Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

This little book took a while to tug at my heart strings, which I think reflects poorly on me. I felt there were so many troubles that the character of Billie Jo Kelby was more of a caricature that a character. Then, near the end, after her mother and brother's tragic deaths and Billie's determination to face the war of land and sky against the human population... Billie Jo finds that she has a crack in her heart where their might be a place for a step mother. It was in that crack that I learned to appreciate Billie Jo and her toughness and her ability not just to survive, but to live. She accepts Louise when she realizes that Louise won't replace her mother... "...she knows how to come into a home and not step on the toes of a ghost." And Billie Jo really matures when she learns:

The way I see it, hard times aren't only about money, or drought, or dust. Hard times are about losing spirit, and hope, and what happens when dreams dry up." — Karen Hesse Out of the Dust

If you ever questioned the courage and every sort of toughness Americans are made of... Read this book.