Out of the Dust

The grim realities of hardship and poverty during the Great Depression and dust bowl era are reflected in this novel narrated by 14 year old Billie Jo Kelby. Her journal entries reveal that she is, at first, largely content and her family is making the best of harsh living situations while looking forward to welcoming a new baby. However a terrible accident upends her world, leaving Billie Jo motherless, without her long-awaited sibling and deeply scarred, both internally and externally. Her father becomes reclusive and despondent while Billie Jo deals with guilt and grief of her own. Playing the piano might be the one thing that will bring her and her father solace, but her wounded hands make that nearly impossible. Making matters show more worse are the overwhelming dust storms that continue to rampage her family's property and that of her Oklahoma neighbors.

Billie Jo prepares to escape it all, but being 'robbed' while she sleeps on a train car during her attempt to run away forces Billie Jo to return home, make peace with her father and to ultimately forgive herself as she discovers love is rekindled by optimism and hope. show less

In my opinion, this is an extremely powerful book. First off, I love the setting of the story: the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma during 1934-1935. It is an event that I was not aware about as I'm sure, many other readers would not be aware of it either. However, Karen Hessen did an excellent job setting a tone for the setting and helping us visualize what it was really like to go through that. In the chapter "Fields of Flashing Light", Hessen perfectly explains the struggles it was for her family to keep their farm in tact with the constant dust storms. When I think of dust storms I think of just sand blowing but the way Hessen described it in this chapter opened my eyes and made me realize it was so much more. Aside from the setting, I really show more enjoyed the plot. It was emotionally difficult to read at times, however I think the plot was really believable and well-developed. I loved that the entire book was written in poetry-style/form and it was almost like reading Billie Jo's journal or diary entries. We were able to follow along with the story month by month, and read the important events of her life. The way that Hesse was able to write with fewer words than an actual novel and still get her story across with plenty of details is brilliant to me. The writing flowed well and the way that she wrote in stanzas rather kept it engaging. Especially in the chapter "On Stage" where she would have one stanza on the left of the page, and the next stanza to right of the page. It kept my eyes shifting back and forth which was enjoyable to read. Overall, I believe that the big idea of the story is that once we can come to terms with our tough times, we will be able to stay positive and become happier. Billie Jo wanted to run away from her tough situation but realized that her life wasn't getting better by running away, it was "just different and lonely". I think Hesse is trying to tell a story of facing whatever obstacles that are thrown. show less

This is Billie Jo's story. She lives on a farm in Oklahoma during the Depression, doing her best to deal with the constant dust and the hard times that have befallen her entire community. Her dream is to become a pianist, but a tragic mistake puts that future in jeopardy and changes her family forever.

It's hard to sell a book of poetry about a girl growing up during the Dust Bowl. Historical fiction and free verse just don't seem to pique the interest of most kids, probably because those genres are often considered either boring or difficult (or both). But, believe me, this book is amazing. It's more than compelling. It's gorgeously written and heart-wrenching. Highly, highly recommended, especially for kids who may have lost a family show more member. show less

I had never read a novel in verse before. That made quite a powerful way of telling the story of a family during the Dust Bowl. The author has brought to life the hopelessness, the utter desperation, of watching the farm blow away… again. I’ve never been in Oklahoma, but by reading this book I can feel like I was there during those years. More tragedies struck Billy Jo’s family than the dust storms, though, and she couldn’t imagine life ever being good again. However, Billie Jo learned that she had incredible strength within herself. Would it be enough to bring her through to better times? This book is for preteens and early teens who are mature enough to understand tragedy.

14-year-old Billie Jo lives with her parents on a struggling farm on the Oklahoma panhandle in 1934. She's a bit of a tomboy, plain and angular, with a love for playing the piano, but not the gentle and sweet music that her mother plays -- "fierce piano," Billie Jo calls it. Dust is a constant in their lives, getting into every crevice, smothering the wheat crop, choking the livestock. When she sees neighbors leaving for California, she wishes she could go along, get out of the dust. When tragedy strikes her family, will she get her chance to do just that?

This Newbery winner is a verse novel, with writing that sometimes feels like poetry, but often could have been rendered in prose. The emotional impact is definitely the most striking show more part of the book, with a tragic twist in the first third of the novel that Billie must reckon with for the rest of the story. I was unaware, going in, of any details of the plot beyond the general setting, so the story really grabbed me at that point. I generally don't seek out books about the Great Depression or the Dust Bowl, and probably wouldn't have gravitated to this one except for its status as an award winner. I'm glad that I read it, and can see its quality. I'd recommend it to adults with an interest in historical fiction, as well as to middle- and high-school students. show less

I read "The Worst Hard Times" a year ago or so and this would be the perfect companion piece to that heartbreaking look at the Dust Bowl of the 30's. Billie Jo tells her story in poems and the story she tells is torturous. Only daughter of wheat farmers, she endures the years of no rain, giant dust storms, and worst of all, the death of her mother following a horrible accident. There is hope at the end of the book, which makes it less difficult to read. Although written for younger readers, I'd be hesitant to recommend it to anyone under 12 without some major preparation.

The story of Billie Joe and her family during the Dust Bowl/Great Depression. A beautiful piece of writing; it truly makes you feel as though you are experiencing what is happening right next to the protagonist's side. However, at the same time, this is extremely depressing. Things seem incredibly bleak for the family, and then something happens that changes everything. Her father leaves a bucket of kerosene next to the stove, which Billie Joe's mother mistakes for water. When her mother runs to get her father to help put out the fire, Billie Joe doesn't realize she is coming back to the house and when she throws the bucket out the door, it catches her pregnant mother on fire. Eventually, badly burned by the fire, her mother dies while show more giving birth to her brother who also dies.
After feeling alone and isolated for too long, especially after noticing that her father has "spots" on his face that remind Billie Joe of her grandfather's cancer, she leaves, hitching a ride West on a boxcar. However, after an encounter with a man who has left his family, Billie Joe realizes that she needs to return home. When she returns, she talks with her father about the things that are weighing on her and they begin to forgive each other for everything that has happened. Eventually, they find a new "normal" alongside Louise, a woman who understands and loves them both.

Newbery Medal and Scott O'Dell Award show less