Dust

Gr 9 Up–Thea’s father’s increasing obsession with living off-the-grid takes them from Ohio to a run-down home in southeastern Colorado. The dry, hot, lonely land is not easy to farm, and their lifestyle isolates them, all the while the endless dust creeps into every aspect of their lives. Schooling stops, and 16-year-old Thea is now working in the local café. Thea was born deaf in one ear and has always struggled to be a part of the hearing world; her father denies that it is a disability. With each new constriction her father places on the family, Thea’s loneliness grows. Louisa, the wise owner of the café, sparks a solution by sending Thea to the small library—one of her father’s “off-limits” zones—to deliver a package. There she meets Ray, his great-uncle Sam, and others who make up the small community. Ray, who also has hearing loss and knows how to sign, helps Thea open up. As small dust storms begin and soon become a storm reminiscent of the Dust Bowl, Thea and Ray band with others to ensure everyone’s safety. The use of underlined spaces to indicate specific words that Thea cannot hear gives many readers an idea of how hearing loss works and how the inability to hear impacts not only the teen but also their friends and loved ones.