A Cup of Dust: a Novel of the Dust Bowl by Susie Finkbeiner

Where you come from isn’t who you are
Ten-year-old Pearl Spence is a daydreamer, playing make-believe to escape life in Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl in 1935. The Spences have their share of misfortune, but as the sheriff’s family, they’ve got more than most in this dry, desolate place. They’re who the town turns to when there’s a crisis or a need—and during these desperate times, there are plenty of both, even if half the town stands empty as people have packed up and moved on.
Pearl is proud of her loving, strong family, though she often wearies of tracking down her mentally impaired older sister or wrestling with her grandmother’s unshakable belief in a God who Pearl just isn’t sure she likes.
Then a mysterious man bent on revenge tramps into her town of Red River. Eddie is dangerous and he seems fixated on Pearl. When he reveals why he’s really there and shares a shocking secret involving the whole town, dust won’t be the only thing darkening Pearl’s world.
While the tone is suspenseful and often poignant, the subtle humor of Pearl’s voice keeps A Cup of Dust from becoming heavyhanded. Finkbeiner deftly paints a story of a family unit coming together despite fractures of distress threatening to pull them apart.


About The Author

Susie Finkbeiner is a novelist from West Michigan. She is the author of A Cup of Dust (Kregel, 2015), Paint Chips (WhiteFire Publishing, 2013) and My Mother's Chamomile (WhiteFire Publishing 2014).

She is currently working on her fourth novel.

Susie is a wife, mother of three, and avid reader. She enjoys time with her family, coffee dates with her good friends, and quiet moments to read and write.

Susie Finkbeiner is represented by Ann Byle from Credo Communications.





 My Review

A cup of dust signifies the state of Oklahoma during the great depression, and on top of that the dust bowl. Hugh blowing winds on drought stricken land and no one is free from the ravages and unrelenting sand, every crack and board, and unfortunately lungs are vulnerable to the grit everywhere.
The story revolves around the Spence family and in particular Pearl, a precocious ten-year old, and self proclaimed watcher of her older handicapped sister. This is a girl whom has been raised to love the Lord, her elders and to help others. She is doing rather well when the book opens, her father is the sheriff and therefore has a steady job. They have food, which is lacking for so many others, but seem always ready to share.
There are some dark clouds hanging over this loving family, and a surprise for Pearl, that to many know a secret about her. This is not a good secret and although her family loves her dearly, this could change her life forever.
A great reminder of how lucky we are, even with all of the trials that are happening in our world, no one would want to live the way these poor people were forced to do. There is also danger lurking in the area, and sometimes you expect there might be when it seems everyone is hurting, but evil is always around.
When the story ends a lot of things have been cleared up, and although nightmares still exist, the family is still unsure what is going to happen. One hundred and fifty miles to go and go and get groceries, so I do hope that there is a sequel to this story and we learn how things end up. When the dust stops, and how the new Roosevelt era helps this desolate area of Oklahoma.
I received this book through Kregel Publishing Blogger Tour, and was not required to give a positive review.