Out of the Dust

Exquisitely written, this Newbery Medal-winner is a poetic, compelling, and often melancholy novel of a young girl growing up in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl during the Depression. A terrible accident has transformed Billie Jo's life, scarring her inside and out. Her mother is gone. Her father can't talk about it. And the one thing that might make her feel better -- playing the piano -- is impossible with her wounded hands. To make matters worse, dust storms are devastating the family farm and all the farms nearby. While others flee from the dust bowl, Billie Jo is left to find peace in the bleak landscape of Oklahoma -- and in the surprising landscape of her own heart.