The Crooked Bookies discussion

Here's where we discuss Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. Enjoy!

I really enjoyed this book! I devoured it in one sitting! I can't imagine growing up I that time period or in that situation. The things that little girl went through were heart breaking but for the most part she stayed positive and matured into such an amazing young woman! I was glad to read a happy ending for that family. And the writing style was not something I've ever read before and I've always said I'm not a big fan of poetry but I really enjoyed this.

I'm glad you liked it! What did you think of the free verse? Until I read this book I was hesitant to read one written like that because I don't like poetry but it was well written.

I actually really enjoyed the free verse and I'm not a big fan of poetry either. It broke up the book well and made it a quick read all while telling a story very effectively

SPOILERS--

This book is wonderful, so far. I'm half-way in. I didn't see the fire accident coming. I thought this was going to be a typical story about the depression, its standout feature being that it's "poetry." So when the pregnant mom got doused in oil and turned into a pillar of flames, it shocked me as much as it shocked the characters.

I get all of my books from the library, probably to a fault. I told myself when I started using the library that I'd purchase the books I really liked (you know, to support the author), but so far that hasn't happened. Instead, I just keep checking them out again.

Maybe it balances out all the books I bought in my early 20s. I hate to think of the hundreds (or maybe thousands) of dollars I dropped on books that I wound up disliking or feeling indifferent about. I paid money for Jemima J, you guys.

Thanks for recommending this book, Wendy. I hope my kids read it someday. It was a quick read but I think it'll stay with me for a long time. I loved learning about the Great Depression in school and always loved hearing stories from my great-grandmother, who was a teenager in Kansas during that time. Karen Hesse captured the Dust Bowl perfectly.

I read this book in one sitting. I think I needed to cry, and this book did it for me. I enjoyed the free verse style and I can tell you that I do not "do" poetry at all- I can hardly stand it, actually. I think its simplicity and straightforwardness helped to convey, so concisely, the emotion and goings-on with each journal-like entry. The apples, the piano, the "I knew you could" from her mother - I loved every bit of this book. I was so glad to have read it. Thanks for choosing it!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A young adult book that young adults should read.

Summer 2016

Well described,
poetically poignant,
and humorous without being comedic,
'Out of the Dust'
takes the reader out of their head
and allows them to consider
what life was like
before social safety nets.

Finally, a YA story where
brand names
and boys names
aren't dropped
like hot potatoes.
Different times...
when dust meant
everything
but drugs.

Billie Jo spent,
herself and the reader,
talking about going
but not going.
Wished she'd seen
more of the world
before
deciding it wasn't worth seeing,
settling just like the dust
she complained about.

It's because of that frank
stubbornness
that people still live
in the Dust Bowl.

August 2016