Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel

Release Date: June 26, 2012
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

This new trilogy will capture the hearts of readers who adore Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle series.

Callie LeRoux lives in Slow Run, Kansas, helping her mother run their small hotel and trying not to think about the father she's never met. Lately all of her energy is spent battling the constant storms plaguing the Dust Bowl and their effects on her health. Callie is left alone, when her mother goes missing in a dust storm. Her only hope comes from a mysterious man offering a few clues about her destiny and the path she must take to find her parents in "the golden hills of the west" (California).

Along the way she meets Jack a young hobo boy who is happy to keep her company—there are dangerous, desperate people at every turn. And there's also an otherworldly threat to Callie. Warring fae factions, attached to the creative communities of American society, are very aware of the role this half-mortal, half-fae teenage girl plays in their fate.

Okay, so claiming that I am "Waiting on Wednesday" for this book may not be entirely accurate. Truthfully, I've read the manuscript, so I'm not so much waiting for the story, but I am waiting to get my paws on an actual book because look-at-that-cover! Great cover, great story, I am very excited for a copy of my own.

Sarah Zettel is a smart writer. I read the title of the opening chapter of the book and I was completely hooked. Nine words in and I would have followed her straight into the heart of a dust storm for more.

I would agree with the cover copy: the texture of this book is similar to that of the Gemma Doyle triolgy. I know texture isn't a word we tend to use when evaluating books, but neither mood nor theme are quite right... Both trilogies have the same texture. They give you the same anxious, excited sensation that I remember feeling a lot when I started reading YA in high school. It is fun to experience those emotions again--but with new characters--and I'm excited to talk about this book with others when ARCs begin circulation.

What are you excited for this week?