of". There were some other mistakes but this one was repeated over and over again. Secondly, the voices. If you're going to write from numerous perspectives then you need to make them sound distinct. Sky and Rex used an awful lot of the same phrasing and if you removed the context, I doubt you could tell the difference between them. This is hard to do, I will be the first to admit. Thirdly, the romance. This was slightly overdone in Snow and Ash. The two protagonists had known each other barely a day when they declared feelings for each other. Expressing fascination/crushes would work, but anything more would've been more believably handled at a slower pace, later on in the series. It would be a shame for the romance to overshadow the wonderful, gently humorous handling of shock/grief/trauma/joy/etc seen elsewhere.

[Nichole · Rating 2 out of 5]

So so

This book had a good idea to go off of, but the characters and dialog were very poorly written. It did make it easier to believe it was being written by a child. I enjoyed the idea of this book, and with some instruction I think this author could do some really great things.

[★ℕłℂØℓҾ★ (Nix) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent dystopian novel! You'd think because of the short length it wouldn't be long enough to connect with the characters, but the connection and development happens almost immediately. My biggest problem with it was the grammatical errors. It's rather obviously self-published. I wish the author had run it through a proofreader or two (or better ones), but the story was good enough to keep me reading when otherwise I would have dropped it after the first handful of errors. Definitely will be continuing with this series!

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

I loved this book. It is so filled with character development that you feel like you are there with them! I am ready to read the next one!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I will say I was immediately pulled into this book from the first line. I like it when a book has first line that just stands out.

Second, the story was awesome. I enjoy post-apocalyptic books, and thus one does not disappoint. I especially liked the fact that we sort of get to watch these characters grow up. It takes place over about seven years, covering the day the world as we know it ends and beyond. It isn't just the normal (a) the world ends and we get the immediate after effects or (b) a character born and raised in the new, post-apocalyptic world and why it should change.

Third, I could feel the emotions in the story. You know it's a good book when an event makes you teary or mad or irritated, just like the main character. Let me tell you, I felt it all.

Lastly, the reason I can't give this book five stars. I want to, I really do but there's two points I have to make. The first is only a biggy if you're a grammar person like me. There were a bit too many spelling and/or wording mistakes. One or two and I'm okay, but there were quite a few. Most of those were little things like 'on' instead of 'one'. Spellcheck won't find that because it's a word, but editing should have caught most of them. The second thing also isn't huge but can be a bit awkward for readers, the timeline. It was a bit jumpy. The story is from the perspective of Skylar and Rex, and it begins on the same day. Awesome, got it. Every other chapter is Skylar and vice versa for Rex. The problem is the timelines don't match. Skylar goes through a couple years in a chapter while Rex is going through a couple days. Then Skylar jumps to seven years before Rex has even managed one year. Eventually, they do catch up to one another and the story begins to mingle. It gets better at this point just because it's much easier to keep track. Each individual story is good and interesting and I enjoyed them regardless, but it would have been easier for the reader if the timelines matched throughout instead of splitting off in the middle.

Overall, I really loved the book. I would have given it five stars if not for the two little things. I cannot wait to read the second book. I only got this one because it was free and I honestly didn't expect much, but now I have to buy the second, and I can't wait!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

This was a good read and held me all the way. Told in Two points of view, one the girl, Skylar who finds herself alone with her brother and the other Rex, with his little brother. Skylar's dad has prepared a huge underground place for his family that no one can find or get into, complete with an AI voice. This sounds a bit unrealistic but I still loved it.
I especially loved the Battlestar Galactica references, even saying "fracking." No mention by name but any BG fan will know.
So on to the second in the series.

[Kristin (Blood,Sweat and Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really looking forward to the sequel. The story just flew by! Longer review to come.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this for free on Kindle and well, you can tell.
This book really needs to be reworked. A lot.
The only reason I'm giving it 1.5 stars is because the plot moved fairly quickly and it was an interesting set up.

Having all of the story (except the interlude) in first person didn't work for me. Especially when the two characters telling the story sounded exactly the same - not a great thing in general, but when it's a teen girl and boy? I should be able to hear their voices distinctly.

The side characters aren't developed enough. Marsh in particular is a caricature, in my opinion. The main characters also need work, but not AS much.

Proofreading is needed quite badly as well. I lost count how many times I groaned when a stray apostrophe or homonym popped up.

What's up with suddenly popping up with an interlude? Surely there are better ways to provide all of the information that was in those short bits than completely switching up how the story is told at around the 90% mark.

Rex didn't need to be shown as being bratty to his mother before the car crashed if it's all going to be told to Skylar in pretty much the same way later in the book. Frankly, I'd probably not even introduce Rex as a narrator until after he's already met and teamed up with Belle.

Basically, this reads as a first draft to me.

[moxieBK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snow and Ash (Endless Winter #1) — Theresa Shaver (2 parts: total 31 chapters + Interlude between chapters 30 and 31) January 11-12, 2020

I thought I was done with dystopian books, but I have read Theresa Shaver before, and her books are very well written (despite the need for an editor to clean up grammatical issues.) The way the book broke between the two parts is smart. They are a clean break between the first part and the second part. The angle that Skylar and Rex and the adults vs. the younger kids is unusual for the experiences they differ. But this (at least this book,) is a typical YA romance in the second-part, especially at the end. I didn’t exactly like how Sasha was written in the second part. I loved her character in the first part and was sad to see how she developed in the second, even though I understand why the author wrote her that way. (Someone had to be the arch-rival to Skylar, I guess.)

Despite these issues (Sasha and grammatical,) I thought this was a fantastic first book in series.

Four stars.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh... nice try?
Snow & Ash is a fairly run-of-the-mill dystopia, in which (for reasons never explained - where's the backstory, I want backstory!) nuclear bombs have rained down on countries across the globe, killing at least half the population and plunging the world into nuclear winter and post-apocalyptic dog-eat-dog chaos. The story follows two protagonists, Skylar and Rex, both children at the time the world as they knew it came to an end whose paths eventually cross, over a span of seven years. The thing is... absolutely everything that happens to them is predictable. The massive hightech survival bunker set-up Skylar's crazy prepper dad rushes his family off to is so ridiculously over the top implausible that it defies all attempts at suspending one's disbelief. We get both Skylar's and Rex's POVs in first person narration - which would be fine, if they didn't sound exactly alike. Most of the characters are fairly onedimensional, and once S&R's storylines merge, teenage idiocy takes over in so many ways that made me feel very, very old.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nuclear bombs dropped around the globe sends the world into a dangerous and new state of being in Snow & Ash by Theresa Shaver.

To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.

Ten year old Skylar Ross is excited to go shopping for new school supplies with her mother, but her father receives a phone call before they leave that will change their lives. Quickly packing what they’ll need and cannot live without the Rosses depart their home for a place in the mountains that will allow them to be protected from the inevitable radiation and nuclear winter of their future. On their drive, Skylar’s family sees a boy and his younger brother at the side of the road; Rex, the eleven year old they drove past, just lost his mother and has little choice but to trust strangers to help him survive. Saved from the initial fallout, Skylar and Rex meet again seven years later and depend on one another’s trust, which is put to the test, for survival.

With an interesting premise setting up the story in an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic world, the main thread of survival resonates strongly throughout. Told from the perspectives of the two children over the years, Skylar and Rex, there are advantages and disadvantages that each of them have for survival that thrust upon them adult responsibilities early but their voices sound nearly identical despite their different circumstances; though likely an attempt to provide a more cohesive view of the action leading to this installment’s conclusion, the one-off additional perspectives didn’t really contribute to the narrative in an organic manner, but seemed instead a convenient mechanism to tell readers “here’s what Skylar and Rex couldn’t know but is important to be aware of.” While attempting to convey necessary, clarifying information, the dialogue between characters frequently felt inauthentic and forced as the focus was on providing information instead of showing it or developing more realistic scenarios conducive for sharing it organically.

Overall, I’d give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

[MALINI CARMICHAEL · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read for the apocalypse

I really enjoyed the storyline, it was engaging and kept my interest throughout the the book. I liked how the author developed the MFC, from a young surly adolescent girl to a tough young teenage girl still growing into her womanhood. I know this is the 1st book in the series so I’m going to assume more is going to happen with the larger group. I can feel that she really regrets not taking her father’s advice about trusting people at this stage, because all it took was one jealous teen girl with a crush to literally almost destroy everything her father built and taught her. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series and see what develops. Very entertaining and enjoyable read.

[Ceh131973 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nuclear war has ravaged the world. Skylar Ross's parents were prepared but they left her an her infant brother alone. Rex Larson is left at the side of the road when his mother gets killed. He is taken in by a stranger and another helps them get to safety with instructions what to do.It is an interesting survival story. Plausable but a bit of a stretch. As with the other books I have read by Theresa Shaver the characters are the thing. She loves you to get attached and shee how they grow and change. Also she almost always has one you want to hate. I would recommend this book to any of my students or anyone for that matter.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story moved along quickly and was well written. However it was such a negative tale. Yes this kind of apocalyptic story would be negative but I can’t imagine a world with hardly any compassion, where the good is squelched by the evil around. I wasn’t a fan of so much of the poor leadership skills of the ones in charge, although I believe there would be some out there who would be that way.
It was relatively clean without bad language nor sexual situations, however not sure it met my thoughts on a clean novel as certain things were implied that would make me disturbed to let a young person read it. However upper teens would be a better fit because of these scenarios.

[Jensie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot, in good conscience, continue reading this book. My poor, overworked and underpaid brain simply should not endure such torture. At one point in my life, I think I would have really enjoyed this book. But since I am not a twelve year old preteen with no social life, this book sucked. It was cheesy, and rather unbearably so at times, but the notion of the whole thing wasn't totally the worst, so at least it had that much going for it? Dunno. The tween drama / romance is where I surrendered - couldn't finish it for fear of melting some of my brain cells.

[Leslie B · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are an adult, don’t read this. I bought this thinking it would be a good fit for me and was wrong. The book would probably be a good for a elementary/middle school-aged child. I found the events in the book to be a little too good to be true, even from a fiction standpoint. It was probably the most boring apocalyptic book I’ve ever read. Like I said, definitely intended for a much younger audience. I was struggling trying to get through the cringe. I will not be reading the rest of the series.

[Michelle N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, that was really good! I didn't really know what to expect with this book. The cover catches your eye and the blurb sounded really interesting so I thought I'd give it a try, I was hooked right away. An unthinkable "apocalypse" has happened and now you're getting to see how different groups of people survive and the struggles they faced. I can't wait to start Rain & Ruin and find out what happens next.

[Audra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced and intriguing

This is one of the first apocalyptic novel I've read and I was not disappointed. The book is fast paced and pulls you in the first chapter. There was never a dull moment and I loved not being bogged down in details. I look forward to reading the next in the series. This is a great book for young adults that enjoy stories similar to maze runner and the divergent series. It's a clean read with no foul language or sex.

[Pam Shelton-Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently teenage angst overrules a nuclear holocaust. Who would have thought? I don't care a lot for first person narration and I especially find it confusing when two different characters do it. The characters seemed to behave more like an adult thinks a kid would behave rather than being really authentic. At least this book was short. I will read the next book simply because I thought it was the first book and only after I started it, realized it was not.

[Aleah Lanegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been wanting to read this book for a while ever since I heard of it. Now I have finally read this and I was very satisfied. The book was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat! Yes there is a lot of grammatical errors and the fact that sky had a whole bunker that still had electricity and enough food for a thousand people was a bit of a streach, but it was still a very good read! I can't wait to read the next two books!

[Debby Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read

I don't usually read survival/ apocalypse type books, but thought I'd try one for a change. I'm so glad I chose this first. It's kept me gripped throughout with several characters stories interlinking with each other's. There's the usual, goody, buddy and the undecided. Can't wait to see what's next. Written well.

[Sonia Braz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed every aspect of this book. looking forward to being able to read the following ones. good characters, well developed that you can connect to, interesting setting even in a common theme already written about frequently, good quality writing. I recommend it to all who enjoy post-apocalyptic stories

[Glenda Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I have read in some time

This is an exceptional read. I had tears in my eyes and sobs in my throat. As this story plays out. I truly hope Skylar gives the people from town a second chance. Rex is back with his survival family. They are all in danger from a gang of really bad men.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty fun, but the resources these people have to survive the apocalyptic scenario are literally unbelievable.
If you can suspend your disbelief and ignore the careless editing here and there ("peel" instead of "peal", and that sort of thing), I imagine you'll have a fairly good time reading Snow and Ash.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snow & Ash

Nice to know there is a fully stocked functional redoubt built into a mountain with an AI to boot. Otherwise a reasonable disaster novel with interesting characters and plot.