Children Of The Dust

Children Of The Dust. Louise Lawrence. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1985. 183 pp.
With her father away, Catherine and her family were alone in a sealed room of their house when the blast occurred. Sarah and her stepmother Veronica now had the obligation of caring for William and Catherine, doing whatever necessary to survive the nuclear holocaust. Sarah knew that it was up to her to save Catherine, so she risked her own life to save her. Before she died, Sarah left Catherine with a man who had the necessary survival shelter and supplies. Little did they know, Bill Harnden, their father, survived and was alive in a nearby underground bunker. Reproduction wasn’t an option. Ophelia, Bill’s daughter, grows up in a sheltered world, unaware of the outside life. When her father and his student decide to warn the outsiders of the military cavalry coming to steal their cattle, Ophelia jumps at the opportunity to leave the protection of the bunker. After seeing the mutant inhabitants, she begins to regret ever leaving the bunker. Approximately fifty years after the initial blast, Simon, also from the bunker, ventures out into the outside world. He is faced with the people directly affected by the nuclear aftermath. He, along with the other survivors of the bunker, learns to accept the mutants for who they are and not for their appearance.
CHILDREN OF THE DUST started out slowly but soon captured my interest. Louise Lawrence wrote the book uniquely, using three different perspectives but connecting each person in some way. This book is good just the way it is and doesn’t need any revisions. It is very compelling and the viewpoints and circumstances presented by nuclear warfare were expressed in a very creative and unique way. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a suspenseful novel. I give this book a 7 on a scale of 1-10.
Reviewed by Jordan B.