Out of the Dust is a series of poems that tell the story of fourteen year old Billie Jo and her family living in Oklahoma in the mid-1930s, during the dust bowl.  Billie Jo’s dad is a wheat farmer who hasn’t had a decent crop in three years.  There is a drought and money and food are short.  Billie Jo is a pianist and makes some money on the side playing piano, but when an accident ruins her hands, and grasshoppers eat the rest of the wheat, her family is left with nothing.

This book is heartbreaking and beautiful.  While the desperation of the dust bowl is evident, the kindness and goodness of the characters is unmistakable.  Out of the Dust shows not only the physical hardship of the Great Depression, but also the emotional cost of the extreme poverty experienced by hardworking farmers and the hope and perseverance that characterizes Billie Jo’s family.  The series of poems suck you in and tell a story that is a fast paced read.  Billie Jo is a great character and her voice is authentic, both in terms of the story she tells and her perspective as a teenager living through a difficult time.  I highly recommend it, and so does our staff-- enough that it has been chosen as a One Book, One Community selection for Darien in 2010. 

One Book, One Community is a season-long series of events that encourages everyone in town to read the same book and come together to explore the themes.