Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Dust of 100 Dogs, by A.S. King


This book is so awesome! So much fun. There are some hard moments, but mostly it's very smart, very clever, and lots of fun to read.

The trouble is, it's almost impossible to describe, without giving everything away. Here's the blurb:

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.


However, that really doesn't do it justice. Reincarnation, piracy, jewels, escape, defiance, canine psychology, true love, devotion, patois, roots, rock, reggae ... I could go on. There are a hundred amazing things that make this book great, but with the interwoven plot lines, and the vast stretch of history that is covered, it's difficult to talk about what happens, or why you should love it.

I suppose I can only say this: sometimes it's a bit tough to keep track of where our character, Emer/Saffron/100 Dogs is at, but never once does she leave you bored, or uninspired. She endures such harsh cruelty, and such apathy, that you can easily imagine her giving up countless times, but she has this determination, this knowledge of self, and the greatness of courage, that she simply cannot give up, and does whatever it takes, throughout the centuries, to achieve her goals. I rooted for our multifaceted protagonist every step of the way, even when she was being slightly, albeit gloriously, evil.

17 comments:

  1. A great review. This has just enough detail to make me intrigued and send me heading out for the book store.

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  2. "a shovel and a ride to Jamaica." LOve it! What an interesting tale.

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  3. My husband and I rarely agree on books, but we both think this one sounds great! Adding it to the "to buy" list.

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  4. Emer/Saffron/100 Dogs would be proud.

    I reviewed the Kirkus review of Amy's book last fall and basically dismantled their judgments. I think Amy did a wonderful job captivating the reader and starting conversations like this one.

    Jon Fact #1: A.S. King rocks.

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    1. Jon, you debunked their judgements? Where? On your blog? If so, please link up!

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  5. Are you kidding me? The title alone had me'panting' after this one. It sounds absolutely fascinating. After all of this,it had better be available for kindle or someone will 'walk the plank'. Thank!

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  6. Yes, the title alone would have me buying this one. Just goes to show....never underestimate the power of the perfect title.

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  7. I wondered about the title first and then the blurb completely made sense. Sounds very intriguing.

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  8. You had me at "all she needs now is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica." After that intro, that is fantastic. :D

    Do they spend a lot of time on her being a dog? Not sure I'd really dig that (*snort*). But the whole pirate, waking up w/your memories intact in a completely different world/time and trying to get back to your pirate fortune? That all sounds like a great adventure story. Thanks, Matt! :o)

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    1. There is no real like "on screen" time with our hero as a dog. It is sometimes mentioned in recollections, and there are these interesting interludes about what she learned from being a dog, but no real "live" dog chapters.

      Does that even make sense?

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  9. sounds cool. I loved PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ and am glad to see something else by this author. It's on my list now :)

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    1. This one is very different from Vera's story (which I JUST finished, and also LOVED) but it's still awesome for many of the same reasons.

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  10. I'm truly fascinated. It's going to the very top of my TBR list. Thanks Matthew! I never would have known about this without you.

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    1. That's what I'm here for. Putting books on your radar.

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  11. Wow, never even heard of this book or author. Sounds really interesting. Great review. I hate when people give too much of the storyline away ... and those people who read the end of a book before they buy ... utter madness! Another for my 'to be read' mountain.

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  12. Just wanted to let you know there is an award for you on my blog! Have a nice day!!

    http://meghankirkland.blogspot.com/2012/03/sunshine-award.html

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