Ashes to Asheville

Ashes to Asheville
by Sarah Dooley
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2017. Fiction. 243 p.
Fella and Zany are two girls that were raised as sisters. Their mothers are a Lesbian couple who had wanted to be married, but didn't live where and when such marriages were legal. When Mama Lacy dies, Mama Shannon is unable to get custody of Fella, since she is not a blood relation, so the family is broken up. The story begins when Zany, who is 16, comes to get Mama Lacy's ashes so that she can scatter them in their old home town as per their mother's dying wish. Fella (age 12) comes along for the wild road trip.

This book highlights some of the difficulties families with same gender parents had before the 2015 ruling that made same gender marriages legal across the country. It is an enjoyable read, with alternating funny and tender moments. Although some of their adventures are a little over the top, the personalities of the sisters are very believable and their family struggles are sympathetic.

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