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 sisterβs rapist escapes with no prison time.
Em Moralesβs older sister was raped by another student after a frat party. A jury eventually found the rapist guilty on all countsβa remarkable verdict that Em felt more than a little responsible for, since she was her sisterβs strongest advocate on social media during the trial. Her passion and outspokenness helped dissuade the DA from settling for a plea deal. Emβs family would have real justice.
But the victory is lived. In a matter of minutes, justice vanishes as the judge turns the Morales familyβs 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 βmakes me want to use a fucking swordβ 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.