ARC review; thanks to NetGalley for the access to this ebook. Pub date: December 3, 2024. 

This story follows a half-deaf girl, Thea, whose life is upended by her parents, mainly her dad, who decides to take his children out of school and isolate them in every possible way because he wants to go back to a "simple life". It's called "Dust" because this world is ravaged by climate change and the family moves to a desolate town where it never rains, they only get dust storms that get progressively worse as the story goes along. 

I'm not a half-deaf person, but the author is, and I think the representation in this book is great. I understood Thea's struggles even though I've never lived through them, and felt her isolation and frustration with her parents, especially her dad, who actively deny she has a hearing problem and do nothing to help her thrive with her disability. I felt very protective of her and loved the way she found community despite the roadblocks. 

I don't think this book does a good job of representing homeschool and unschooling, though. I don't know much about these things, but I do know that they're not what was portrayed here.

Of course, Thea's father was using homeschooling and unschooling to isolate his children, so I believe it was a form of punishment whether he was aware of it or not. He clearly didn't care about them getting an actual education, so he never cared about providing a valid homeschooling and unschooling experience. I felt that that should've been addressed in the text the same way other things are addressed. It's not a big issue for me, just something I noted.

Overall, the story was engaging and compelling, my eyes watered a few times because Thea's situation was sometimes so rough, and it had a good flow to it. I read it very quickly because it's well-written and interesting. That said, my only issue is that I didn't like the resolution. It was too quick and it felt rushed. Thea's dad does a full 180 and it just doesn't feel earned. 

I understand that near-death situations lead to mindset changes, but the way he's left off the hook doesn't sit right with me. He was evil, in my opinion, for most of this book, and there's no atonement for the abuse he put his family through. Even if he thought he was doing the right thing, that doesn't excuse the abuse, and I don't appreciate that we just move on from that.

Other than that, I think this was great. It really worked for me.