A Cup of Dust, Susie Finkbeiner
A Cup of Dust, Susie Finkbeiner
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

A Cup of Dust
A Novel of the Dust Bowl

Author: Susie Finkbeiner

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert

Unabridged: 9 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Oasis Audio

Published: 01/08/2019

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

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 heavy-handed. Finkbeiner deftly paints a story of a family unit coming together despite fractures of distress threatening to pull them apart.

About The Author

CBA bestselling author Susie Finkbeiner is a story junkie. Always has been and always will be. It seems it's a congenital condition. After decades of reading everything she could get her hands on (except for See the Eel, a book assigned to her while in first grade, a book she declared unfit for her book-snob eyes), Susie realized that she wanted to write stories of her own. She began with epics about horses and kittens (but never, ever eels). In order to learn how to write novels, she read eclectically and adventurously. After reading the work of Lisa Samson, Patti Hill, and Bonnie Grove she realized that there was room for a writer like her in Christian fiction. Susie is also greatly inspired by the work of Jocelyn Green, Rachel McMillan, and Tracy Groot. Her first novels, Paint Chips (2013) and My Mother's Chamomile (2014) have contemporary settings. While she loved those stories and especially the characters, Susie felt the pull toward historical fiction. When she read Into the Free by Julie Cantrell she knew she wanted to write historical stories with a side of spunk, grit, and vulnerability. A Cup of Dust: A Novel of the Dust Bowl (2015), Finkbeiner's bestselling historical set in 1930s Oklahoma, has been compared to the work of John Steinbeck and Harper Lee (which flatters Susie's socks off). Pearl's story continues with A Trail of Crumbs: A Novel of the Great Depression (2017) and A Song of Home: A Novel of the Swing Era (2018). Susie Finkbeiner is a stay-at-home mom & speaker from West Michigan. She has served as fiction editor and regular contributor to the Burnside Writers Guild and Unbound magazine. Finkbeiner is an avid blogger (see www.susiefinkbeiner.com), is on the planning committee of the Breathe Christian Writers Conference, and has presented or led groups of other writers at several conferences. What does she have planned after that? More stories, of course. She's a junkie. She couldn't quit if she wanted to.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jocelyn on June 30, 2015

Riveting. An achingly beautiful tale told with a singularly fresh and original voice. This sepia-toned story swept me into the Dust Bowl and brought me face to face with both haunting trials and the resilient people who overcame them. Absolutely mesmerizing. Susie Finkbeiner is an author to watch!......more

Goodreads review by Heather on October 22, 2015

This novel blew me away on so many levels. I would go so far as to call it a modern classic. Finkbeiner perfectly captures her ten-year-old narrator's voice--so much so, it was very reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird. Pearl Spence has that perfect blend of naivety mixed with flashes of deep insigh......more

Goodreads review by Amelia on August 26, 2015

Finbeiner weaves a heartfelt, page-turning, coming of age tale set during the desperate times of the dust bowl in a small town in Oklahoma. I could practically taste and feel the dust in my mouth while reading. Her vivid descriptions put me in the place, and the mystery kept me guessing and turning......more

Goodreads review by Melody on November 24, 2015

Being someone who prefers writing quality to plot any day of the week, it's safe to say that I am the wrong audience for this book. A lot of the descriptions and turns of phrase were awkward and the characters were rather thin, making it difficult for me to become invested in the plot. There were ma......more

Goodreads review by Renee on January 26, 2019

Beautiful story. Loved the spunky heroine and the loving parents, who stand up to evil to claim her. Too many pages keep me fearful over who would live & who would die. Satisfying ending. A real hope in the midst of hardship story. Great read!......more