A Cup of Dust by Susie Finkbeiner

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.

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About the Author

Susie Finkbeiner is a stay-at-home mom, speaker, and author from West Michigan. Her previous books include Paint Chips (2013) and My Mother’s Chamomile (2014). She has served as fiction editor and regular contributor to the Burnside Writers Guild and Unbound magazine. Finkbeiner is an avid blogger (see www.susiefinkbeiner.com), is on the planning committee of the Breathe Christian Writers Conference, and has presented or led groups of other writers at several conferences.

Here are my thoughts.....

  I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I had so many different feelings while reading it. I was very interested when I first started reading but I found myself getting a little bit bored about half way through the book. I think this was due to the fact that I had figured out the "secret" in the book and was mainly reading to find out if I was right. I really feel like the book could have been quite a bit shorter and still got the authors point across.

The book is written from the point of view of a 10 year old little girl. Making it seem very simple and hard to read at times. I loved the setting of the story. The characters of Millard and Grandma were my favorite. I did like the way the book ended.  The caracters did seem very real. I myself couldn't imagine havng to live during the dust bowl.

 While this book wasn't my favorite I would still say if you like this era or subject then give this book a try. 

  I received this book from TBCN and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. a positive review was not required.


3 out of 5 stars
PG-- subject matter.
13 and up should do fine with this book.
No foul language or explicit content