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241 reviews for:

Dust, Volume 1

Kara Swanson

3.86 AVERAGE


Eh this book was too repetitive for me for a few things. Like they keep mentioning this big secret and I get it it’s the climax and ending and the whole point, but it kept mentioning it ALOT, like just get to the point. Okay overall but won’t be picking up the second book
adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

“You were created for more than to bear the weight of your shadows- but you have to choose to no longer let them define you. You have to choose to let the light shine through the shattered pieces.”

I don’t know why it took me so long to read this one. I loved it. This one is for all the people who have felt lonely, different, apart from the crowd. This is the book for those who have longed for something greater. I loved this book. I wanted to hug Claire and be her friend. I wanted to help a Peter on his journey. This is for everyone who loves a darker fairytale. As soon as you finish you’ll want to jump right into book two!

Read this if you:

-Never want to grow up.
-Like fairytales in modern day settings.
-Enjoy reading a darker twist to a classic story.
-Always wanted to fly to Neverland.

First off, I've been wanting to read this book for AGES. I love retellings, especially ones that take extra care in adding layers and deeper backstories to the familiar original characters/plot. So needless to say, a Peter Pan retelling by a young Christian author, especially one with a seemingly kind of angsty Peter (I'm kind of a sucker for those kinds of characters, haha) sounded awesome.

And I'm so glad I finally read this! I found the plot very well-developed and layered, the characters interesting and likeable (mostly - more on this later), and the J. M. Barrie's original story both honored and expanded in a great balance. Pretty much every character felt nuanced and real, and the plot really kept me guessing as Swanson wove backstory hints in. Why weren't Peter and Tiger Lily still in Neverland? What happened to Connor? Where's Tinkerbell? So many questions throughout the entire story that kept me reading. Oh, and yes, Peter was adorable and angsty and relatable, and even though I went back and forth between wanting to slug him and wanting to hug him, he's my absolute favorite character. So well-written.

Caveat: I never like when reviewers dock a star off their review and never address why, so I will quick mention the couple of things that made this a 4-star instead of 5 to me (and only because Goodreads has such a high rating system. If this was an Amazon review, I'd rate it 5. I just can't honestly say I found it AMAZING). Mostly, it just came down to the writing style, which felt a little juvenile/overly dramatic at points to me, and a few ways that the characters felt lacking. I had a hard time relating to Claire and would have liked to see a bit more of her personality/get to know her better. The pacing also felt off sometimes. It makes sense that it'd be slower since it's a duology, but it felt like most the entire first book was setup for the second one. And the romance aspect went a little too fast for my tastes, though I'm not usually a romance reader so I wouldn't change my rating due to that. I'm sure it's very enjoyable to people who like romance in stories!

Really though, those things were all very minor to me. I wasn't completely sucked in, but I did want to keep reading and find out what happened, and there were plenty of moments where I wanted to laugh/cry/grin/all the feels. Even as someone who doesn't seek out romance in the books I read, I still had to 'aww' at a few of the very sweet moments. They truly do make a great couple, and I'd like to see where there relationship progresses too. I also greatly admire Kara's creativity with the plotline and love the direction she took the original story. And of course, that theme! Such a beautiful message about finding where you belong and learning who you are. What a blessing to have such a talented Christian author creating and sharing such powerful stories. I'm extremely excited to read 'Shadow', as well as Kara's future works. Definitely recommend this one, whether you're familiar with the original Peter Pan story or not. It's worth the read!
adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix

 What an interesting take on the timeless fairytale! This book managed to exhibit whimsy and magic with a bit of a darker depth to the characters and story line.

I loved seeing the well-known characters in a more expanded way AND as being stranded in modern-day Earth--this made for an intriguing read. I loved what the author did with Peter's character especially: you can see the original blueprint but he had a lot more complexity to him. Absolutely fascinating to see how he struggles with aging since he's stuck on Earth without his shadow and without his ability to fly. I also loved the addition of Claire: her dust--how she has this ability and her journey to learn how to control it-- was really intriguing.

I did feel a few phrasings were a bit repetitive and in other places things weren't explained enough--but perhaps my multitude of questions will be answered in the second book. I also would've liked to have the role of "the maker of the stars" expanded upon further since there's only one line in the whole book about it.

Love the cover--Absolutely gorgeous and fitting! I'm anticipating what will happen in the next part of the story.

Warning: make sure you have the 2nd book handy as this one ends on a major cliffhanger

Content: despair, violence, a few lines about a gruesome death (not overly detailed but you are told what happens to this character)

Christian faith rating: 1/3 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

The story. The characters. The setting. The magic. The message. I loved it all!
adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

3.5 / This wasn’t bad and I haven’t really come across any other Peter Pan retellings, so I was intrigued as it’s one of my favourite fairytales. There was some elements I really liked such as Claire and her Dust magic, but I don’t know, this book lacked something. I feel like the writer could have gone darker, and everyone kept going on about how horrible Peter is and pointing out his narcissism which really didn’t win me over with Peter. There was also some things that weren’t explained or didn’t really make much sense, but it may be cleared up in the second book. I’m still going to read the sequel to know what happens because there were definitely magical moments in this book but it was really so similar to the original fairytale in that way. I feel like the writer could have been more creative with what aspects of the story she adapted and changed. Anyway, not bad!

Let’s fly!

I’ve always loved Peter Pan! And Dust was a WONDERFUL way to continue the story! So much fun, but also quite deep. No spoilers but how Kara handles some of the tough subjects in this otherwise whimsical book is fantastic. There’s a depth of emotion that I find lacking in some other fantasy books these days. This was a 5-star read for me and I can’t WAIT for the sequel!!!
adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

Intriguing story. I read this pretty quickly. I’m not normally a huge fan of Peter Pan or Peter Pan retellings, but I was hooked from the first page of this. It was a bit convoluted, but I’m hoping everything is thoroughly explained and resolved in the next book.

While I hate lying in books because it sets me on edge since it obviously has to all come out at some point, I really liked how Claire initially stood by Peter even when she doubted him (which she obviously was right to). I appreciated her genuine trust in him in the face of danger in order to stick together. While it came out later that he was in fact lying, she did dismiss him, but I thought she was did so with age beyond her years.

Easy read fantasy YA.