Advance Review of Shani Petroff & Darci Manley's Destined: Ash
Release Date: March 31st, 2015
Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:
Destiny is pre-determined. It is strictly monitored. It is unchangeable.
Or is it?
Madden’s life is a whirlwind of privilege and perks. Born into the elite Purple ring, she is fated to be a Minister of the Seven. Although her position comes with the burden of great responsibility, she’s nothing if not confident in her future. After all, Destiny Specialists have determined how she will fulfill her life's purpose, and they are never wrong.
Her classmate Dax, an Ash, is clinging to the opposite end of the spectrum. While everyone around her knows what destiny awaits them, Dax’s fate is…missing. Isolated and ignored, she refuses to let her lack of status define her.
After a stunning twist of fate, Dax and Madden’s paths intertwine in ways neither could have possibly imagined. The two are forced to question their own past, present and future as they realize who they are is not necessarily who they were meant to be.
Ash is an unforgettable journey into an alternate future which will leave readers wondering just how much we can control our own fate. Destiny is calling. Will you fight for yours?
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"Purple, Crimson, Green, Yellow, Brown, Slate, Ash, touch one from the outer rings and you'll get a rash."
A child's rhyme is enough to tell you what it's like to be a member of one of the outer rings. At birth, every infant is scanned so their destiny can be extracted. The more important your destiny, the higher the ring you are. Purple's have the most money, they get the best jobs, and are over all the most important. Where as, an Ash lives in the furthest ring. They live in poverty. Most buildings in the outer rings are dilapidated and family's live off of meager rations.
This story follows 2 characters. Madden is very important to the society. Her destiny is to be one of the 7. The 7 are the ministers who make the rules and rule over all of the rings in New City. Needless to say, Madden was born as a Purple. Even though both of her parents were born Crimson, when she was born, they moved into a home in the Purple ring. The second character is Dax. She has a lot of siblings... all of which are boys. It was her mother's destiny to have a girl and when her parents had her, they stopped. They couldn't afford another child if they wanted. Dax is an Ash... actually, she is lower than an Ash, because she was born without a destiny. Most parents decide to turn "blanks" (as they call those without destinies) over to the city, because when blanks are kept, the family is highly taxed.
Although this story has moments of being reminiscent of other dystopian books I have read, it is very different in a lot of ways. The way it is most obviously similar is definitely the caste system. We have all read the Hunger Games by now and if you haven't, you've seen the movie... I also love the Selection, both of which have distinct caste systems. It is different in that this story is all based on destiny.
There is a love story involved in Ash... well, actually, there are 2 love stories. Both are of the star-crossed love variety. So even though we don't have a love triangle (thank goodness), there is still something for the romantics. There is a mystery that is revealed 100 pages in that takes over the story (in a good way) and definitely opens the book up to become multiple books. Seeing as how I love dystopian tales, I was very happy with that outcome.
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