Book Review: Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: June 2012
Pages: 304
Source: e-book from NetGalley
For: Review
Series: American Fairy Trilogy, Book 1

Callie and her mom are living right in the middle of the Dust Bowl, trying to make a living off nothing. Callie tries not to think about her daddy that left and promised to return, but never has. But, when her mother is lost during a dust storm, she must set off to find her and confront her unusual heritage. With several different fairies all at war with one another and all hoping to use her, she is beset on all sides by threats she knows nothing about. Will she find her mother or fall prey to unusual fairy influences?

Things I Liked:
I think my favorite part about this book was just how unique it was.  Not only was the setting vivid (Dust Bowl, 1930s), but the fantasy elements were unusual.  The fairy lore that Zettel created was different from the typical fare - I especially loved how Jazz and Blues music played such a big part.  The book has a perfect marriage of historical and fantasy details.  The story itself was pretty interesting too, though I have to admit I was hoping for more resolution at the end than I got.  Still, this story swept me up, threw me back in time, and took me to a fairy world unlike any I've read.  Unique, fresh, well-written, and interesting, I think this book is worth a read.

Things I Didn't Like:
As I mentioned, I wanted more of a resolution at the end, but since I enjoyed the world so much, I am more than willing to read more set in this historical fantasy past.  There were a few times I wondered about how the magic actually worked and thought it wasn't really well defined.  But, I easily looked past those things because I was caught up in the unique and well-researched historical setting.

Read-alikes:
Reminded me a bit of The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty
Also, for the historical element, Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
maybe one or two

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->
a bit, though mostly not described

Overall rating: ****

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