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Out of the Dust---Karen Hesse
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From: Kimberly Bears <kimbat>
Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 10:43:48 PST
Hi all,
I just finished reading Out of the Dust. I have to say that I really liked the poetic fashion of Karen's writing. Sometimes you don't need a lot of words to convey what you're trying to say. The characters were like that. Daddy didn't use a lot of words to say what was on his mind. Ma was not a woman of many words, either. I felt that Billie Jo's words were "musical," just like her character.
As for the dust...I've never even seen Oklahoma, but through Karen's writing I feel as if I've been there. I can't get over how "intrusive" the dust is in their everyday lives. It "peppers" their food, it
"chocolates" their milk, it makes their snow dirty, it invades their bodies through their eyes, noses, and mouths, and it even stops their mail. I was amazed. It really hits me when she compares the Kilauea volcano eruption to a dust storm. The dust just seems so unforgiving, just like Billie Jo herself.
The most moving part of the book for me was when her class tops the entire state of Oklahoma on the state test scores for the second time. She says... Wish I could run home and tell Ma and see her nod and hear her say,
"I knew you could."
It would be enough.
That scene just tears me up as you can really see the depth of her emotional pain, as well as the huge sense of loss she is feeling.
I think the book is a wonderful piece of historical fiction. It is beautifully written and emotionally intense. I read it in one sitting and found myself wanting to know more about the fate of Billie Jo. I feel, however, that Karen ended the book where she did so that we, the readers, could fashion our own fates for the characters...and I like it that way too. "Dust" off your booktalking skills and promote this book...it's a story that needs to be told.
Kim Bears
************************************************************ Kim Bears Phone: (603) 43227 Head of Children's Services Fax: (603) 437f10 Leach Library E-mail: kimbat at hotmail.com 276 Mammoth Road Londonderry, NH 03053
______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Received on Thu 05 Feb 1998 12:43:48 PM CST
Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 10:43:48 PST
Hi all,
I just finished reading Out of the Dust. I have to say that I really liked the poetic fashion of Karen's writing. Sometimes you don't need a lot of words to convey what you're trying to say. The characters were like that. Daddy didn't use a lot of words to say what was on his mind. Ma was not a woman of many words, either. I felt that Billie Jo's words were "musical," just like her character.
As for the dust...I've never even seen Oklahoma, but through Karen's writing I feel as if I've been there. I can't get over how "intrusive" the dust is in their everyday lives. It "peppers" their food, it
"chocolates" their milk, it makes their snow dirty, it invades their bodies through their eyes, noses, and mouths, and it even stops their mail. I was amazed. It really hits me when she compares the Kilauea volcano eruption to a dust storm. The dust just seems so unforgiving, just like Billie Jo herself.
The most moving part of the book for me was when her class tops the entire state of Oklahoma on the state test scores for the second time. She says... Wish I could run home and tell Ma and see her nod and hear her say,
"I knew you could."
It would be enough.
That scene just tears me up as you can really see the depth of her emotional pain, as well as the huge sense of loss she is feeling.
I think the book is a wonderful piece of historical fiction. It is beautifully written and emotionally intense. I read it in one sitting and found myself wanting to know more about the fate of Billie Jo. I feel, however, that Karen ended the book where she did so that we, the readers, could fashion our own fates for the characters...and I like it that way too. "Dust" off your booktalking skills and promote this book...it's a story that needs to be told.
Kim Bears
************************************************************ Kim Bears Phone: (603) 43227 Head of Children's Services Fax: (603) 437f10 Leach Library E-mail: kimbat at hotmail.com 276 Mammoth Road Londonderry, NH 03053
______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Received on Thu 05 Feb 1998 12:43:48 PM CST
