Rating: 
Summary: A Badly Paced (Great) Depression Book
Review: Out of the Dust Review
Christian Wright"She wears a comical hat, with flowers,/in December,/and when she smiles,/her face is/full enough of springtime, it makes/her hat seem just right./She brings apples in a sack,/perfect apples she arranges/in a bowl on the shelf,/opposite the book of poetry./Sometimes, while I'm at the piano,/I catch her reflection in the mirror,/standing in the kitchen, soft-eyed, while Daddy/finishes chores,/and I stretch my fingers over the keys,/and I play." (Hesse, 227) This is from the book Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse. This book, about a girl in the Oklahoma Panhandle during the Great Depression, conveys about the struggles of Billie Jo and how countless tragedies force her on the brink of self-destruction. Well, at least that what Mrs. Hesse is trying to convey to us. While the back story sounds interesting, Mrs. Hesse tells the story through free form verse, clearly which is a mistake. While I managed to trudge throughout the book, the free form poetry forces you to see it from Billie Jo's eyes alone, not allowing you to read it in a third person perspective. This would be okay if the book itself was paced right. With Mrs. Hesse trying to show how life was in the Depression while showing struggles that an individual family had to go through during the Great Depression, clearly we could do without the numerous side stories that she includes, and how Billie Jo continuously goes on about how she longs to play piano. While one poem about her playing piano is fine, having every three poems about it becomes excessive. Also, Mrs. Hesse is trying to tell us about life in the Great Depression, but why did she have almost three references referring to the Migrating workers? One is enough. Also, the voice that is speaking through the book is clearly, clearly not meant for younger readers, even though this book is suggested for 9-12 year olds. She does mention alcohol usage and one whole part of the book is about the death of her baby brother and mother. That's when the quality of the poems becomes poor. There's nothing that drives the reader to the next dramatic point or next big surprise. Instead, the reader has to continue reading about self-depression and sadness until the end, when it only gets a tiny bit better. The good points of this book is how good the free form poetry is (at least in the beginning.) Some poems are great examples of how free form poetry really should be, how they should propel the reader to move on. While there's only a few of them unfortunately, those poems are truly the highlight of the book. Bottom Line: Unless you have been sleeping during your history class about the Great Depression or don't know enough about the Great Depression, steer clear of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Tale
Review: Though the subject matter of this book might seem a bit old for a Newbury, my older children (9 and up) and I have all loved this amazing story of strength and perseverance. The subject matter is brilliantly dealth with in prose - making it an artful journey through the life of a very unusually gifted girl. Four years later, it's still my daughters all-time favorite books.
Rating: 
Summary: Not all that great
Review: OK, so maybe my views on this book are a little bit biased. I mean, what thirteen-year-old ENJOYS vacation reading? I, for one, do not, but I have read much better books assigned for school. Out of the Dust tells the story of Billie Jo Kelby, a teenage girl who lives in the Oklahoma panhandle, otherwise known as the Dust Bowl. It is a story written in poetry, which actually made it a lot better (which is why it got 3 stars instead of 2) and easier to get through. Billie Jo's life isn't very good. Her mother dies giving birth to her baby brother, and Billie Jo's hands get badly injured in an unfortunate accident. Her scarred and sore hands make it impossible for her to do the one thing that might make her feel better, play the piano. The story tells of Billie Jo's desparate desires to please her father, while getting closer to him, and to escape the dust that is ruining her life. I like the main idea of the plot, but I think Karen Hesse took most of the story in the wrong direction. I can think of about a million different ways that I would change the plot to make it better. However, the ending mostly makes up for the incredibly poor middle of the book. Billie Jo is a strong character, full of courage and desire. This story is certainly inspirational, and it makes you see how lucky you really are. I would reccommend it to anyone ages 11 and up, even though I didn't really like it that much. It is one of those books that will teach you something, no matter how much you like it.
Rating: 
Summary: review for out of the dust
Review: I liked the way the book was writen. I like poetry a lot so having it in poetry form was nice. I thought it was a interesting book. It let us see how things might have been for us back then. And let us see the life and things that happened in a persons life back then. There were a few things in it i didn`t care for, like i thought a few of the poems made no since to the book. I feel that Karren Hesse did a good job. Welll thats about all I have to say about that.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good Book
Review: In the book Out of the Dust, there is happiness and sadness. During the book Billie Joe learns about courage, truth, and sorrow. When her mother passes away, it takes sometime, but she and her father developed a closer father daughter relationship. I liked this book because life is like this in alot of ways, and is really great for fast reading. I recommend this book to 11 year olds and up.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: Out of the Dust was a wonderful book. I didn't feel that I had to read it. Most books are not fun, but with Out of the Dust I couldn't put it down. I love the charaters and the way the author made you feel like you were there, and that you were going though the same pain, and life changing decisions as Billie Jo (the main charactor.)
I also loved the way the author wrote the book. And people say to never judge a book by it's cover, well, i did and i am glad I did because not only do i love the story I love the cover too.
If the author, Karen Hesse, has any other books,I know they must be as good as Out of the Dust, because she is an AWESOME writer!
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: Out of the Dust in a wonderful book. As I was reading it I felt that I was there and i got so much into the book i couldn't put it down. I usely never like to read but onces in a while i'll find a book I just can't put down and Out of the Dust was like that.
Bye the end of the book you really know Billie Jo (the main Character.) When she has hard times you feel as there happening to you. The author did a AWESOME job writing this book!
Rating:
Summary: Out of the Dust
Review: Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse, is a heartwarming story that will leave no eye dry. It touches a chord that children don't see very often in children's literature, a good reason for receiving the Newbery award.
The style of this book is very unique. Fourteen year old, Billie Jo, shares in a diary of sort everything that happens to her, how she feels, and what her dreams are. By the end of the book children will feel that they really know her. They can put themselves in her difficult situations and learn that it is possible to overcome and continue living no matter what trial they may face.
Billie Jo faced a lot-- and accident that killed her mother and unborn baby brother, nearly destroyed her hands which lived to play the piano, and put up a wall between her and her father that felt impossible to tear down. The plot centers around Billie Jo's fight to overcome these trials and make it "out of the dust."
The setting of this book is also important. As the title may suggest, it is set in the Oklahoma dust bowl during the great depression. This adds to the list of battles Billie Jo has to face. This also adds an educational quality. They will learn what it is like to live in a dust storm.
Out of the Dust is a well written story that will spark an immediate interest in children's minds. They will learn to love Billie Jo through a plot that will surely bring a tear to every eye. It is of no wonder that this book received the prestigious Newbery award of excellence.
Rating:
Summary: Out Of the Dust
Review: Do you like books about children that have to make it through life without one of their parents. Well this is a book for you. The name of the book is Out Of The Dust. Her name is Billie Jo she has to make it for the rest of her life without her mom. Why? You have to read the book to find out why she lost her mom. Billie Jo shows courage, hope and hard work.
In the book the way Billie Jo shows courage because she proves that she could make it without her mom. Not in a bad way but a way that she could be strong and do all the house work without her mom. Also she has courage to do thing with her hands even though they are burned.
Billie Jo shows a lot of hope through out the book. She shows hope on the farm. She hopes that the crops will grow. She also hopes that it will rain.
Billie Jo really works hard without her mom. She tries to do her mom's chores. She tries to help her dad with a man's chores. She also helped him by farming.
So in conclusion this book was okay. On a scale from one to five, five being the best I will give the book a 4. For once I read a book about somebody loosing a parent and manage to go on.
Rating:
Summary: Out of the Dust
Review: Have you read a book that makes you cry and feel sorry for the people that have lost a love one? Well I know that I have because I have read a book that a amazing and sad. The book I read is Out of the Dust , it is one of Karen Hesse best books. When you read this book you will enter a mind of a girl from the 1930's that has a happy life in the farm with her parent and has a great friend name Mad Dog. Then every thing goes wrong, there was a horrible accident that changes her whole life.
This book is about having courage and staying strong in a moment of crisis. This book is also touching because she lost two very important persons in her life and the only person she has is her father. The worst is that in her home town is Oklahoma and there is a lot of dust storms and it is ruining there farm and people are dying of the dust going in there lines. I will not give every thing away , if you want to know more about it you should read it.
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