Dust by Alison Stine is a brilliant young adult speculative fiction that explores Thea’s journey unraveling the truth of the world around her impacted by climate change while trying to find her place in her family and community.
Review Dust by Alison Stine
Synopsis
Thea a sixteen-year-old girl dreams of a life opposite to what her father has envisioned for his family. He seeks a simple life apart from the daily grind where he can enjoy time with his family and live off the land. It becomes more of a prison for Thea and her sister Amelia.
When they relocate to the Bloodless Valley a dry arid desert community in Colorado after her father purchases a failing farm. Thea and her sister are cut off from the community and all outside influence. They’re not allowed to go to school, have internet, TV, or radio access, visit the library, or to engage with and make friends with others in the community. Furthermore, Thea who’s hard of hearing struggles with her disability as her parents don’t acknowledge it or provide proper accomodations.
Thea’s only relief is when she goes to work in the small café in town where she helps the owner Louisa with the little business she receives. Then one day she meets Ray a young teenage boy in town for the summer volunteering at the library. She learns that he has a similar disability as her and that he’s deaf and a friendship blossoms in which he begins to teach her how to sign.
But, things aren’t going the way her father planned as a series of events threaten the farm and the dry hot climate threatens their livelihood. Against her father’s wishes, Thea becomes determined to learn more about the land, the weather, and history to better understand how they can adjust and compensate for these circumstances.
But will Thea be able to protect her family and community from imminent disaster and reach her father before it’s too late?
Content
Dust by Alison Stine took me pleasantly by surprise. I wasn’t expecting to have a bad time but I also wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book with its relevant themes and social commentary as much as I did! You see how climate change and global warming have impacted a community creating a dry climate with no rain making farming difficult for the inhabitants.
You also see one man’s slow descent into paranoia as his fears regarding lack of control, autonomy, and freedom are threatened making him adopt an extremist belief system where he forgoes governmental intrusion in favor of leaving a simple lifestyle off the grid. This includes removing his children from school and controlling all outside influences that don’t align with his viewpoints.
Additionally, we learn about Thea’s struggles with her disability and the impact that being forced to “pass” as a hearing person due to ableist attitudes has stunted her ability to properly communicate and engage with her family and the world around her.
These themes were magnificently explored with tremendous insight and parallels that can be drawn to present-day issues we’re facing regarding global warming, extremism, and ableism.
Writing Style
Stine’s prose was straightforward and elegant making it a highly readable and enjoyable experience. Furthermore, the structure of this story and the way it unfolds was masterful and got you right into the thick of things while providing tons of backstory into the character’s past providing context for their present.
Plot Development
The story maintained a steady pace and was the perfect blend of plot-based and character-driven. There are key events and plot points that move this story forward towards its climactic conclusion. Yet, numerous beautiful character-driven elements exhibited Thea’s growth.
My only argument is the events near the conclusion felt far too convenient and could’ve been teased out a bit more to fit the character.
Characters
These characters were brilliantly written and were dynamic and came to life on the pages. I enjoyed the community of Louisa, Sam, and Captain and how they saw Thea’s struggle and united to support her when she was at her lowest.
I adored Thea and found her to be an extremely likable character to follow. I enjoyed how Stine chose to write the dialogue of others talking to Thea emphasizing the words she wasn’t able to hear with a blank space. That choice made it possible for you to empathize with her disability.
My Rating & Recommendation
Dust by Alison Stine is what I would call a sleeper hit. While I was attracted to its premise I wasn’t prepared for the phenomenal writing, captivating themes, and powerful social commentary. While I can’t speak personally to the disability representation I do Stine made it easy for the reader to empathize with Thea’s plight. Perhaps, this is due to the author having a hearing disability herself and being able to provide context for this.
This book is an excellent choice for those who enjoy speculative fiction focused on climate change from a teenager’s perspective. This would make an excellent read for parents and young adults to read together to discuss the themes regarding: understanding ableism, the desire to create one’s identity separate from their family, the beauty of community, overcoming extremism led by fear-mongering, learning how to live in harmony with the environment, and the importance of knowledge when it comes to avoiding repeating patterns.
