Author: Alison Stine
Publisher: Wednesday Books
ISBN: 9781250878731
A teenager tries to followher father’s lead to “get back to the land” as he abruptlymoves the family across state lines based on a premonition. As theteen battles her own securities because of her disability and theburning need to broaden her world, she must also contend with aclimate that provides only the harshest of conditions. Veteranclimate fiction author Alison Stine returns with a contemplative lookat how teens can fight for themselves in an unforgiving future in hernewest book Dust.
Thea Taylor knows allabout dust. It’s everywhere—on the table, on the floor, in theair. No matter how much she and her mother and sister clean the newhome they’ve moved into, the dust finds a way to creep through thecracks and settle.
Of course, the housereally isn’t new, just new to them. It was left behind by Old ManCuthbert in Bloodless Valley, Colorado, after he couldn’t make thefarm yield anything useful. Thea’s dad bought the farm for next tonothing and moved the whole family from Ohio to the new state wherethe air is so dry it’s causing Thea’s sister to develop a seriouscough.
It seems like she’s theonly one worried about her sister. Her dad is wrapped up in makingthe farm produce something, anything, worth selling. Her mother fallsin line right behind her dad, although money is tight. Thea gets ajob at the only café in town, and her mom works at the tiny grocerystore next door. There’s no denying the Taylor family needs themoney, but Thea also can’t ignore just how much her father hatesthat she leaves home every day. Young girls should be at homelearning to mind hearth and family.
What’s worse is thatThea’s partial deafness irritates her dad. It’s almost like heholds it against her and has even insisted she pass for a hearingperson. It’s easy to ignore him; there are so few visitors toBloodless Valley that Thea spends her days sweeping the floor underthe watch of her kind boss, Louisa, and almost no one else.
Then one day Thea meetsSam and his nephew, Ray, and she’s flabbergasted to discover thatRay is deaf too. Sam works as a federal land agent who visits farmfamilies and often takes Ray with him. They invite Thea along, andfor the first time Thea gets to meet the other people who inhabit thevalley. Except her father hates all the connections she’s makingand tries everything he can to stop it.
The dust everywhere isenough of a deterrent to living a normal life, but soon Thea can’tignore the fact that something’s coming. She can sense it in theair. Her parents don’t want to hear about anything she’s learned.Yet Thea begins talking to people and forming her own opinions, andshe knows that the dust everywhere is trying to send her a message:either the people of Bloodless Valley prepare for the worst storm ofthe century or risk getting blown away by it.
Author Alison Stinesettles easily into Thea’s voice. The book is told through firstperson point of view, which allows readers the chance to get to knowthe protagonist well. Thea’s frustration with her deafness, withother people’s reactions to her deafness, and her father’sinability to admit just how badly life in Colorado is actually goingall feel organic. Not all readers who come to this book will have adisability, but everyone can relate to feeling like they’re notbeing heard or even acknowledged in their own lives.
The picture Stine presentsfeels uncomfortably close to our current times, and that discomfortwill keep readers engaged from start to finish. Even with the romancesubplot that feels a little obligatory at times, Stine’s bookoffers a fresh way to think about disabilities and how those withliving with them navigate the world in a way abled people don’tever have to consider. The result is a thoughtful look at therealities of ableism and how it hurts others.
The resolution of the bookfeels a little too neat and tidy, but readers may be willing toforgive Stine the slightly rushed ending because of the buildup ofthe book. Those who enjoy climate fiction will definitely want tocheck this out. I recommend readers Bookmark Dust by Alison Stine.