The Dust of 100 Dogs

Title: The Dust of 100 Dogs

Author: A.S. King

Year: 2010

Genre: All of them! (historical fiction, fantasy, realistic fiction, action, PIRATES!)

Age: Mature 8th graders up

Summary: Emer Morrisey, feared pirate in the 1600s, dies on a lonely beach after witnessing her beloved die, killing his murderer, and stashing her loot. The major problem: as she died, she was cursed to live the lives of 100 dogs before she comes back as a human.

Review: My goodness, this book! This book was NUTS. I can barely even describe it. It’s part realistic fiction, set in the 1990s, part historical fiction set in the 1600s, part animal fiction (is that even a thing?!) told from Emer-as-a-dog’s point of view. I would love to pick A.S. King’s brain to see where on Earth this concept came from. If she has more ideas like this, she’ll be one to watch for upcoming YA fiction. I enjoyed it a lot, mostly for the concept, though the writing was interesting. The main character (Emer-Dogs-Saffron) really shines with layers of her former selves stacked up one on top of the other, bits and peices coming to the forefront as needed.

I recommend this book to anyone who would like their brain a bit twisted. Also, you better not mind violence as Emer has quite a passion for it.