Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. Newbery Medal 1998
Woah, Alicia Adrian said this one was "intense" and that is practically an understatement!!!!! I'm glad she reviewed some of the other Hesse books, cause I wouldn't have necessarily sought them out after this one!
It is the kind of book that leaves visceral images permanently etched on your psyche! It takes place in the dust bowl of Oklahoma, a time and place I had very little feel for before reading this book. I was amazed by the phenomenon of the DUST. It was making me a little insane just reading about it, I can't imagine living through it. . . homes filling up with it, families sitting down to dinner with all the plates turned upside down and righting them just before eating to keep the dust from filling their plates, but the food already blackened with it. . . yikes!
As Alicia mentioned this is NOT a book for young readers, there is a tragic accident involving death and disfigurement early on that would NOT be a useful image for a young reader to be carrying around.
The book is basically a coming of age story, about Billlie Jo, fourteen. A story about pain and healing, blame and forgiveness, the urge to get away from home and the need to stay connected to it.
The one thing that I had trouble with was the "voice" of Billie Jo. . . the book is written in her voice, and the writing, for me, didn't SOUND like her! But the images of the dust bowl and Billie Jo's story were well worth the read.
Love, Louise
No comments:
Post a Comment