Dust City

Dust City by Robert Paul Weston
published by Razorbill, 2010
304 pages
approximate age level: 12+

Henry Welp has had a tough life. His mom is dead, his dad is in jail, and he's locked away in a reform school outside of town. Oh, and one more thing - he's the son of The Big Bad Wolf – yes that wolf, cold-blooded killer of Little Red Riding Hood and her Granny. When Henry's therapist dies under mysterious circumstances and his best friend Jack hightails it out of school with the help of some magic beans, Henry decides he, too, needs to escape to nearby Dust City, a gritty metropolis that's not so magical ever since the fairies vanished years ago. But when Henry discovers that his dad may have been framed by crime bosses who monopolize a black market of extra-potent fairy dust, Henry's life becomes a lot more dangerous.

Dust City is both a fractured fairytale and a dark romp through a seedy urban underbelly. While populated with a fantastic cast of characters, including ravens, wolves, nixies, and elves, the story touches on topics that are relatable to teens such as racism and drug use. Though at times the plot seems hurried and some situations feel more like ways to advance the story rather than believable events, even within the make believe world Weston has created, Dust City is still an enjoyable and quick read. Narrator Henry is very likeable and all the action and plot twists make it a hard book to put down. Teens will also like seeing their favorite fairy tale characters reborn into such a serious, mature setting. While rather mild in terms of content compared to other YA lit, there is some violence, including a torture scene, and the fairy dust use is equatable to drug use, though it is not promoted by either Henry or the plot.

Read-alike suggestions:

Gentlemen by Michael Northrop

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

Fables graphic novels series by Bill Willingham