We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire

“What is art if not a sword? With We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire, Joy McCullough wields and strikes her sharp-edged, finely honed blade. A fierce beauty.”—Elana K. Arnold, Printz Honoree and National Book Award Finalist★”Intense, unrelenting, and inspiring.”—Kirkus, starred review★”McCullough emphatically confronts the toll that sexual violence takes and deftly questions who gets to control history’s narrative.“—Publishers Weekly, starred review★”McCullough borrows judiciously from the headlines, and readers will find her story all the more affecting because of its seemingly eternal relevance.“—Booklist, starred review★”Unforgettable…. A must read.“—SLC, starred review“A meditation on the power of uncovering past heroines, especially for young women who are looking for strength.“—Bitch Magazine“Ferociously honest, unequivocally feminist…. Appreciators of Elana K. Arnold’s Red Hood or Courtney Summers’s Sadie should pick up this title immediately.“—Shelf AwarenessA Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2021A Kirkus Best Book of 2021

Joy McCullough writes books and plays from her home in the Seattle area, where she lives with her family. She studied theatre at Northwestern University, fell in love with her husband atop a Guatemalan volcano, and now spends her days surrounded by books and kids and chocolate. Her debut novel, Blood Water Paint, was longlisted for National Book Award and was a finalist for the William C. Morris Debut Award.