Great YA read - especially for boys. Alex is home alone for the weekend while his parents and little sister are off to visit his uncle's farm a couple of hundred miles away. When a supervolcano erupts destroying his home and flipping the world upside-down into a sea of ashen darkness, Alex leaves to head east and find his family. 
 Mullin depicts a very realistic version of events sparing no detail as to how human nature is tested in the face of disaster and the need for survival. Many parts of this story can get gory for a YA, however it definitely is needed to make/keep the story credible. 
 This is one of those stories that doesn't end at the end of Book#1 so if that annoys you, I wouldn't get started. However, where one story might bother me if left with unanswered questions, this one didn't have the same effect. I was content with where it ended while still looking forward to finding out where #2 will take us.