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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such a good book! I absolutely loved reading about Thea and her family. The relationship between Thea and Amelia felt realistic, along with Thea's found family!
emotional
informative
slow-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:
Yes
This was surprisingly good! I don’t know why this book isn’t more popular.
It’s a different take on dystopian fiction. Instead of talking about overbearing governments, this is about natural disasters that shape the way people are forced to live. What happens when dust storms control the land and thus the way society functions?
This is also a story about belonging and family and home. What is home? What is family? What is the role of parents and how do they keep their kids safe? What role does community play?
The characters are very well written. I am so picky about this, but Stine writes them masterfully! That makes it so relatable. As a parent I could understand the desire to protect your kids, even if I completely disagreed with a lot of decisions being made. I would imagine this book would be very relatable to teens and pre-teens also. Overbearing parents, kids wanting to have more independence, not knowing how to talk to your parents about what is important to you, etc…. But what I really liked is that you get insight into why the parents are the way they are. Readers (ahem teenagers) can see that even parents who seem the most strict and unwilling to listen, are doing it out of love, and that maybe, just maybe, they can come around.
There is also a theme of listening- literally, with the deaf characters, and symbolically, with the relationships that need some good heart to hearts. I know teens can relate to the topic of not feeling understood or “heard” and trying to stand up for their own needs.
I think this book I would be a great one to read in a high school or middle school literature class. You could have great discussions (and write some interesting essays 😉). I just recently finished the new Hunger Games prequel and my son finished the first 4 books, so that’s on my mind. I would call that series a modern classic, with lots of literary merit, as well as things worthy of discussing and learning from. This book can hold its own against that. Great read!
ETA: I read a review that says you are immersed in this story, into the world, as if you are stuck in the town with Thea. It’s true. I love that description.
It’s a different take on dystopian fiction. Instead of talking about overbearing governments, this is about natural disasters that shape the way people are forced to live. What happens when dust storms control the land and thus the way society functions?
This is also a story about belonging and family and home. What is home? What is family? What is the role of parents and how do they keep their kids safe? What role does community play?
The characters are very well written. I am so picky about this, but Stine writes them masterfully! That makes it so relatable. As a parent I could understand the desire to protect your kids, even if I completely disagreed with a lot of decisions being made. I would imagine this book would be very relatable to teens and pre-teens also. Overbearing parents, kids wanting to have more independence, not knowing how to talk to your parents about what is important to you, etc…. But what I really liked is that you get insight into why the parents are the way they are. Readers (ahem teenagers) can see that even parents who seem the most strict and unwilling to listen, are doing it out of love, and that maybe, just maybe, they can come around.
There is also a theme of listening- literally, with the deaf characters, and symbolically, with the relationships that need some good heart to hearts. I know teens can relate to the topic of not feeling understood or “heard” and trying to stand up for their own needs.
I think this book I would be a great one to read in a high school or middle school literature class. You could have great discussions (and write some interesting essays 😉). I just recently finished the new Hunger Games prequel and my son finished the first 4 books, so that’s on my mind. I would call that series a modern classic, with lots of literary merit, as well as things worthy of discussing and learning from. This book can hold its own against that. Great read!
ETA: I read a review that says you are immersed in this story, into the world, as if you are stuck in the town with Thea. It’s true. I love that description.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thea is sixteen-years-old, Hard of Hearing, and inactively unschooled by her obstinate dad and reticent mother. After a last-ditch move to a dry Colorado valley, the family is lacking in funds and resources, and Thea is allowed to work in a small café. There, she meets adults who are more understanding of her disability and interested in communal living, and - for the first time in her life - someone else her age who is Hard of Hearing (and who can sign!).
I'm rating this 4 because the prose is beautiful, and because I was impressed by this protagonist and hurt for her struggle, but I was unsatisfied withthe climax, Thea's relationship with Ray, and the abrupt turnaround of Thea's father. The slow conversations courting her mother, the secrets Thea keeps with her younger sister, and defining home were much stronger aspects.
I'm rating this 4 because the prose is beautiful, and because I was impressed by this protagonist and hurt for her struggle, but I was unsatisfied with
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Uniquely written YA dystopia tackling disability, climate change, and the need for community now, and in the future.
Honestly most of this book was so depressing I had trouble getting through it. The end was an almost unsettling tone shift, and I didn't find it super believable, but at least I didn't end up in a depressive hole.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-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:
Yes