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There are currently 17 member reviews
for A Girl Made of Dust
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Melissa M. (Ridegfield, CT)
A sensitive portrayal of heartbreaking Lebanese conflict
I wanted to read this book particularly because we have so few available novels in English that take place in and describe the recent Lebanese war years from a personal perspective and I wanted to know more about this period and country's cultural history from this aspect. I found the book sensitive to its subject, interesting, and meaningful.
The characters are real, and sensitively drawn and their experiences poignant. It is hard to imagine that children of Ms Abi-Ezzi's generation who were born and grew up during these times, from 1974 onward only know of an existence within a country of constant political conflict. This novel gives us some insight into a child's experience, interpretation and understanding of a very complex world, still living in distressing circumstances. I would like to read more books on the subject from different perspectives.
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Stephanie W. (Hudson, OH)
I wish I knew more
A Girl Made of Dust was a very engaging story that kept me interested and wondering what was going to happen. The problem was that it sometimes also had me wondering what was happening! I am not familiar with the setting and had to ask my History Teacher husband to explain what was going on. Once I learned a little more about Israel and Lebanon in 1981-1982 I could follow the plot more easily. I wish the book had an introduction that contained some of this information. However, I very much enjoyed reading it and would recommend it as a book that gives insight into what it feels like to live in a war ravaged country. Book groups would find much to think about and discuss.
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Laura A. (Jeremiah, Kentucky)
A Girl Made of Dust
I really enjoyed A Girl Made Of Dust. It is sad but yet also hopeful. I think young adults would enjoy the book as well as older readers. It takes the older reader back to a time when they first began to realize that the world could be a hard, cruel place but also that they could make an impact in that world.
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Catie T. (Aurora, CO)
A Girl Made of Dust
Told through the eyes of 8-year-old Ruba, this is the story of one family trying to survive in 1980s Lebanon while the country is being attacked by Israel. This is a story of lost innocence, religious prejudice, violence, and family ties. The book starts out a little slow, but if the reader is patient, the pace picks up about a fourth of the way through, and you come to care about this family and are rooting for them to survive. The descriptions of the war-torn countryside of Lebanon are very vivid and realistic. Recommended for fiction lovers.
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Barbara K. (Brooklyn, NY)
Beautifully written but slanted.
A Girl Made of Dust is told from the point of view of an 8 year old Lebanese girl with additional information filled in by adult conversation. It is beautifully written with rich imagery of everyday sights and sounds juxtaposed with the throes of a war that is inching closer and closer to this family's world. It is also the story of this child trying to make sense of her life as family relationships begin to change because of this war.
The only criticism I have is the slanted view that the Israeli Army bombed children's hospitals and asylums indiscriminately without mentioning that the PLO made a regular practice of using civilians as human shields.
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Mary Lou F. (Naples, FL)
A Girl Made of Dust
This is a book about a war as seen in the eyes of a child. Children should not have to encounter such tragedies as those that Ruba and her family saw. Worthwhile reading but depressing.
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Phoebe B. (Sacramento, CA)
Tried for several weeks to finish this book but...
Could not get past the first 50 pages. I felt that it was perhaps intended for young adults. I did not feel compelled to finish after 50 pages and not feeling I was getting to any real point in the story. The characters were not becoming familiar to me as I feel they should have been in a compellingly crafted novel.
Based on what I read I think an average reading is more than generous.
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