The Dust of 100 Dogs

Dec 21, 2010 Philip rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Such, SUCH potential... and sucks. Seriously, I was so hyped up about this book that I went out and bought 2 copies for my classroom with my own money - without reading it first. (Mistake number one on "The List of Common Teacher Mistakes.")

Seriously, how could this book not succeed? It's got it all... or the potential for it all - pirates, reincarnation, action, adventure, love that transcends time - all geared toward a YA audience. (Look at the cover - Go ahead, enlarge it. What middle-schoole...more Such, SUCH potential... and sucks. Seriously, I was so hyped up about this book that I went out and bought 2 copies for my classroom with my own money - without reading it first. (Mistake number one on "The List of Common Teacher Mistakes.")

Seriously, how could this book not succeed? It's got it all... or the potential for it all - pirates, reincarnation, action, adventure, love that transcends time - all geared toward a YA audience. (Look at the cover - Go ahead, enlarge it. What middle-schooler WOULDN'T want to read this book?)

Unfortunately, what they DON'T tell you is that it also has a lot of other stuff as well - multiple* rape scenes (including homosexual dog rape), an old bisexual man's fairly vivid fantasies about a 17 year old girl as well as his fantasies dealing with college co-eds, a pirate with a fetish with mutilation, the selling of young women to old men for sex,3 dozen f-bomb droppings, not to mention cruelty to animals (for all you PETA people out there...)

And then, every couple chapters there's is a whimsical little doggy moral patronizingly thrown at us. I think I would have been able to stomach the morals if the book hadn't been entirely lacking in morality.

And it's not even that there was bad stuff in the book that made me hate it. I read The Stand and LOVED it. It jumped to the top of my favorites pretty quick, and it looks pretty safe up there. That book had some pretty grotesque stuff in it, but it doesn't have a cute cover shouting, "HEY TWEEN! HEY PARENT OF A TWEEN! BUY ME!" I felt dirty reading it. Sure, A.S. King interview in the back of the book, there ARE a lot of questions about, "What is YA," but if I feel queasy as a fairly open-minded, fairly well-read adult reading it - it's probably NOT that book.

I think the editor must have known it couldn't sell as an adult book, and said, "hey, we can market it as YA and get away with it." Yeah, you can, editor. But here's something else you can try: edit it.

From the author interview in the back:

YA is a shelf in the library or bookstore. It is by no means, exact. To those who would argue that books from a more mature perspective cannot be enjoyed by teenagers, I would disagree... I also like to give teenagers credit for having brains and ideas and opinions of their own. Most of my favorite books as a teen were not about teens. I had no trouble following the story, or being interested in the characters.

You don't have to write sex scenes into Harry Potter to make it "mature." I have no/much less of a problem with teens reading books marketed to adults. They're not being duped. Why don't you give teens some credit instead of insulting them by selling them this crap.

*edited from the possibly inaccurate "4."(less)

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Oct 14, 2010 Mariel rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Captain Feathersword

Recommended to Mariel by: diamond dogs

The Dust of Dogs could have been a much better book. Should have been, but the gimmicks probably do the trick to sell it, so why would anyone care about doing something more? Sigh. That's not a resigned sigh. I still expect waaay more. It's not the worst book ever, it's readable and reasonably entertaining, but my mind wouldn't shut off while reading it.

If I were A.S. King's editor or best buddy proof reader (and doesn't get dog poop flung at her for voicing her honest opinions)...

The selling/ta...more The Dust of Dogs could have been a much better book. Should have been, but the gimmicks probably do the trick to sell it, so why would anyone care about doing something more? Sigh. That's not a resigned sigh. I still expect waaay more. It's not the worst book ever, it's readable and reasonably entertaining, but my mind wouldn't shut off while reading it.

If I were A.S. King's editor or best buddy proof reader (and doesn't get dog poop flung at her for voicing her honest opinions)...

The selling/talking-points are: the teenaged girl pirate story, reincarnation as a dog, Ireland, evil nuns (erm... that's probably only me), her last name is MORRISEY (um, me again?), Oliver Cromwell (my freakish twin! aha!), the 1970s, and so on. (I didn't misread the 1970s part? I keep reading reviews that say "contemporary" and I didn't think that teens today would consider the 1970s contemporary. Myself, now thirty-one years old, was only born at the tail end of the tail end of the decade. It seemed like oooh faraway to me when I was a teenager.) All stuff that doesn't fit in well together because of the way that it is written. Saffron's inner pirate voice comes and goes like a bad accent. Emer is BEAUTIFUL (ugh, not that again) in that meaningless way that some authors like to trot out. There's some fairy tale hero stuff thrown in as REASONS and FATE that doesn't work well because of the way it is thrown in (myths have their own logic. You can't lean on them, you gotta build 'em yourself). I knew I was in trouble almost from the get go, actually, because of the way that first person Saffron voice throws out the information in the Kevin Arnold Wonder Years voiceover IMPORTANT deliverance. Don't tell me why it is important, or that it will be important (and then it isn't important). Just have a real voice that doesn't come and go for gimmickys sake, for christ's sake! Ugh.

Emer Morrissey turns pirate when she's not allowed to be with her boyfriend. Okay, there's a threatened marriage to an odious Frenchman, too, to sweeten the loot chest. Lots of other dudes want her ('cause she's soooo beautiful) and she kills one of them (this is brushed over). So she's cursed by a guy who loved that guy to live for three hundred years as a dog. This part is skipped over (again) and then revisited as tips for training a puppy. (I'm currently so-called training my chihuahua/feist mutt Seamus. The judgemental tone of her "tips" hurt my feelings sniff sniff.) It'd have been interesting to investigate what impact this pretty enormous chunk of her life time had on her other than random dog tips. It's like the pirate-y thoughts that come and go. It's pretty much just there for added-in flavor. Like if your friends started talking like a pirate during "Talk like a Pirate day". It'd be as believablely pirateish as that would be.

Then there is the living with the new human family again as a girl. Wouldn't this have had SOME change on her? Real change, I mean, not residuals like dandruff (or mange or scurvy). Where is the inner turmoil of being Emer, and Saffron and the dogs? (Each 100 of them. Dogs are not all alike.) Are there new souls? What about just experiences? Memories aren't everything, and the rest of the lives are not waiting room times. She makes decisions, so it cannot be waiting room. And teenage love doesn't last forever, either, especially a love that didn't get the chance to really go anywhere. I guess that is why this is a ya book (nothing against ya. There are some ya love stories that are not brick wall like this), just the gimmicky marketing laziness again. Shouldn't she have missed a really hot yorkie or shetland sheep dog?

And I'm the best puppy trainer in the whole wide world.(less)

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Dec 26, 2009 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Shannon (Giraffe Days) by: Linda Gerber

Shelves: ya, 2009, fantasy, pirates, cover-love

Infamous and bloodthirsty, teenage pirate Emer is all set to leave her days plundering the Spanish in the Caribbean behind and sail off with her long-lost and new-found love, Seanie, and their treasure for Ireland, when she is killed by an old enemy and cursed to live the life of a hundred dogs.

A hundred dogs and about three hundred years later, Emer is reborn in 1972 as Saffron Adams - with all her memories intact, memories of being Emer and of being numerous dogs all over the world. The last c...more Infamous and bloodthirsty, teenage pirate Emer is all set to leave her days plundering the Spanish in the Caribbean behind and sail off with her long-lost and new-found love, Seanie, and their treasure for Ireland, when she is killed by an old enemy and cursed to live the life of a hundred dogs.

A hundred dogs and about three hundred years later, Emer is reborn in 1972 as Saffron Adams - with all her memories intact, memories of being Emer and of being numerous dogs all over the world. The last child of five born to alcoholic and depressive parents living in Pennsylvania, she wants only to get through school, grab a shovel and head back to Jamaica to dig up her treasure. While she waits she imagines all the colourful ways she can flog, dismember and otherwise torture the people in her life who annoy the crap out of her, in true Emer style.

The Dust of 100 Dogs is told from three perspectives and two timelines: Saffron's first person narration in her present (leading up to 1990); Emer growing up in Ireland in the 1650s, escaping Cromwell, fleeing Paris and ending up captain of an impressive pirate fleet in the Caribbean; and the mildly insane Fred Livingstone, an ageing but still wealthy real estate broker living in Jamaica with his much-abused dog Rusty - also in Saffron's present. All three narratives navigate towards each other to reach a conclusion that's 100 dogs in the making.

Emer and Saffron are wonderful characters, leading different lives, never quite the same person and yet similar enough in ways, both living through tumultuous times and with difficult people. Through it all she - they? - narrates with dark irony, a measure of contempt and a swig of childish enthusiasm. While she's not entirely loveable or even, at times, likeable, she's still charismatic, interesting (never dull), and sympathetic. By the end of the novel I really cared about Saffron. Both Emer and Saffron present different social issues: Emer of girls and women sold like chattel to men, slaving their lives away in some cases and never taken seriously enough; and Saffron of parents who have grand dreams for their children, pressuring them to live the lives they never could, pinning all their hopes on them and then being upset when they rebel. Both Emer and Saffron speak for a great many teenagers, especially but not exclusively girls, as they try to stand up for themselves. So it's not hard to cheer Emer on as she kills a would-be rapist with a rock, or storms a ship's deck with a cutlass in hand.

Livingstone was another well-drawn, cleverly crafted character. At first, when he suddenly turns up in the story, I wasn't sure why he was there, but I trusted King that there was a good reason - and there is. He was a mix of brutish fear and cowardly ego, and perversity as he ogles the girls on the beach and imagines conversations in his head where he flirts with them and invites them to dinner. He's a sad man driven to quick rages and you can only feel terribly sorry for poor Rusty the doberman.

Speaking of dogs, interspersed throughout the novel are six dog facts that cleverly reinforce, mirror or complement whatever part of the story they interrupt. You can tell that King is a dog person, and her insights into the nature of dogs - from Saffron's perspective, and she's had a lot of experience! - are great for dog lovers and people, like me, who would like a dog one day but don't really understand them or know what to do with them.

After a bit of a slow start while you get your footing with Saffron's dry, unloving narration (she does have some familial feeling but, knowing exactly where she's come from, she never really sees herself as their daughter or part of their family, which is a bit sad really), the story really picks up as it weaves through time and adventures and gets quite exciting. A wonderful tale of adventure on the high seas (I love that phrase!) and teenage impatience; young love and loss and sheer determination.(less)

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Mar 25, 2012 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: pirates at heart

Shelves: action-packed, dark, fantasy, grrl-power, little-romance, multiple-narrators, past-and-present-collide

This book has basically the coolest premise EVER. Emer, an Irish girl living in the time of Cromwell, suffers many hardships before eventually turning to a life of piracy. She has an epic love, a creepy stalker, and a propensity to carve out her victims' eyeballs.

Then she ticks off the wrong... magician (I guess), and gets cursed to be reincarnated 100 times as a dog. It's only after these hundred dog lives that she is born as a human once more. Namely, she is Saffron. She can't wait to graduate...more

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Mar 24, 2011 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

This is definitely one of the more interesting premises that I've encountered in young adult fiction and, given all of the carbon copy Twilight/Harry Potter series books out there, it deserves high praise for that alone.

Young Emer Morrisey has a loving family and a happy childhood until her parents are brutally killed and her village destroyed during Cromwell's invasion of Ireland. From that point on, Emer's life is one disappointment after another: poverty, arranged marriage, abusive uncle, hu...more This is definitely one of the more interesting premises that I've encountered in young adult fiction and, given all of the carbon copy Twilight/Harry Potter series books out there, it deserves high praise for that alone.

Young Emer Morrisey has a loving family and a happy childhood until her parents are brutally killed and her village destroyed during Cromwell's invasion of Ireland. From that point on, Emer's life is one disappointment after another: poverty, arranged marriage, abusive uncle, hunger, imprisonment, and rape. It's no wonder that she loses hope in goodness and kindness and, when fate brings her to the pirate haven of Tortuga, she decides to take from others as viciously as life has taken from her. That's right--Emer is kicking ass and taking names as the captain of her own pirate ship and it's not long before she manages to make a name for herself as one of the most cunning and bloodthirsty pirates to ever sail the seven seas. When Emer crosses the wrong man, she is killed and cursed with "The Dust of 100 Dogs," meaning that she will be reincarnated 100 times as a dog before finally being reincarnated as a human being and able to take care of unfinished business.

The novel begins with the birth of Saffron Adams, the human reincarnation of Emer after she has endured several canine lifetimes. Saffron is her own person, yet still has all of Emer's memories and knowledge. As Saffron searches for the treasure Emer was able to bury before her death, the novel deftly switches from past to present as we learn of Emer's past and Saffron's future. If all of this sounds bizarre and confusing, well, it is, but in a good way. The novel maintains suspense and draws all of the storylines together to a satisfactory conclusion. The one expectation that wasn't met for me is that we learn very little about Emer's dog lives; instead, the chapters are interspersed with short vignettes about what Emer the dog learned about human nature from various owners in various time periods. This was probably a smart move on the part of King as reading about the lives of 100 dogs, while intriguing, could become pretty tedious somewhere around the third Milkbone treat given, leg humped, or fire hydrant peed upon.

In reading other reviews, many readers were shocked by the brutality and the sexuality in the book (which I actually found to be pretty tame). Um, yeah, I think that it could be because it's a FREAKIN' PIRATE book and not a Disney theme park ride. Others seemed to be shocked to find such content in a young adult book, but I have no such worries. I'm sure teenagers have already figured out the sex thing, yeah? And they've probably done it from unsupervised watching of cable television and unmonitored Internet usage their parents make accessible. And it's a hell of a lot better than reading three books of Bella lusting after sparkling Edward's cold, marble . . . well, you know. (*removes self from soapbox and drags it back to the corner*)

So, yes, good book, definitely enjoyed it, and suffered no negative side effects other than a desire to walk around saying, "Arrrggghhh, me matey" to everyone I met for a week.(less)

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Jan 31, 2009 SheWunders rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-01, historical, ya-childrens_lit, 2009-cybils-finalist

Cross posted from my blog E. M. Reads

Wow, this is soooo good! 5 really big stars! I can't even begin to describe all the facets of Dust. It has 3 (maybe 4) different plot lines that converge beautifully. It's action packed and totally captivating. The book literally held my brain hostage for two days. When I wasn't reading it I was thinking about reading it (not a necessarily a good thing when you're working your 8 to 5).

Doing a typical synopsis would take hours and I just don't have the time t...more

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Oct 19, 2008 Rachael rated it 5 of 5 stars

Emer Morrisey, named after a female hero from an Irish tale, has almost lived up to her namesake. But history and circumstance has separated her from her one true love and eventually forced her into a life of piracy. Years later, this young and independent woman is ready to renounce her pirating ways, keeping only a small portion of her stolen riches, to be with her long lost love. Tragically, they are bother killed, and Emer is cursed with “the dust of one hundred dogs,” forcing her to endure o...more Emer Morrisey, named after a female hero from an Irish tale, has almost lived up to her namesake. But history and circumstance has separated her from her one true love and eventually forced her into a life of piracy. Years later, this young and independent woman is ready to renounce her pirating ways, keeping only a small portion of her stolen riches, to be with her long lost love. Tragically, they are bother killed, and Emer is cursed with “the dust of one hundred dogs,” forcing her to endure one hundred lifetimes as a canine. Three hundred years later, she’s an American teenager named Saffron Adams, and she remembers everything. Now all she needs is a shovel and a way to Jamaica.

In all honesty, The Dust of 100 Dogs can be summed up on one word: spectacular. I am not kidding when I say this novel blew my mind. There are several other tales of female pirates, such as To Catch a Pirate, but The Dust of 100 Dogs outshines them by far, and for several reasons. The plot is a unique and compelling fusion of seventeenth-century swashbuckling danger and romance, contemporary teen issues, and dog humor. All parts were written exceptionally well, and it’s difficult to say which I preferred because they were all so interesting. Emer/Saffron was such an original character; in all her lives, no matter how young, she always seemed so determined and mature. I really liked how she could keep her head amidst all the circumstances she encountered. I also enjoyed trying to equate the characters from the contemporary portion of this story with their seventeenth-century counterparts, if any. King’s writing is so powerful that at times, I felt I was in the story alongside Emer or Saffron; she succeeded in creating a romantic and unforgettable tale of everlasting love with magic and mystery. The Dust of 100 Dogs is sure to be a favorite as soon as it hits shelves among all readers, because this is a story that spans age and time.

I don’t think it would be fair to compare The Dust of 100 Dogs to books like To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker and Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn, even though it was a sort of combination of those two, because this story is nearly infinitely better. The Dust of 100 Dogs has earned a high spot on my favorites list and King is an author to watch.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com (less)

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Aug 03, 2008 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mature teens and adults

It's still months away from release date, but I was lucky enough to read an early copy of this book. I completely fell in love with it and agreed to blurb it:

The Dust of 100 Dogs is a non-traditional pirate tale with a dangerously raw, mystical edge and a unique modern twist that will make you cringe, despair, despise and adore. Deliciously fresh and starkly unforgettable...for at least the next three hundred years. –Lisa McMann, NYT bestselling author of WAKE

Watch for this book around the end o...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I don't really know what to make of this book; I almost feel that the back of the books description was a better read than the book itself. Which is weird because I didn't not like it, but If I was truly honest with myself I didn't research it before reading because I loved the cover so much which has gotten me to read a lot Young Adult Books that ended up being terrible before, and that brings me to another reason I had an issue with this book because I don't feel this should be listed as a rea...more I don't really know what to make of this book; I almost feel that the back of the books description was a better read than the book itself. Which is weird because I didn't not like it, but If I was truly honest with myself I didn't research it before reading because I loved the cover so much which has gotten me to read a lot Young Adult Books that ended up being terrible before, and that brings me to another reason I had an issue with this book because I don't feel this should be listed as a read for anyone under the age 17 because of its content. Now with that said don't hate on me because I'm so very much not a prude because hello look at the other stuff I read, but as someone who has a niece who is about to be in her teens not so long from now I would want to strangle someone who would recommended this book to her.

Now for the things I did like, I loved everything about Emer, specially her childhood, before her uncle. I loved how fierce she was with everything about her. I hurt for her when she hurt and loved with her when she loved. I loved the bond that she and Seanie had. It was wonderfully descriptive in all the right places. I also enjoyed the Idea that a dog or a child had this amazing 300 year of brain that never forgot a thing, it was a great concept, that wasn't executed badly but not what I was looking for, and lastly I loved how every time Saffron got annoyed by anyone even her "Mother, Father, ect..." she pictured doing horrible things to them like Emer the Pirate would have. I giggled at those moments.

Now the things I didn't like, first I have to say I don't really like first person yet in this case it wasn't so bad because it wasn't constant. I didn't like how cold both the main characters were, I would have liked to see Saffron remove that detached talk she always had when describing someone else or interacting with someone else. I hated the anti-climatic ending with that pervy Frenchman/Englishman guy, as well as the total ending of the book itself. I mean really what was that last line about. Here is how I gauge the book.

Build up
Explain
Explain
Dog fact
Build up
Explain
Explain
Dog fact
Creepy
Creepy
Deflate
Deflate
Crappy Ending

Over all I can't say it was worst book I ever read but I can't say it was the best book I ever read either because when it ended I was left with the feeling of what did I just read, what was the point and why can't I remember the past few hours of my life.
(less)

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Apr 22, 2009 Maurynne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing book! Love the author's take on things, especially the "asides" chapters that explain life from a dog's perspective. It's being marketed as YA and I recognize totally the wise, wise-cracking and desperate voice of an intelligent outsider teen. But there's certainly adult subject matter--remember that adulthood came early in those days.
You see, Emer was a girl pirate in the 17th century--and just as she had found her true love (after much tribulation) she was killed and cursed to live the...more

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Apr 18, 2009 Max rated it 4 of 5 stars

Emer Morrisey is a pirate. When she's killed, she's cursed to live the life of a hundred dogs before becoming human again, and with her memories still intact. The book takes us to both lives, one where her family is killed in war and she's separated from the one she loves, the other being her modern life where she's trying to find the treasure she buried as a pirate while simultaneously dealing with her concerned parents and out-of-contol brother.

The Dust of 100 Dogs is a fun novel to read. Both...more

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Jan 17, 2011 Whitney rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In the late seventeenth century, Emer was the biggest and badest pirate around, stealing treasure, taking over ships and pulling out eyeballs. For once in her life everything seemed to be going just right. She was going to leave her pirate life behind and run off with her true love. Then she was curtest with the dust of 100 dogs by an evil shaman. Forcing the great pirate leader, Emer, to live 100 different lives as a dog. Now 300 years later she has been reincarnated as, Saffron, a child genius...more

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Jan 29, 2011 Lauren Librarian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

With a complex and interesting plot, this story is a truly captivating read. A mix of historical pirate lore and modern teen drama, King does a fantastic job of drawing in the reader with her characters. Since Emer/Saffron was a dog 100 lifetimes, that dog shows through as a character too. There is something very cartoonish and comical about the repeated violence. Saffron has the former life of the pirate in her brain fantasizing about gouging people's eyes out and hitting them with their own sl...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Jo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, history-smishtory

“Emer…eventually found she enjoyed ripping an eye from the men she killed. Especially the men who glared at her body. It was a way to remind them to never underestimate a woman, she figured. One less eye to ogle with.”

High Points.
The cover. Seriously, how gorgeous is that cover? It’s definitely one of my favourites from this year. The idea. Emer’s childhood. Adventures on the high seas. Treasure.

Low Points.
The execution. I just feel so very disappointed because I can’t help but think this book...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen, young-adult, great-titles, favorite-covers, historical-fiction, ireland, pirates, highly-recommend

Originality of story, creative formatting, unpredictable characters, and some history thrown in are aspects of what I consider great reading. They also happen to be aspects of this novel, The Dust of 100 Dogs. Add a great title and great cover art to the mix, and, voila, a successful novel is born. From the hardships of an Irish childhood after the wake of Oliver Cromwell to her high adventure of female pirate of the Caribbean to the ordinariness of teenagedom in small-town America, Emer Morrise...more

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Mar 22, 2009 Theresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

I really liked this one.

This is the story of Emer Morrisey, a late 17th century teenaged female pirate. It is also the story of Saffron Adams, the last of five children born in 1972 to Sadie and Alfred Adams in Hollow Ford, Pennsylvania.

It seems that just as Emer was going to stop being a pirate and settle down with her one true love (and all the treasure she stole) she and her lover were murdered and she was cursed with the dust of 100 dogs, dooming her to live 100 lives as a dog before she is...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

Initially I was skeptical. I mean all I have been hearing is how fabulous this novel is. And I found myself thinking.... can it really be that good? Will I end up hating for the mere fact that everyone else loves it?

But alas, I read it and understood what all the fuss was really about. Because believe me when I say, it was really that good.

For me it all goes back to Emer Morrisey. Her story was dare I say is unimaginable and have that come across as a compliment? I was so saturated with her st...more

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Jan 24, 2009 Linda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Unique, intriguing, wonderful main character (both of her personalities!)

I especially love her inner thoughts which slice up "pirate" revenge on anyone who is vexing her like when a date she's on goes bad and she visualizes: I was already stuffing his eye sockets with salted limes, already carving his acne off, zit by zit, and feeding it to him. Her language and characterizations are original and clever.

This book is not meant for young kids since it portrays violent historical moments of pillag...more

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Apr 05, 2009 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: pirates, 2009, pub-flux

I saw this book cover all over the Internet for several weeks but never looked into the storyline because it didn't seem like my kind of book (judging by the cover). Then I read what it was about and saw the trailer and was instantly intrigued. A girl who becomes a pirate, is cursed to live the lives of 100 dogs before resuming human form again and searching for her buried treasure? Pretty cool!

It was a good book but my expectations where high so I was disappointed. It was slow to get into. Firs...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Caitlín (Ink Mage) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: nautical

I hate to be one of the few people who isn't gushing about this book, but I really can't. It was a very interesting idea, but not (in my opinion) AMAZING like a lot of reviews found it to be. I thought the characters were pretty flat, and felt very removed from them. Emer/Saffron kept talking about how she wanted to rip out people's eyes, but I really didn't see the reason that she should be more than annoyed at them. It was as if the author was telling us that Saffron was a ruthless pirate, ins...more

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Mar 30, 2009 Vania rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-shelf

This book is an instant hook. I wanted to keep reading it even after the last page, especially since it ended the way it did, so open ended. Sequel perhaps?

I loved how the book was broken up into the different points of view. Saffron, Emer, Fred, and of course the dogs. I enjoyed reading Emer's story primarily because, well, who doesn't love pirates, especially kick ass female pirate like Emer. She is such a ferociously tough character that you are instantly compelled to root for her.

Emer and Sa...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Cody Principe rated it 5 of 5 stars

First I would recomend this to big adventure reading people this book is basically an adventure.

Emer was an average 17th century Irish girl, until her family was killed in war and she's sent to live with her abusive uncle. He soon sold her off to a Frenchman, but before she could even look at him twice, she ran away to the Carribean and became a pirate (which makes more sense than I make it sound). But just before she can settle down, she's cursed to live 100 lifetimes as a dog. Dog Facts are pl...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Rose rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book had a lot more mature topics than I thought that there were going to be. I expected a certain level, given the pirates, but not that much. Then there's the little "doggy lessons" scattered throughout the book. Emer tells the reader how to take care of their dog, then follows with her own experience as a dog in whatever situation she's talking about. Saffron (that's Emer's current reincarnation) keeps talking about herself and Emer as separate entities, but she has all of Emer's memori...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Maggie Desmond-O'Brien rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was one of those books where I just knew I shouldn't have, but ended up happy anyway. Cash-strapped in an indie bookstore, I was there for Mockingjay and nothing else. Only...only...they didn't actually have Mockingjay. As depressed as I was, I saw this book on the shelves and just couldn't let it stay there. Never mind the fact that I had all of twenty five bucks in my wallet at the time, Mom came to the rescue. I mean, come on. Not only had I heard fabulous things about the book and found...more This was one of those books where I just knew I shouldn't have, but ended up happy anyway. Cash-strapped in an indie bookstore, I was there for Mockingjay and nothing else. Only...only...they didn't actually have Mockingjay. As depressed as I was, I saw this book on the shelves and just couldn't let it stay there. Never mind the fact that I had all of twenty five bucks in my wallet at the time, Mom came to the rescue. I mean, come on. Not only had I heard fabulous things about the book and found the author witty and wise on Twitter, when was the last time you read a really excellent book about pirates? (I wrote about this last week, remember?) In my post-Mockingjay daze (I ended up finding the last copy at the fourth bookstore we tried), up to my eyeballs in environmental biology textbooks and St. Augustine's Confessions for English class, I somehow managed to make time for this book. And boy, was I ever not disappointed.

While the narrative is choppy and hard to understand at times, A.S. King does an excellent job of navigating Saffron, Fred, and Emer's stories with a distinctive and unflinching voice. Whether it's Ireland under Cromwell, a Jamaica beach, or a trailer park, I do not exaggerate when I say it feels like we're there. The characters are well-drawn and believable, and *issue* topics are navigated with a savvy understanding of how the world works that's a joy to read. In fact, I would say that my favorite subplot of the whole story was queer-or-not-queer Fred. Maybe it was the fact that you knew he was a train wreck waiting to happen, or the fact that it's fun in a sick and twisted way to get into that old creep on the beach's head, or the fact that you know he's really, truly broken inside. No matter what, I'd love to see A.S. King write a novel geared more towards adults with that voice. She really nailed that am-I-gay? angst that I'm pretty sure everybody, at some time or other, especially in this day and age, has experienced.

Despite the fact that Emer's a pirate and Saffron's "just a kid", I actually thought Saffron was tougher and crueler. Her harsh evaluations of her parents and her habit of dismembering in her mind the people that tick her off made her a very dark protagonist, the kind that makes you face the way you relate to the world around you. Emer was softer around the edges, but no less real. And I've already proclaimed my kind-of-icky love for Fred.

One thing that was a bit of a "Huh?" about this novel were the flashbacks to life as a dog. They felt the least polished and most confusing, and detracted from the rest of the book. This is mostly just the perfectionist in me rearing its ugly head, though, so don't let that put you off.

The final thing I must say about this book is heck yes to the multiple lives thing. The first novel I ever finished a draft of - now scrapped, but I'm sure I'll come back to the idea someday - featured living out your past lives prominently, mostly because it's a theme I adore. There are just some things in life we can't explain: some gut feeling, some inexplicable attraction or repulsion to somebody or something. And as a storyteller, naturally, I have to wonder if that feeling has a root sometime before. So beyond characters and description, that was probably my favorite aspect of this book, especially in the final pages.

This is one of the most un-eloquent reviews I've ever written, but I hope you'll get the point. This book pretty much rocked, and I can't wait to read Please Ignore Vera Dietz. After reading a lot of bad and/or totally exhausting (I'm looking at you, Mockingjay!) YA books lately, it's refreshing to read something as fun and excellent as this! I have never been so tempted to use the words rip-roaring in a review.(less)

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Jan 04, 2012 Shweta rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fantasy

Emer Morrisey had a hard life as a child. She had a much more difficult life as an adult. She was sold off to an old man when all she wanted, was to be with the love of her life . Destiny though had other plans for Emer. She ran away from France and made a life for herself in Caribbean. She became a famed and feared pirate . It was a new life which began with an assault and ended with a curse . Just before dying a death which was so not necessary at that point of time , she was cursed to live 10...more Emer Morrisey had a hard life as a child. She had a much more difficult life as an adult. She was sold off to an old man when all she wanted, was to be with the love of her life . Destiny though had other plans for Emer. She ran away from France and made a life for herself in Caribbean. She became a famed and feared pirate . It was a new life which began with an assault and ended with a curse . Just before dying a death which was so not necessary at that point of time , she was cursed to live 100 dog lives. Which too, eventually came to an end and finally now she is born with a human body as Saffron Adams , who has every single memory of her 101 past lives . She also has some cool dog wisom to offer which believe it or not ,can get you thinking. Also she has the knowledge about her hidden treasure. And the girl wants it back!

I loved Emer . She is vulnerable as she is gutsy. She shows emotions when necessary but most of the times she is driven by the passion to gauge out eyeballs. Yes , you heard it right , she likes carving out the eyeballs off her victims. Remember, pirate and all ! Which as disgusting as it sounds, is the only alternative left for this lone girl in a land so ruthless and male dominated. Anger isn't a feeling that you develop towards her even though she shows no remorse.It's frustration you feel , looking at her horribly wronged life, which is goes down hill by the minute and when there's finally some hope for sunshine it's all taken away.

Saffron on the other hand, I sympathized with for having to live a life branded with Emer's past and those of the 100 dogs that she was. But that's where my liking for her ends. She was far too bored with life to be a interesting character. Somehow my connection with her was not that well tuned . I went to through Saffron's part in the book waiting patiently for Emer's story. I also liked the idea of dog facts interspersed with the narrative.According to me they were the zing factor to the book. No way associated with the main story but all the while relevant in some way.

Now coming to Mr Creepy Pervert. I know that's not his name but if given a choice that's what I would call him. I think the way he shadowed the story all the while I was scared to read everytime he came up in the narrative. There is something so wrong about him that he can give you goosebumps through the pages. Ok, that's enough about him. I finished the book a day back and he is still scary /creepy to write about. I really didn't want to talk about him but without that factor I am not sure the tone of the book would have been this powerful.

Coming back to showering praises --> I loved that the story had a gamut of human emotions in play - love, passion, hate, anger , jealousy, revenge . I could make a list and I know it will be a looong one! The writing is absolutely fantastic. I would read anything written by A.S.King. Anything !

Final verdict would be : Absolutely AMAZING! I can't praise it enough and I know I haven't done justice with my really clumsy jumpy writing , but if you have just skipped it all to read the last paragraph , I would like to stress again that you do need to read this book. Awesomeness could have been it's title and I wouldn't have flinched. That good!!(less)

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Jul 30, 2011 Meggy rated it 1 of 5 stars

It was mediocre at best. Not especially intriguing, but it wasn't god-awful either. The plot wasn't used to its full potential: a "badass" pirate chick gets cursed to live the lives of 100 dogs before finally being reborn as a human, and all the reader gets is a couple of dog facts that don't even pertain to the story and interrupt the flow of the chapters. There were numerous examples of telling and not showing (um, how does a girl who has never handled a weapon before kill a handful of pirates...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Dawn Vanniman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I can’t help but think that “The Dust of 100 Dogs” isn’t really a YA novel. I know that some teenagers would definitely read it and love it, but reading it as an adult I found some of it to be very thought provoking. I’m glad to see that YA is beginning to blur that line between YA and Adult novels. So let’s take a look at this one…but first, can I mention the cover? LOVE IT! I adore the mod looking girl and the ship and the skull...just everything about it screamed "you want to read me!" Anyway...more I can’t help but think that “The Dust of 100 Dogs” isn’t really a YA novel. I know that some teenagers would definitely read it and love it, but reading it as an adult I found some of it to be very thought provoking. I’m glad to see that YA is beginning to blur that line between YA and Adult novels. So let’s take a look at this one…but first, can I mention the cover? LOVE IT! I adore the mod looking girl and the ship and the skull...just everything about it screamed "you want to read me!" Anyway, back to the review:

What do you do when your village is destroyed, you lose your true love and get sold into marriage? You become a bloodthirsty pirate! Emer Morrisey watched her village be destroyed at six years old, on her birthday. She escaped with the help of her uncle who beat her regularly until she quit talking. Emer didn’t talk for years, until she began embroidering again. In the meantime, she met her true love, Seanie. Seanie didn’t talk either. When her uncle sells her into marriage with a Frenchman, she loses all hope of ever seeing Seanie again. But Emer is a fighter and eventually ends up as the Captain of a pirate ship. It’s a struggle getting there and she has to avoid a second Frenchman who is obsessed with her. As is the case with pirates, Emer is killed and as she lay dying she is cursed to live out the lives of 100 dogs, with her memory intact, before she becomes a girl again.
Saffron Adams is born into a poor family. Everyone believes she’s a genius because she knows so much history. Saffron isn’t a genius, she’s the reincarnation of Emer. She has all of Emer’s knowledge, including where her buried pirate’s treasure is. All she has to do is wait until she’s eighteen and then she can go get it. I didn’t feel that I got to know Saffron or to care about her as a character, because Emer overpowered her. Even when she’s listening to her parents, she’s thinking about how she would skin them or mutilate them – that’s all the pirate, Emer. She continuously works toward being able to go to the tropics to find Emer’s buried treasure. Saffron seemed to be simply a vessel to carry Emer’s thoughts, feelings, wants and needs – with none of her own.
There are eight “Dog Facts” sections in the book – each describing some facets of dog behavior, from Emer’s experience. These seem to be applicable to humans as well as dogs and are quite interesting, as you’ll find yourself thinking that you know people that act like that.
I won’t tell anymore as I don’t want to spoil the ending for anyone, but I will say that it is one of the best books I have read and I’ve already loaned out my copy to one person and recommended it to several more. The story captivated me and I found myself rooting for Emer to get what she wanted and to have a happy ending.(less)

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

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 me...more 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. (less)

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Aug 31, 2010 Alana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, adventure

It's pretty much a given that an Irish childhood is a difficult one - but things are more difficult still for Emer Morrisey who was growing up during Cromwell's invasions into Ireland. But Emer is not one to be daunted easily. So when she is torn from her childhood love and meant to be married off to a Frenchman, she turns notorious pirate instead! And what's a pirate without a curse?

Saffron Adams is born in the 1970s in a trailer park with all of Emer's memories (and bloodthirsty inclinations)...more It's pretty much a given that an Irish childhood is a difficult one - but things are more difficult still for Emer Morrisey who was growing up during Cromwell's invasions into Ireland. But Emer is not one to be daunted easily. So when she is torn from her childhood love and meant to be married off to a Frenchman, she turns notorious pirate instead! And what's a pirate without a curse?

Saffron Adams is born in the 1970s in a trailer park with all of Emer's memories (and bloodthirsty inclinations) - and a drive to get the heck out of her dreadful life with her dull parents and nasty brother, grab her buried treasure and live a life of ease. After some initial difficulties, she hops over to Jamaica to see if she can't find the gold - and runs into some trouble with an odd lecherous middle-aged man who may or may not be the reincarnation of that very dastardly Frenchman.

I wanted to like this book so much. It's got a fun premise (who doesn't love pirates, or teenagers that dream of popping the eyeballs out of their algebra teacher?), dogs, and all kinds of quirky. And parts of it, I really did like - I was swept away by Emer's childhood in Ireland, and I enjoyed reading about her slow burgeoning romance with Seanie. But round-about the time she turns pirate, I stopped liking her much.

I admired Emer's strength in getting herself to Jamaica, but I was pretty pissed off about her sexual choices. Let me be abundantly clear here, I don't have a quarrel with the author or her presentation of Emer's decision. This is a very honest and real portrayal of a dilemma young women face (in a less drastic form) and Emer's decision to have sex with a man she doesn't love to 'get it over with' essentially isn't glorified or condemned. The decision, and its consequences, are dealt with in an unflichingly honest way - everything is very much shades of gray. My quarrel is thus not with the author, but with the character. I didn't like the character's decision. It made me lose respect for Emer. And that wasn't the only section where the sexual undercurrents of the novel squicked me out. The entire situation with the middle-aged creep in Jamaica gave me the heebie-jeebies.

As to the dog facts - I liked some of them, some were incredibly sad, several were irritatingly preachy (the one about the Civil War just made me downright irate). What I didn't quite get was how they tied into the rest of the novel. They seemed largely random with no real connection to what was going on in either Emer or Saffron's stories - and that made them seem more like a gimmick than anything, which was a bit disappointing.

Given my reaction to a lot of the moral dilemmas and the moral stances the author throws into the mix, this was never going to be a favorite of mine. But with the cover and the premise, I expected something with more swashbuckling adventuring in the past life, maybe some entertaining sections in math class about keelhauling someone. So I was taken aback by the novel's tone and by its grittiness. While others found a lot to love in Saffron and Emer's stories, The Dust of 100 Dogs just wasn't the story for me.(less)

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Aug 02, 2010 Jacki rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-fiction, historical, fantasy

I was excited about this book! A reincarnated female pirate who lived the lives of 100 dogs before returning to claim her buried treasure? How different! How unique! How action-packed! Right?

Wrong.

This book is the Neverending Backstory. The first 200 pages are nothing but backstory on the heroine's first miserable life in Ireland and her current miserable life as a high school student. The most piratical action we see is the modern-day incarnation fantasizing about stabbing people with a marlins...more

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