Out of the Dust (by Karen Hesse)

this is not a good book. not for young children!

This book is historical fiction and it has alot of facts about how hard it was living during the terrible times of the dust storm, it is very well written and while reading it i got very emotinal and i like the way it was free verse also it was very interesting to learn all the different emotions billie jo was feeling during this time era!!! i totally recormend it

i think that it was an ok, it is really weird and you need to really read it to get it and if u like a book about a girl and what she goes through and her feelings, then you will really enjoy this book. My Summary: It is about Billie Jo and how her life takes a toll when her best friend moves away and her mom dies, from the birth of her little brother Franklin. And her dad is to blame for the fire that burned her mother also nearly killing her. You see Billie Jo loves to play piano and when her mother dies, her depression makes that hard. I thought her life couldnt get any worse, but it does, her dad gets cancer and is dying. Billie Jo' solusion was to run away because her dad no longer talked or looked at her. When she on the train west, she meets a nice man who is running away also because he cant feed his family. When Billie Jo takes a nap and wakes up her food is gone but a picture of his family is under her. She then relizes that she cant leave her dad, so goes back... you will have to read what happens next. I think that i would recamend this book for your child because i actually learned from it, i learned that you cant run away from your life u can only try to make it better, so yes i would have your child read this!!! :) but this is the only down sider, it is kind of violent and some things are bad role models but you do learn from their mistakes and you learn not to do those things.

This book was amazing it really inspired me. I think this book is a great read because the story is well written and the plot is very simple it's not like the Da Vinchi Code. Karen Hesse is such a great author. YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

To read this book was not very fun. You would never think that in a kids book that the mom would die and the brother and it was practically Billie Jo's fault.

First I would like to say it was a great piece of work from Hesse. But, this book should not be read by young children. My eleven year old daughter came to me asking why a baby died in her book and also if it hurts to be caught on fire. This clearly disturbed her and it also made me uneasy about letting my daughter continue reading this book. Know your child or students before you allow them to read this. The scenes where it speaks about her mother being in pain from her burns are detailed and made my daughter put the book down. Be cautious with this book.