Book review - Dust

 

Title: Dust

Author: Alison Stine

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Truth About Everything by Bridget Farr

                      Klickitat by Peter Rock

Rating:

interesting ideas

Summary (provided by publisher): After her father has a premonition, Thea and her family move to the Bloodless Valley of southern Colorado, hoping to make a fresh start. But the rivers are dry, the crops are dying, 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—all due to her parents’ fear of the outside world’s dangerous influence.

But to make ends meet, Thea is allowed to work at the café in town. There, she meets Ray, who is deaf. Thea, who was born hard of hearing, has always been pushed by her parents to pass as someone who can hear. Now, with Ray secretly teaching Thea how to sign, she begins to learn what she’s been missing—not just a new language but a whole community and maybe even a chance at love.

My opinion: Oftentimes, books featuring prepper families make the family head appear delusional, prepping for a disaster that is never going to happen. Stine takes a different approach. Thea's family are certainly preppers. They're living a "simpler" life. The problem becomes that they are prepping for the wrong emergency. It becomes apparent that there is a disaster on the way that they don't have the skills to handle. The result is a book that explores family, community, secrets, and ecology. While it takes a lot of expected directions, the journey is interesting enough to be worth a read especially as the description is visceral.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 1

If there's one thing most people don't need, it's more holiday jewelry but I can't seem to help myself. I made this mismatched set for myself and a set for my sister.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 2

 I doodled a little frog wearing a Santa hat and beard and immediately knew I wanted to do something with him. I copied the image onto a sheet of clear plastic and colored him with permanent markers. I added a layer of glitter glaze and a magnet to finish him off.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 3

 A couple of years ago I learned to punch needle. I try to make something with the skill every year, mostly so I remember how to do it. Christmas is a great time for punch needle because you can make a dynamic image fairly quickly. This camel is an original design and would look nice attached to a bag like a patch or as a part of a wall display. 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 4

 I was only going to do one set of peg dolls this year, but then I found some little peg trees in my craft supplies that begged to be decorated. And you can't just do a tree. A tree needs a character with it. So I found a little peg wearing a hat and turned it into a bunny. I decorated these pegs with colored pencil rather than paint for a softer look.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 5

 It's time for another puppet. I was thinking about Christmas foods and settled on the Little Debbie's Christmas Tree Cake. I don't know that I've ever eaten them but the package is rather iconic. And as I was considering them I immediately imagined one of those cakes with a face. I fashioned my puppet out of foam with knit fabric stretched over it. The stripes are made from fabric paint and the sprinkles are glitter. The mouth is a loop of elastic with a string attached to manage the movement. 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 6

 I have mentioned before that I have rabbits. They don't get a lot of toys and treats but at Christmas I like to give them something special. This year I fixed them some paper twist wreaths. I took sheets of packing paper that came in packages, spread on a mixture of chopped hay and dried fruit, rolled the paper the long way, and twisted the resulting logs into a wreath shape. I'll hang these wreaths in the pens for them to tear into on Christmas. For now, they are stored in a coffee can with a fun festive sticker.