Title: The Dust of 100 Dogs
Author: A.S. King
Release date: February 8, 2009
Publisher: Flux
Pages: 336
Source: Bookstore
Reading level: YA
Challenge(s): TBR
In the late seventeenth century, famed teenage pirate Emer Morrisey was on the cusp of escaping the pirate life with her one true love and unfathomable riches when she was slain and cursed with “the dust of one hundred dogs,” dooming her to one hundred lives as a dog before returning to a human body-with her memories intact.
Now she’s a contemporary American teenager and all she needs is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica.
The Dust of 100 Dogs is unlike any book I’ve ever read. The whole concept is completely unique and if A.S. King’s other books are anything like this one, I’ll definitely enjoy them.
The cover is totally what drew me to this book and normally I wouldn’t mention the cover in a review but I couldn’t resist. After reading the book I realized just how perfect the cover was. It’s always nice to have a book cover that actually fits what’s going in inside the book.
Okay now on to the stuff that really matters. I’ll start off with the one thing that bothered me about The Dust of 100 Dogs: the characters. I loved both Emer and Saffron but I never truly felt like I connected with either one of them. Emer was this fierce pirate who was completely awesome but kind of hard to relate to. Saffron was a brilliant teenager who was like Emer in a lot of ways but unique in some ways too. She was rather cold though and just like Emer, hard to relate to. I didn’t feel all that invested in either story. However, if I had to choose I would definitely say that I liked reading Emer’s story more. And even though the girls are the same person, things have changed over the centuries and Emer is only partially there now. Saffron has become her own person and it was easy to see how Emer and Saffron were different from each other.
The Dust of 100 Dogs tells two different stories. One is Emer’s story from the past and one is Saffron’s story from present day. Emer’s story was so much more gripping than Saffron’s. That’s what I expected though. Emer is a pirate! Her life is exciting. There’s always something going on with her. I found myself dying to get back to her story every time there was a point-of-view change. Saffron’s story was more calm but still interesting. She remembers everything from her 100 lives as a dog and also from her life as Emer. She’s completely brilliant, a little crazy, and pretty awesome. While her story wasn’t as exciting as Emer’s, it was still interesting enough to keep me reading.
Overall, I would highly recommend picking up a copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs if you want to stray from the normal YA fare. It’s a quick, fun read that will leave you dying to check out more of A.S. King’s books.
What others are saying about The Dust of 100 Dogs:
The Book Smugglers’ review: “The Dust of 100 Dogs is a gritty and tragic tale of one girl who is an honest-to-God pirate who kills and maims and steals.”
Small Review’s review: “I wish I had never read this book and it was only the hope of Emer’s story improving that kept me reading until the end.”
Jen Robinson’s Book Page’s review: “The Dust of 100 Dogs is complex and dark (though with flashes of humor).”
Ah, this book!! This was one of the first books I ever reviewed on my blog and my first experience with AS King’s work. Such a bizarre story but good, and definitely had me seeking out more from this author these past years!
I’ve read and enjoyed a few of King’s books, but hadn’t heard of this one. Considering what a sharp storyteller she is, I think I’ll be checking this one out on my next library trip.
This is the only one I have read by this author, so far anyway…. and I gave it 4 too!
If this is your first AS King, then you’ve got some really great books to come!
This cover hooks me right in. I’ve heard so many good things about it but it seems so different that I’ve always had doubts as so whether or not to read it. Your review makes me want to give it a shot though.
I wanted to read this one because of the cover as well lol! I’m not sure if it’s quite my thing but your review makes me want to give it a try.
I think I’ve found my first A.S. King book to read. This one sounds wild! And has freaking pirates. I thought that King wrote more contemporary stories, which aren’t really my favorite genre, so I’m happy to find this one that isn’t quite contemporary. Great review!
A girl pirate! That is so awesome!! And from what I saw in other reviews, this author does write wacky kinds of concepts that work perfectly. She has a few contemporaries out that are really emotional, but I love this kind of story too. It’s so original! Too bad the characters weren’t easy to connect to, but they’re so different maybe we’re not totally supposed to.
The cover is awesome!!
Lovely review 🙂