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A Novel
by Alison Stine
In this haunting, speculative coming-of-age novel about finding your place in an unforgiving environment, a partially deaf teen questions everything she knows about family, love, and her future.
After her father has a premonition, Thea and her family move to the Bloodless Valley of southern Colorado, hoping to make a fresh start. But the rivers are dry, the crops are dying, and the black blizzards of Colorado have returned. Much like the barren land, Thea feels her life has stopped growing. She is barely homeschooled, forbidden from going to the library, and has no way to contact her old friends―all due to her parents' fear of the outside world's dangerous influence.
But to make ends meet, Thea is allowed to work at the café in town. There, she meets Ray, who is deaf. Thea, who was born hard of hearing, has always been pushed by her parents to pass as someone who can hear. Now, with Ray secretly teaching Thea how to sign, she begins to learn what she's been missing―not just a new language but a whole community and maybe even a chance at love.
"Through skillful prose, Stine weaves together the threads of Thea's coming-of-age story.. The narrative builds a creeping sense of dread like a gathering storm. Gripping and emotional." —Kirkus Reviews
"An atmospheric, speculative exploration of climate change through the lens of one deaf teen's experiences." —Publishers Weekly
"When the grandfather of all dust storms arrives, things change dramatically...an appealing book ... an excellent job with setting and characterization." —Booklist
"An immediate classic that holds its own alongside the greats of American Literature, Dust brings the haunting echoes of our past to a weather-beaten future. Every word of Dust is as familiar as a childhood friend. You understand―instantly―that you will carry it with you for the rest of your life." —K. Ancrum, author of The Wicker King
"Dust by Alison Stine is an arresting imagining of rural life in an alternate history in Colorado. The main character, Thea sits between worlds: of the hearing and deaf, belonging to both. Dust shows us that one brave person like Thea can impact an entire community and therefore the planet. The startling novel sits between the past and future and is both a poetic warning and inspiring story about the precarious choices we make as a species and our connection to the planet. Its message is clear: that if we just listen to the planet, really understand what Earth is saying, that we might just make the right decisions after all. Dust is a stunning novel of equal parts poetic beauty and timely warning. This is a must read!" —Olivia Chadha, author of Colorado Book Award winner Rise of the Red Hand
"Despite its isolating and deadly setting, Dust is ultimately a story about all-consuming hope. Stine deftly navigates the realities of a deaf teenager finding community and belonging. A gripping, moving read." —Lillie Lainoff, author of One for All
This information about Dust was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Alison Stine is the author of the adult novels Trashlands, longlisted for the 2022 Reading the West Book Award, a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award, and longlisted for the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, and Road Out of Winter, winner of the 2021 Philip K. Dick Award. Alison lives in Colorado. Dust is her young adult debut novel.
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