Dust

DUST is a captivating YA contemporary/speculative fiction. Thea is a 16-year-old whose life is controlled by her parents' choices and fear. She has been home-schooled for a long time, but it has escalated recently, especially with their move to Colorado, where they are outside of a small town plagued by dust storms. The farm they have bought is struggling with the dust, and Thea feels suffocated when she is not allowed to have a phone or access one, not allowed to visit the library, and not allowed to speak with people outside her family.

Thea has a job in town where she meets other people and connects with a boy named Ray, who is deaf and begins to teach her sign language, something she has always wanted to know as someone who is hard of hearing, being deaf in one ear. However, when her parents find out, her life begins to constrict and Thea will consider her life and that of her family anew.

What I loved: This was an absolutely consuming read, told from Thea's perspective, complete with the gaps in sentences when Thea cannot hear what people are saying around her. Her life was easy to sink into, and she is a very compelling character whose motives are easy to understand. She is desperate for community and belonging, something that feels further away with her parents' edicts. Ray brings a new level of language and connection for her, something that feels too precious to lose - but at the mercy of her parents, she is unable to fully reach for it.

The speculative fiction setting of the farming and dust bowl-related world was really interesting and brought an end-of-times feel to story. At the same time, it showed the importance of community and connection, reaching a hand out to help those who may need it. Although Thea's family is determined to stand alone, there are helpers to be found if desired, and the hope radiates through these elements.

Themes around alcoholism, doomsday prepping, complicated family dynamics, oppressive parenting, home schooling, isolation, and connections with other people were really thought-provoking and played out in interesting and unexpected ways during the course of the story. I was completely hooked on wanting to know what would happen next and how things would play out.

What left me wanting more: Although I do typically love a story where things like this happen, I found the ending to be a bit unbelievable given the lead up to it, and I was slightly disappointed in the way that things changed in ways that seemed incongruous with the rest of the story. I am being vague so as to not include spoilers, but I found it to be a bit odd and would have preferred a similar resolution but in a way that followed from what we know of the characters, which would have been quite different.

Final verdict: DUST is a captivating contemporary/speculative fiction that includes compelling characters and thought-provoking themes to look deeply inside complex community and family dynamics. This is a powerful and consuming read that I recommend picking up!