Dust of 100 Dogs was one of the most original, funny, and entertaining reads I've read in awhile. Emer, a swashbuckling female pirate from the 1700's, is cursed and killed and has to live the life of 100 dogs before being returned to a human body. When finally being born back to a human family, she has the memories of the last 300+ years while being a baby and a child. Forced to wait until she can make the trip to Jamaica on her own before she can find her buried treasure, Emer must live the life as a teenager named Saffron, with a family that is broke and dysfunctional.
The story would flip between present day Saffron and past life Emer. I enjoyed Emer's story the most. She was a strong willed woman who took what she had to survive. She ends up on a pirate ship and it doesn't take long until she becomes the captain of her own ship so she never has to answer to anyone again. I loved how the past and present intertwined and the past lives of people Emer knew come to play in the present day.
I laughed out loud and screamed in rage in the span of only a few pages. There was some moments that were a little ris-kay, so parents may want to crack the spine on this one before giving it to your kid. Overall this book was a great escape (which is what I look for when reading) and I look forward to reading more by A.S. King.
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
As soon as I saw the title of this book, I was intrigued. However, I must admit I had it on my TBR pile for quite some time and kept sliding it down a book or two. Why did I do that? I'm kicking myself now because it is a great book. Definitely not your usual adventure tale, but definitely worth reading.
THE DUST OF 100 DOGS is a story-within-a-story. Emer Morrisey is an Irish girl living a turbulent life back in the late 1600's. When her tiny village is attacked and pillaged, she is the lone survivor of her family. Rescued by an angry uncle, she lives with his family until he deems her old enough to be sold off as a wife. Emer bids a sad farewell to the young love of her life and travels to Paris.
When she meets her husband-to-be, she is repulsed and immediately makes plans for escape. What follows are miserable months slaving away for a group of nuns until Emer hears news of a ship departing for Tortuga where it is said women are in great demand. Perhaps a life in the Caribbean holds the future that will help Emer forget her family and her lost love.
The interesting thing about this novel is the parallel story running alongside Emer's. This second story is about a modern-day protagonist named Saffron. She has problems of her own. Highly intelligent and excellent at her schoolwork, Saffron has been raised by parents who hold her up as their only hope in the world. Her siblings, especially her brother, Junior, are bitter disappointments, leaving her as the beacon bound to be the light of their lives. Saffron, however, has other plans.
What readers soon learn is that Emer and Saffron are connected in an unusual way. Emer's Caribbean life turned into a wild adventure with her as a pirate who pillaged and plundered Spanish treasure. At the moment of her untimely death, she was cursed to return to this world and live the life of 100 dogs. During this reincarnation her memories remain, and when the curse is finally fulfilled, Emer returns once more as Saffron. This explains Saffron's amazing ability to know so much about history and the world in general, and it also explains her childhood desire to be a pirate.
A.S. King has created a truly unique piece of work. Following the stories of Emer and Saffron is a treat. The raw, gritty pirate adventures of Emer mixed with the contemporary pressures faced by Saffron offer something for all readers. The curse of living the life of 100 dogs is also reflected by occasional interruptions titled DOG FACT #1 and so on. The combination of it all provides three distinct points of view that make this a work of pure genius.
Don't let this one slide down your reading list like I did. Get a copy today, and you won't regret it.
I've been wanting to read this book for a while. It ended up being a very creative and intriguing read; I enjoyed it a lot.
Emer Morrisey was a terrifying pirate in the 1600's who was on a quest for independence and to find her childhood sweetheart. Just when her and her sweetie have reunited and decided to give up pirating for good she is killed and cursed with the Dust of 100 Dogs. She has to live through 100 lives as a dog and then she will finally take human shape again; through it all her memories are intact. Now she has been reborn as Saffron; she is a teenage daughter in a lower income family. Her family thinks Saffron, with her great intellect, will be their ticket out of the poorhouse. What they don't know is that Saffron has unfinished business from her past life as Emer; college and a great job are not part of those plans...going to Jamaica to hunt down buried treasure are.
This book was structured in an interesting way. The chapters alternate between Saffron and Emer. Saffron's chapters are dedicated to her struggles as a teenager trying to get on her quest to Jamaica. Emer's chapters start when she is a young girl and follow her history up to her rise to piracy and, eventually, death. Interspersed between these chapters are short sections of "Dog Facts"; these sections give pointers on how to be/raise a dog based on the extensive experience of many lifetimes. The writing style itself is nothing special; but is very readable and engaging.
I thought this was a very creative book. Emer/Saffron is a very fascinating character and is very engaging. The side characters are not as well developed or engaging as Saffron, but they are all somewhat interesting. The plot was also well done. The switches between Emer and Saffron feel very natural and make the story flow very well. The plot was also very gripping and made the book hard to put down. The main driver is wondering if Saffron will ever find Emer's buried treasure.
I wouldn't necessarily call this a young adult read because it is extremely violent both in sexual and plain old gory ways. Saffron often dreams of torturing the people she deals with daily in very creative and well-explained gory ways. Many of the less pleasant aspects of Emer's live are also detailed. She is raped and tortured, she tortures others. Emer's way of life is just extremely violent and occurs in a difficult time for humanity in general. I don't think the violence is uncalled for or even odd for the time that it takes place in, but it might give more sensitive readers pause.
Overall though it is a read I can recommend. The book is great for both its creativity and the peek it takes into the 1600's. Those who don't tolerate reading about violence, rape, and torture may want to pass on this book though. I will definitely be looking into other books by King.
