12 November 2015

A Cup of Dust by Susie Finkbeiner

★★★★★
Where you come from isn’t who you are.

Ten-year-old Pearl Spence is a daydreamer, playing make-believe to escape life in Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl in 1935. The Spences have their share of misfortune, but as the sheriff’s family, they’ve got more than most in this dry, desolate place. They’re who the town turns to when there’s a crisis or a need – and during these desperate times, there are plenty of both, even if half the town stands empty as people have packed up and moved on.

Pearl is proud of her loving, strong family, though she often wearies of tracking down her mentally impaired older sister or wrestling with her grandmother’s unshakable belief in a God who Pearl just isn’t sure she likes.

Then a mysterious man bent on revenge tramps into her town of Red River. Eddie is dangerous and he seems fixated on Pearl. When he reveals why he’s really there and shares a shocking secret involving the whole town, dust won’t be the only thing darkening Pearl’s world.

While the tone is suspenseful and often poignant, the subtle humor of Pearl’s voice keeps A Cup of Dust from becoming heavy-handed. Finkbeiner deftly paints a story of a family unit coming together despite fractures of distress threatening to pull them apart.

A Cup of Dust tells the heartfelt coming-of-age story of ten-year-old Pearl Spence, living in the midst of Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl. Author Susie Finkbeiner writes this stunning, dramatic historical novel with realistic characters and vivid descriptions and authentically conveys the experience of the time and place. From the start, I was captivated by Finkbeiner’s novel and couldn’t put it down. It’s a fascinating read and any fan of historical fiction should not hesitate to pick up A Cup of Dust - it’s well worth the read and I would definitely recommend it.

Thanks to Kregel Publications, I received a copy of A Cup of Dust and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

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