With this month’s release of Ashes, Laurie Halse Anderson brings us full circle; to the end of one journey, and the beginning of a next. It’s a journey that began with Chains, in which we first met 12-year old Isabel, and her 7-year-old sister, Ruth. The year is 1776, and while the rest of the country is beginning the fight for freedom, the enslaved Isabel and Ruth discover their chance for freedom snatched away when they find themselves with new owners who are far less kind than their previous owner. Then the unthinkable (or perhaps the all-too-common) happens, and the sisters are separated, beginning a quest Isabel vows will result in their reunion. In Forge, we again met up with Isabel, as she dodges recapture, scenes of battle, and all manner of forces of nature to find her sister. She’s accompanied at times by Curzon, an escaped slave just two years older than herself, with strong Patriot ties. Simultaneously the best of friends and the worst of enemies, Curzon and Isabel have a relationship best described as “complicated.” And a winter at Valley Forge does little to improve circumstances.
By the time we meet Isabel and Curzon again at the beginning of Ashes, five years have passed since their journey began. Isabel and Curzon are now 17 and 19, their relationship strained by years of travel, disagreement and stubbornness. Nevertheless, Curzon has vowed to stay with Isabel until they find her sister, whom Isabel is sure is in Charleston. Before they are able to reach Charleston, however, the two stumble upon Ruth living at a war-ravaged plantation 12 miles outside of the city. Isabel is overjoyed, but when the sisters are finally reunited, Ruth’s reaction is far less enthusiastic. There isn’t time to win her over, however, as Isabel and Curzon are once again forced to flee into the night, this time accompanied by Ruth and another young slave, Aberdeen.
The plan is for Ruth and Isabel to make their way back home to Rhode Island, where Isabel hopes to find land, to settle, and to create a home for her and Ruth. But the way isn’t simple. Injury and infection slow them down, ultimately forcing them to seek refuge in Yorktown, Virginia. It is here that Curzon and Aberdeen decide to pursue their own fates. Bitter words between Isabel and Curzon seem to put the final hatchet in their friendship, leaving Isabel alone with a sister who dislikes her. When the war arrives in Yorktown, the sisters are no longer safe and must flee again, this time to Williamsburg. A moment of enlightenment opens a floodgate of emotions between Isabel and Ruth, but then the two find themselves once again in the company of the unwilling Curzon, Aberdeen reappears and forces both girls to make tough decisions, and war truly closes in. With an ending that is both glorious and heart-wrenching, final and open, and characters filled with love, tenacity, questions, and hope, Ashes is a satisfying conclusion to a stunning trilogy.
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