The Dust of 100 Dogs

Back Cover Description:

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.

I wrapped up reading The Dust of 100 Dogs tonight. For as much as I live under a rock, I had read a lot of buzz about this book and was interested in finding out what made it so special. While it didn't blow me away, I did find it an enjoyable read and certainly applaud A.S. King with having a vivid imagination to pair up stories of 17th Century Ireland, piracy and modern teenage life into one story.

I really liked the character of Emer. I thought King did a nice job of developing her and maturing her through the book. Even though she was a feared pirate, she retained some of her Irish girlhood sweetness. I would have liked to have seen more character development of Seanie and their relationship.

The relationship of David and Emer would have been interesting to develop more. There was sort of a "Edward/Jacob" thing going on her (although likely very unintentional I'm sure.) I really wanted to see David fight more for Emer instead of just walking away like he did.

One point I have to say though. The character of Fred Livingstone was revolting. I know...he's suppose to be, but I think, considering this was labeled as YA, he was written a bit too crude and creepy for my taste. We could have used our imaginations more instead of reading about all the perverted things he did in the confines of his beach home.

The ending was really sweet...loved how King tied up the story and kept the magical tale of Emer and Seanie alive.

To Recap:

Worth Reading - Yes

Worth Buying My Own Copy - No

Recommend to Friends - Maybe...only the ones that would appreciate the creativity of it

Stars: 4 out of 5