Dust by Alison Stone, graciously sent to me by Wednesdaybooks. Dystopian YA in a dust bowl type setting. Hard of hearing MC and themes of community. Enjoyable and quick read!

Resolution for the main conflict happens off page and too easily. It didn't really follow with the "antagonists" personality to make such a character shift.

This book speaks of the hazards of a small subset style of homesteaders/homeschoolers. Unfortunately, it is unlikely to fall into the hands of teenagers living that lifestyle, but props for trying.

Dust is a beautiful novel that sits with you long after you finish reading it. It’s not a “big bang” type of book, but it’s engrossing nonetheless.

Author Alison Stine’s prose envelops you, transporting you to an imagined modern-day dustbowl. It calls to the past while looking to the future.

The story unfolds through Thea’s voice. Stine’s choice of first-person narrative gives readers an inside view into Thea’s limited world. You discover her dreams and fears and hopes for the future.

Dust is a beautiful read that resonates. I read a digital review copy but plan to purchase a physical one for my home library.

DUST by Alison Stine features Thea, a sixteen-year old who is deaf in one ear, but whose parents choose to ignore that reality. In fact, her father seems to increasingly separate from reality and has moved the family to a place called Bloodless Valley in Colorado where dust is everywhere and farming, especially without any modern aides, is almost impossible. Thea and her younger sister are "unschooled," kept at home and made to work on the farm, although Thea has a brief reprieve when she is able to work to support the family at a small café. Through the owner's kindness she meets the agricultural agent and his great nephew, Ray, plus the local librarian and some other homesteaders. Ray is also hard of hearing and begins to teach Thea to sign. Her father objects and her life narrows considerably. It is obvious that Stine, who is herself half deaf due to a congenital disability, has compassion for people with differences. She writes, "What I hope you take away from this book is: desire and energy to protect Earth and all its inhabitants, and also the knowledge that your story, whatever it is, matters. It's sometimes hard being both/neither, but there's a lot of joy too. And you're okay the way you are." Stine effectively uses empty spaces and underlining to convey the frustration of Thea's inability to hear clearly. Plus, the author does build suspense about an impending storm, but the pat way in which Thea's father is suddenly transformed into accepting help and technology like new cell phones does not seem probable. DUST was very sad and the pace was slow. Reflecting on other books with hard of hearing characters, I would highly recommend True Biz which received multiple starred reviews and was an Alex Award nominee as well as a New York Times bestseller. 3.5 stars

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book is great for readers who like/want to read YA coming of age, disability rep, young love, and dysfunctional family. This book will dive into the story of Thea and how her family moved to Bloodless Valley Colorado in hope to make a fresh clean start all because her father kept having a premonition that is where they needed to be. Thea has left everything that made her feel normal, her friends, the house and community that she knew. All for her fathers dreams, but nothing feels right in the place that they’re now living and it's not just because her father refuses to let Thea or her sister go to school with the other homeschooled children, he won’t let them to go the library, just go to work and home, chores on the farm and back to the shutting everyone out of their lives, but that isn’t want Thea wants at all.

I found this book to be written so beautifully, the author’s writing style is so lyrical that it made for an easy read. I was able to finish this book in one sitting. The pacing of the book is slow, but it's an easy read and with it being lyrical you will find yourself half way through the book. Thea’s father is harsh, with a lot of rules that will not be broken or else, he is over controlling of his family and will not listen to any of them. I spent most of the time wishing that I could reach through the book and save Thea and her sister from their father and mother. However, the more that I read I saw the beauty of living in a small town and the grace of knowing that community, education, protecting the environment and learning to accept help (and not just shooting it down right away because you’re too proud.) I found the characters in this book to be the real stars in this book.

I love Thea, she is always questioning everything. She wants to know the answers to all the questions, but she also knows that she cannot ask her father or mother. I loved that she is really a strong character, who cares about others, doesn’t look down on people who are different, and wants to make sure that people learn from the past mistakes. I loved that the author gave us a glimpse into the inner workings of Thea and how she copes with being partially deaf, and how she has learned to handle situations due to this all because of how her father treats her disability. Trust me if this man was real, and I could have, I would have reached into the book and slapped him so hard, but with all her fathers’ actions he has raised a beautiful strong female. I loved that she was strong and did finally stand up for herself, her family and the community. I enjoyed that you got to see a love interest from a boy that is the same age as Thea and you get to watch this innocent romance start to bloom through all the darkness, and I mean darkness with all the dust.

I love that in this book you will find a story of resilience, finding a connection to your community, coming of age, self-acceptance, and global warming.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the opportunity to review this book.

A speculative fiction story, Stine explains the impetus for her creating the story and her #ownvoices connection as partially Deaf and where at one point a person told her she belonged to neither the hearing or Deaf world and another who said that she was part of both and that was a beautiful thing.

Either way, Thea and Ray meet in this dustbowl version of the world where survival isn't at its most dire but it is protected. Ray is in the Deaf community, Thea's family wants her to act as if she's hearing so that it makes it easier however she discovers through Ray that there's a whole other world that she's missed because of this.

The setting is what makes it unique as well as the characters who shape the story of leaning in to who they are and never being ashamed. Books like these always remind me of a high schooler I had nearly 15 years ago who LOVED environmental disaster/apocalypse stories. This one is for her wherever she may be!

I loved how many genres Dust encompassed! I mean, it's *almost* contemporary, but really more near future/alt history, mixed in with some cli-fi, a light YA romance, and features a main character with a hearing disability. Oh, and it feels high key culty at points! Color me impressed, frankly.

I enjoyed the story quite a bit- anytime a young woman goes on a journey of self-discovery and claiming her own agency I am here for it. And wow, will you feel for Thea. Her dad has uprooted the family to some godforsaken dustbowl in Colorado because... wait for it... my dude had a dream that he should. Like I had a dream that I was teaching rich kids on a movie set last night but you don't see me quitting my job. I digress. Anyway, he insists that Thea and her little sister be "homeschooled" and I use the term loosely because there is exactly zero "school" involved. He does let Thea have a job, but god forbid she speaks to another human. At least half the book is me wanting to kick this man in the nether regions, but alas.

Thea finally starts to see the world as it is more and more, thankfully. But that only makes things rougher, honestly, because now she knows how messed up the whole thing is. And it turns out that there are a lot of dangers lurking at the farm, and they aren't just crappy misogynist dad related. There is just a lot of stuff happening, but none of it feels forced. And because there is a lot involved, the pages just kept turning so I'd see how it all ended!

Bottom Line: Loved the incredible mix of genres as well as the very relevant commentary.

A teenager tries to follow her father’s lead to “get back to the land” as he abruptly moves the family across state lines based on a premonition. As the teen battles her own securities because of her disability and the burning need to broaden her world, she must also contend with a climate that provides only the harshest of conditions. Veteran climate fiction author Alison Stine returns with a contemplative look at how teens can fight for themselves in an unforgiving future in her newest book Dust.

Thea Taylor knows all about dust. It’s everywhere—on the table, on the floor, in the air. No matter how much she and her mother and sister clean the new home they’ve moved into, the dust finds a way to creep through the cracks and settle.

Of course, the house really isn’t new, just new to them. It was left behind by Old Man Cuthbert in Bloodless Valley, Colorado, after he couldn’t make the farm yield anything useful. Thea’s dad bought the farm for next to nothing and moved the whole family from Ohio to the new state where the air is so dry it’s causing Thea’s sister to develop a serious cough.

It seems like she’s the only one worried about her sister. Her dad is wrapped up in making the farm produce something, anything, worth selling. Her mother falls in line right behind her dad, although money is tight. Thea gets a job at the only café in town, and her mom works at the tiny grocery store next door. There’s no denying the Taylor family needs the money, but Thea also can’t ignore just how much her father hates that she leaves home every day. Young girls should be at home learning to mind hearth and family.

What’s worse is that Thea’s partial deafness irritates her dad. It’s almost like he holds it against her and has even insisted she pass for a hearing person. It’s easy to ignore him; there are so few visitors to Bloodless Valley that Thea spends her days sweeping the floor under the watch of her kind boss, Louisa, and almost no one else.

Then one day Thea meets Sam and his nephew, Ray, and she’s flabbergasted to discover that Ray is deaf too. Sam works as a federal land agent who visits farm families and often takes Ray with him. They invite Thea along, and for the first time Thea gets to meet the other people who inhabit the valley. Except her father hates all the connections she’s making and tries everything he can to stop it.

The dust everywhere is enough of a deterrent to living a normal life, but soon Thea can’t ignore the fact that something’s coming. She can sense it in the air. Her parents don’t want to hear about anything she’s learned. Yet Thea begins talking to people and forming her own opinions, and she knows that the dust everywhere is trying to send her a message: either the people of Bloodless Valley prepare for the worst storm of the century or risk getting blown away by it.

Author Alison Stine settles easily into Thea’s voice. The book is told through first person point of view, which allows readers the chance to get to know the protagonist well. Thea’s frustration with her deafness, with other people’s reactions to her deafness, and her father’s inability to admit just how badly life in Colorado is actually going all feel organic. Not all readers who come to this book will have a disability, but everyone can relate to feeling like they’re not being heard or even acknowledged in their own lives.

The picture Stine presents feels uncomfortably close to our current times, and that discomfort will keep readers engaged from start to finish. Even with the romance subplot that feels a little obligatory at times, Stine’s book offers a fresh way to think about disabilities and how those with living with them navigate the world in a way abled people don’t ever have to consider. The result is a thoughtful look at the realities of ableism and how it hurts others.

The resolution of the book feels a little too neat and tidy, but readers may be willing to forgive Stine the slightly rushed ending because of the buildup of the book. Those who enjoy climate fiction will definitely want to check this out.

This book has absolutely beautiful writing and focuses on a young girl who has a hearing disability that her parents don’t want to acknowledge. This disability becomes even more harrowing because she does not receive any support and her parents decide to go off the grid.

Dust is a speculative fiction novel where a girl comes of age tapped into the dangers of climate change.
After reading a pamphlet, Thea’s Father moves her family to the Bloodless Valley of southern Colorado to become self-sufficient. But the rivers are dry, the crops are barely growing, and the “black blizzards” of Colorado have returned. Much like the barren land, Thea feels her life has stopped growing. She is barely homeschooled, forbidden from going to the library, and has no way to contact her old friends. Her father has decided that their family needs no one but themselves. Except when they need money…
But to make ends meet, Thea is made to work at the café in what passes for town. There, she meets Ray, who is deaf. Thea, who was born hard of hearing, has always been pushed by her parents to pretend she can hear. Ray is secretly teaching Thea how to sign, and she learns that there is a whole community that is like her and could help support her. Before she can even think about changing her life, she has dreams of a catastrophic dust storm that will threaten everything her family has.
This an easy but engaging read. You from the point of view of the child what it’s like to be the child of a prepper. While the story is from the older girl’s perspective, we also see her little sister who is young enough to be pliable even though she sees problems in their lives. Thea’s life is exacerbated by the fact that her family refuses to take her disability of hard of hearing seriously. Allison Stine develops into the world of ableism as not only is Thea teased but she is expected to behave like she has no issues. The combination of the threads creates an unusual world for Thea and the reader.
The ending lets you down. It is not that the ending is bad but that it is anticlimactic. I expected more after all the buildup, I expected something more historical, something more life-changing that would truly explain the changes in some characters. What happened was enough for some characters but for the most stubborn? I call shenanigans! The ending needed a little more oomph to live up to the rest of the book,
Dust is an enjoyable read, and I’d definitely suggest it for the Young Adults. For those a bit older make sure to read Stine’s Road Out of Winter.

16-year old Thea and her family have moved to the Bloodless Valley, a desolate desert community in Colorado, seeking a fresh start.

But the crops aren’t growing, and Thea’s father embraces increasingly radical ideas—no school for the kids, no outside contact other than work. The family is all they need.

Until Thea meets Ray, a fellow deaf teenager. Will her relationship with Ray, and other townspeople, give her the courage to defy her father and fight for her future?

***

I loved this story. Thea’s challenges as a deaf person, and her adversarial relationship with her overprotective parents, add layers of complexity to her coming-of-age journey.

This book is all about relationships with parents, siblings, and friends, but also broader relationships with your community and the planet. It’s a lesson balancing the need for community with the desire for self-reliance.

The descriptions of the dust and desert valley are poetic and made me feel like I was there—in the dry, oppressive heat.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the eARC.

Check out this book if you want a YA story with deeper themes.

Thea is 16 years old. She is home schooled in Ohio. When they moved to a small town in Colorado where she ends up working on their farm. Her father allows no modern clothing, internet access, or library books. Since the family needs money, Thea is allowed to work at the tiny cafe in town
she secretly begins to connect with Ray, a Deaf boy her age. He teaches her sign language. Thea’s world opens up as she is deaf in one ear since birth. She also gets to know the community. Her search for her “self” outside of her family. Her father becomes abusive.

The novel is a “coming of age” of Thea. The author writes a creeping sense of dread like a gathering dust storm, exploring the twin horrors of climate change and abusive control as the dust storms increase in intensity, water dwindles, locusts swarm, and the farm produces nothing but a few potatoes. Life on the far m is difficult. It’s a gripping I suspect this novel will become a “classic.” I enjoyed watching Thea’’s growth and learning about the world.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for a finished copy of Dust. Here are my thoughts.

Taking place in a dystopian Colorado, Thea and her family have just up and moved hoping for a fresh start. Thea is born hard of hearing, and in the new town she meets Ray, a young man who is deaf and he begins to show Thea sign language. All of this is occurring while terrifying dust storms are picking up and threatening many of the townsfolk's’ way of life.

At first glance, this novel can feel like there are a lot of things going on, but I found that each piece of the story was woven together quite beautifully. It was a creative way to explore a coming-of-age story. Thea is very isolated and lonely, so seeing her world open via Ray and some of the other people in town was very heartwarming and sweet.

There is some frustration around her parents and their beliefs in their lifestyle and the sheltering of their children. I felt bad for Thea and her sister as they tried to find out who they were, in some terrifying circumstances. The dystopian piece of this story is kind of subtle. It’s not an end of the world thing, but more of a realistic climate catastrophe and what that has looked like in the past and what it may look like in the future. It added a piece of uncontrollable conflict to this story.

My favourite piece of this story was how the author wrote Thea’s struggles with hearing. Leaving some words vacant or missing in sentences was such a brilliant way to allow people who have normal hearing to understand the significance of struggling with hearing. But Thea didn’t let it bother her too much, I think because she was used to it. It was so smart, and reading the author’s note at the end of the book made it that much more special.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of this book. I also received a physical ARC from the publisher. This was a very fascinating and captivating read. I was immediately invested in Thea's story. Alison Stine does an indescribable job of creating this beautiful story, and showing the resiliency and determination of the human spirit. This is one of those reads that you know will stay with you for a very long time. I think I may recommend it to my book club so I can talk with more people about this book. A stunning debut!

Dust is a YA book about Thea and the challenges she faces. Unlike most teens; Thea is deaf and her father is embarrassed by her handicap.
The family moved from Ohio to Colorado to build a new life. Colorado is not productive with its harsh environment, dust storms, and scarce water resources. To make matters worse there is no WiFi for Thea to keep in touch with her Ohio friends or have social media.
Luckily for Thea the community embraces her with open arms and becomes her support system.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC read in exchange for my review. I will definitely be purchasing copies for our schools readers club.

Thea hopes a move to Colorado will be good for them but everything is going wrong. With her social circle getting smaller and smaller, she starts to feel stuck. When she meets someone who is deaf and is able to teach her sign language she feels a new sense of belonging because she has always been hard of hearing. Thank you Wednesday Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thea is a hard of hearing teenager that has been pulled from her school, her friends and her hometown in Ohio after her dad had a dream that told him to move their family to the Colorado desert.

Thea’s parents want to live a more simple life. No technology. No school. Instead, they want their daughters to learn from real life. They want to farm and live off the land by themselves with no help or handouts from others.

Thea knows there is more to life than her dad’s way of living but to obtain it, it’s a risk to go behind his back.

An entertaining coming of age story that has deaf and ASL rep, discusses climate change and encourages you to think about what you’re willing to stand up for.

Thanks to #netgalley for this e-arc. It’s out now!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC. I genuinely enjoyed this book and was invested in the characters. The way Thea builds her own community and stands up for herself and her life was beautiful to watch. I loved the way the town banded together around her. I will say I felt like the pacing was a little off at times and the end of the book felt very busy. This was also listed as Sci-Fi but I don’t think there were any elements that were sci-fi to me. It felt very dystopian and eerie so maybe that was it. I wish we got a little more glimpse into Thea’s life post dust storm. Overall, this was a great read and so unique!

4.5 stars

This was a really intriguing read. We follow a teen who is deaf in one ear, and the way the prose shows her struggle is quite well done. Along with that the environment is told in a way that it becomes another character. I really felt how she went from being alone to the community that embraced her and became close. I did think the end wrapped up a bit too "neatly" for everything that happened in the book. This should be required reading in high school.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy to form my opinions from.

Dust is a YA speculative fiction coming-of-age novel about a young girl contending with man-made climate change and her family's attempt to exist off the grid. This is a novel about loneliness, self-acceptance, and homesteading with excellent disability rep. Our narrator, Thea, is partially deaf, and the prose reflects this using blank lines within the dialogue to represent the lapses in hearing. This is not a futuristic society or dystopian novel; it imagines a society that did not learn from its mistakes after the 1930s Dust Bowl to revolutionize agricultural practices. Thea experiences bullying, extremely parental control, and the perils of unschooling, somehow managing to rise above it all to become a self-advocating, valuable member of the community. The romance here is a very minimal subplot that only supports our narrator's development but serves very little on its own. Overall a great quick read that deserves to be on school library bookshelves.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Alison Stine, and St. Martin's Press for providing the ebook. This was a deeply emotional and moving story that truly resonated with me, leaving me with a strong connection to the main character. A truly excellent read!