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.

I loved all the drama in this book I think it really explains what it would be like back in that time. I though there was alot of drama in the book.I think the Dad of Billie Joe is the one who creats the most drama well he is drinking after the mother and son died. I feel that towns people also blame Billie Joe for poring the oil on the mother when she made a simple mistake. I was sad when Billie Joe ran away but somehow I knew she was going to go back because she couldn't just leave her fater there by himself. In the end everything turns out ok and that's what make's this book so speacial to me I mean that's why I read it every year now.

i loved this book because it tells a good story about the dust storms. also it has an accent that makes the book sound more realistic. i also liked that it was very discriptive on what was happening during dust storms and how hard it was to live in the dust book. i really liked the lined that billy jo used alot "i want to get out, out of the dust."

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.

I love this movie. I spent 2 hours reading this book. This book is about a girl named Billie Joe and the book is about her hard and harsh life in the dust storms in Oaklahoma. Karen Hesse ( the author) writes a great story about a young girl. This book will make you want to read it agian and agian

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.