“Grit, perseverance, and a strong will to survive Delta of Dead River from Erin Bowman’s Dustborn will remind readers of the fervor felt for Furiosa in the 2015 Mad Max Fury Road movie.”
Cecelia Beckman, Sheaf & Ink
The Story
Delta of Dead River’s sister is in need of medical assistance. With a baby on the way she needs to find a healer and quickly. As Delta sets off to find help she is forced to make hard choices. One’s that will either cost her and the lives of her pack and family their own lives and their freedom.
My Review: Dustborn
I liked Dustborn.
It’s a familiar story.
A dystopia set in a harsh landscape: a hellish wasteland that feels like something we could be hurling our own future towards. I couldn’t help compare Dustborn to a favorite movie from 2015 Mad Max Fury Road directed by George Miller.
You have a planet with limited resources, a cult trying to monopolize one of the largest sources of water and agriculture within the area, while also enslaving and abusing people in order to secure its power, and those people living on the outskirts trying to survive.
Dustborn has a western feel to it too. Where you’re stepping into uncharted territory and wondering if anyone will survive.
I mean just look at the cover!
With a quick pace, readers will burn through the first half of the book with relative ease. The chapters baiting and hooking you into the next like the light at the end of a long tunnel. You crave to get to the ending, running as fast as you can to get to and relish in the warm rays after being in the darkness for so long.
A Few More Thoughts
Though, there are a few lulls throughout, those breaks don’t necessarily distract from the meat and marrow of the overall story.
Perhaps the one aspect of the novel I hoped would be avoided was romance. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE (yep, all caps) a good romance. But the way Bowman sets up her novel it did not feel like it was needed.
Delta of Dead River feels like the teen version of the Furiosa of Mad Max Fury Road. This fearless wonder woman who has suffered and lost, but still manages to believe in something close to hope. Who is going to do her best to try and save humanity especially those who didn’t have a choice, their choices were forcibly taken away.
I don’t think every novel needs a romance pairing. And I felt that should have been the case in this story. Delta held her own. She was calling the shots and didn’t need to entangle herself romantically with anyone during the novel because that wasn’t what makes this story a good one.
And to me, I think Bowman’s success is in that fact. That Delta is a young woman who can be on the world stage, defining herself in her lead role, while being a badass heroine, ready to save the world.
What I really craved was a plutonic friendship between Delta and Asher. Because the story is about survival and fighting for a better tomorrow. Yes, I know love is something worth fighting for, and is championed in many novels , but for this particular book, I personally think that the romantic relationship could’ve been skipped or left to the imagination in the end.
One Last Thought
With a major plot twist towards the end that I did not expect, followed by dozens of questions I had once that revelation was discovered, I felt Bowman’s story overall was a good one, and that will have readers hopeful to see Dustborn adapted onto the silver screen.
Happy Reading ̴ Cece
RATING: 
– Satisfyingly Inked
Author: Erin Bowman
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April, 2021
Pages: 432
ISBN-10: 0358244439
ISBN-13: 978-0358244431
Audience: 12 and up
Jacket Design: Unknown at this time
Jacket Art: Unknown at this time
You can find Dustborn at HMH books
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Similar Books to Dustborn Recommended by Sheaf and Ink
Agnes at the End of the World, Kelly McWilliams
An Ember in the Ashes, Sabaa Tahir
Need More Book Recommendations?
Sheaf & Ink has reviewed a number of Young Adult novels in dystopia like Dustborn. Read Dev1at3 and True L1f3 reviews to find your next favorite book and join the conversation. We love hearing from you.
