There was so much of this I loved, but also this was a book that felt really slow through most of the middle.
Thea is partially deaf and after her family’s home in Ohio flooded, her dad brought them to Bloodless Valley in Colorado in order to live a simple life and return to basic farming lifestyle. But there is nothing simple about living in the Valley. There’s been a drought for a long time and corporate farms keep buying the water, making it harder for small farms to survive. On top of the drought, there’s also been severe dust storms burying homes and crops, and when Thea has access to the library and starts learning about 1930s Dust Bowl, she can’t help but see echoes of those events and experiences in her own life.
I really loved the messaging about climate change and the ways white people throughout history think they know the best way to cultivate the land while reality is they’re stripping the land of its resources and creating the disasters that harm them. I think this is a really important book on that front, and I also really liked how history is cyclical and change needs to be made to create change. This is also very strongly a book about community and community care, and the ways survival is often hinged on having others who help and support you.
I did really enjoy Thea’s story and her sister, Amelia, is one of the best characters. I also found the romance between Thea and Ray overall very soft. This was a very powerful story of not fitting in can be hard, but when you find others who can relate it grows your world so much. I think this is an important story, and I’m very glad I was able to read it.