A review by alsahm
Dust by Alison Stine

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

4.0

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 with

the 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.