[Trigger warnings: this book might contain mention of sexual assault]
Stunning, heartbreaking, and inspiring are the three words I would use to describe the emotions this book gave me. We are the Ashes, We are the Fire tells two parallel stories portraying female power, set during both the Modern and Medieval periods. When Em Morales’ sister was raped at a frat party, their whole lives changed. The jury finds the perpetrator guilty much to the family’s relief, but the victory was short-lived as the judge sentenced the accused to no prison time leaving the family devastated. Trying to deal with the aftermath of the incident, Em finds her immersed in the story of a 15th century Frenchwoman Marguerite de Bressieux, who is known for her reputation of killing rapists on the battlefield. Adorned with her friend Jess’ beautiful illustrations, Em finds solace through imagining Marguerite’s life and what she could do if she would be able to wield a sword.
Written in both prose and free verse poetry, with prose being the present time of Em’s narrative and poetry relating the life story of Marguerite, McCullough creates a passionate young woman wrestling with rage and grief through a traumatic moment in life, and in turn, reflects on the social hostile attitudes towards female victims. This dual perspective sheds a different light on the never-ending violence of the rape culture.
Minor spoilers ahead…
Filled with disappointment and rage after the judge’s decision, Em starts advocating for rape victims and after reconnecting with her friend Jess, is then introduced to the legend of Marguerite. Totally in awe with the 15th century heroin, Em was inspired to write poetry for Marguerite and from Marguerite’s perspective, telling the story of her and her family being sexually assaulted and the aftermath where she decides to pick up her own weapon and fight back for herself and others like her. Completely absorbed by her story, Em finds herself growing ever more distant from her family and friends and instead takes comfort in writing. At the beginning of the book, it was mostly written in prose narrating Em’s life and occasionally accompanied with her poetry of Marguerite. As the story progresses, we can see that poetry steadily becomes more and more a part of Em’s life as the prose starts to shorten, and verses start to incorporate more into the story. Em’s relationship with her family also starts to escalate as they all try to deal with the traumatising situations in different ways and eventually, Em learned about surprising secrets from her mother’s past as well which all the more encouraged her to continue with the avenging story of Marguerite.
This book definitely does not end with happily-ever-after and Em is certainly not the perfect protagonist. She acts rashly in her own way to try and help her sister but instead having it backfired, she then became too focused with her fictional story that she started to ignore everyone else in her life. It’s interesting that McCullough decides to take on the perspective of a rape victim’s family member and explores her emotions and feelings about the incident. By putting the attention on Em, McCullough states the significance of collective healing through heart-breaking events, not just the victims themselves but also those surrounding them and the importance of having hope.
We Are The Ashes, We Are The Fire is a book about family and friends, it’s about grief and pain but also about healing and rebirth, just like a phoenix, who eventually dies only to be reborn from the ashes. It’s also a story about feminism and the society’s negative attitudes towards the fairer sex, it raises awareness not just about women’s vulnerability, but also the power to heal. It is important that women’s power is acknowledged, just like the power of fire, women can also be fierce and strong.
This might not be a light-hearted book to read but it is exactly the pain and truth which makes it so real and relatable to our reality. What we might find comforting is in the end, Em is able to find some sort of peace with her family. Everyone has their own coping mechanism when encountering difficult situations, but what matters most is finding ways of positive communication with loved ones during these times.
We Are The Ashes, We Are The Fire is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
From the author of the acclaimed Blood Water Paint, a new contemporary YA novel in prose and verse about a girl struggling with guilt and a desire for revenge after her sister’s rapist escapes with no prison time.
Em Morales’s older sister was raped by another student after a frat party. A jury eventually found the rapist guilty on all counts–a remarkable verdict that Em felt more than a little responsible for, since she was her sister’s strongest advocate on social media during the trial. Her passion and outspokenness helped dissuade the DA from settling for a plea deal. Em’s family would have real justice.
But the victory is lived. In a matter of minutes, justice vanishes as the judge turns the Morales family’s world upside down again by sentencing the rapist to no prison time. While her family is stunned, Em is literally sick with rage and guilt. To make matters worse, a news clip of her saying that the sentence “makes me want to use a fucking sword” goes viral.
From this low point, Em must find a new reason to go on and help her family heal, and she finds it in the unlikely form of the story of a 15th-century French noblewoman, Marguerite de Bressieux, who is legendary as an avenging knight for rape victims.
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire is a searing and nuanced portrait of a young woman torn between a persistent desire for revenge and a burning need for hope.
