When the Sky Turned to Dust

Reader Views, 5 Stars: When the Sky Turned to Dust by Catherine Matthias is a transcendental story about one family's harrowing experience during the Dust Bowl... a must-read book that will keep middle schoolers, teenagers, families, and classrooms turning pages with their hearts in their throats.Indie Book Readers Appreciation Group, Medallion Award: This is a fabulous book. The hardships become gritty, heartbreaking, and escalating. Following along as Caroline and her brother Daniel learn about the depression outside of their community flows smoothly. I found this book extremely well executed with the details that middle schoolers need while adding a broader perspective to anchor the story.Readers' Favorite Review, 5 Stars: Told through the eyes of a young girl determined to fight for her family, home, and life, this book is impeccably crafted and well-written, exploring themes of strength, resilience, loss, grief, family, and survival. It is a must read about living through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, wonderfully depicting in great detail the terror and disaster caused by drought, heat, cold, dust, and storms that affected many people and also one family's ability to ensure their survival and hold on to their hope, strength, happiness, and even their farm in a time when many families lost theirs.Reedsy Review - Must Read: From the first page, Catherine Matthias masterfully weaves a powerful tale of life during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression... Her writing is thoughtful, clear, and deeply reflective. You can practically feel the dust on your skin... Concepts such as the economic struggles that led to bank failures and farmers losing their land are explained in an easy-to-understand way... I highly recommend When the Sky Turned to Dust... It belongs in school curricula offering lessons on resilience, financial responsibility, and the strength of family and community. It's a beautifully written tale of finding light even in the darkness. Chanticleer International Book Awards Finalist - LARAMIE Division recognizing outstanding works in the Western, First Nations, and Americana genre.