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You Are But Dust
Most people fear Death. But Samarra feels safest by his side.
Grief is drowning Samarra’s mind. Her sister’s death was too sudden, too senseless. No one will even speak of the night she died, leaving Samarra silenced and alone. That is, until she comes face-to-face with Death himself.
With piercing white eyes, a sharp grin, and a voice that sedates her fractured mind, Death is more comforting than anything she has ever known. He quiets her grief, whispers truths about her sister’s final moments, and tempts her with the vengeance she craves. But he vanishes as suddenly as he appeared.
Alone in her chaotic life, Samarra is suffocating. Her mother is absent, her friendships are crumbling, and violent thugs are hunting her. She doesn’t know if Death was real or a hallucination of her unraveling mind. All she knows is that she needs to feel his peace again.
And she’ll do whatever it takes to bring him back.
Grief is drowning Samarra’s mind. Her sister’s death was too sudden, too senseless. No one will even speak of the night she died, leaving Samarra silenced and alone. That is, until she comes face-to-face with Death himself.
With piercing white eyes, a sharp grin, and a voice that sedates her fractured mind, Death is more comforting than anything she has ever known. He quiets her grief, whispers truths about her sister’s final moments, and tempts her with the vengeance she craves. But he vanishes as suddenly as he appeared.
Alone in her chaotic life, Samarra is suffocating. Her mother is absent, her friendships are crumbling, and violent thugs are hunting her. She doesn’t know if Death was real or a hallucination of her unraveling mind. All she knows is that she needs to feel his peace again.
And she’ll do whatever it takes to bring him back.
366 pages, Paperback
Published October 27, 2025
606 people are currently reading
18309 people want to read
About the author
Hannah Clayton
2 books89 followersHannah Clayton lives in Manchester, UK. By day, she supports people’s mental health while completing her doctorate in clinical psychology. By night, she writes unsettling psychological thrillers, fuelled by her fascination with the human psyche. This passion led to the creation of her novels 'Until the Shadows Lengthen' and 'You are but Dust,' which explore the power of our minds to both save and destroy us.
Drawing on her clinical psychology work, Hannah has witnessed both the darkest struggles and the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit. Through her novels, she explores this delicate balance, portraying the shadows that follow us all as well as the glimmers of hope that light our way.
To keep up with her, you can follow Hannah on Tiktok @hannahswritings or check out her website and sign up for new book email alerts: www.shadowlitbooks.co.uk
Drawing on her clinical psychology work, Hannah has witnessed both the darkest struggles and the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit. Through her novels, she explores this delicate balance, portraying the shadows that follow us all as well as the glimmers of hope that light our way.
To keep up with her, you can follow Hannah on Tiktok @hannahswritings or check out her website and sign up for new book email alerts: www.shadowlitbooks.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
October 11, 2025
Hello!
Full disclosure: I wrote this book, so I'm very biased. But I wanted to use this space not to review my work but to give you a sense of what to expect, along with some important content warnings.
You Are But Dust is a young adult psychological thriller/horror that explores the suffocating weight of grief and the dangerous comfort Death promises. At its heart, it’s about a young student unraveling after her sister’s funeral, who turns to visions of Death himself as a way to cope with the pain she can no longer manage. Expect a chaotic, unsettling descent into madness with blurred reality, growing obsession, and self-destruction.
If you’re drawn to dark, psychological stories like Talk to Me, The Haunting of Hill House, Black Swan, or Requiem for a Dream, this book may resonate with you.
Content Warnings: grief, addiction, suicidal ideation, substance use, physical violence, and an overarching focus on death (both as a character and a concept). I’ve worked in clinical psychology for several years and have had personal experiences with these themes, so I’ve done my best to approach them with sensitivity and authenticity. Please take care of yourself and step away if these themes feel too heavy, as your wellbeing should always come first.
Lastly, I wanted to note that writing this book was my way of wrestling with my own emotions and ever-changing relationship with death. It took a lot of work to bring this story to life. My hope is that it finds the readers who need it most, to remind them they are not as alone as they might feel. As my dedication says, this book is:
For everyone who has thought about death because life was too much to bear. I’m so glad you’re still here.
Full disclosure: I wrote this book, so I'm very biased. But I wanted to use this space not to review my work but to give you a sense of what to expect, along with some important content warnings.
You Are But Dust is a young adult psychological thriller/horror that explores the suffocating weight of grief and the dangerous comfort Death promises. At its heart, it’s about a young student unraveling after her sister’s funeral, who turns to visions of Death himself as a way to cope with the pain she can no longer manage. Expect a chaotic, unsettling descent into madness with blurred reality, growing obsession, and self-destruction.
If you’re drawn to dark, psychological stories like Talk to Me, The Haunting of Hill House, Black Swan, or Requiem for a Dream, this book may resonate with you.
Content Warnings: grief, addiction, suicidal ideation, substance use, physical violence, and an overarching focus on death (both as a character and a concept). I’ve worked in clinical psychology for several years and have had personal experiences with these themes, so I’ve done my best to approach them with sensitivity and authenticity. Please take care of yourself and step away if these themes feel too heavy, as your wellbeing should always come first.
Lastly, I wanted to note that writing this book was my way of wrestling with my own emotions and ever-changing relationship with death. It took a lot of work to bring this story to life. My hope is that it finds the readers who need it most, to remind them they are not as alone as they might feel. As my dedication says, this book is:
For everyone who has thought about death because life was too much to bear. I’m so glad you’re still here.
October 19, 2025
You Are But Dust is such a powerful and emotional read. It’s a raw look at grief and loneliness but also the dangers of escape through addiction. I loved the way the book gets inside Sam’s head - the scribbled, diary-like notes make everything feel so real. It’s intense, beautifully written and made me stop and think more than once. Definitely one of those books that stays with you after you finish it.
December 29, 2025
could not put it down
January 4, 2026
I loved the idea of this book. I found it on TikTok and it had such an interesting premise. It was advertised as a psychological thriller, which I read a lot of, but I don’t feel like it was accurate. I am also a therapist, so I looked forward to the clinical aspect of this book that the author had alluded to in her videos. However, this book fell really flat for me.
I enjoyed the fact that the book is about looking for little glimmers to get you through the day to day stuff. But I do not feel that it showcased addiction well. Perhaps it’s because my version was the Kindle version, but the chapters would start in the middle and the format was not accurate at all, which is a personal preference but something that bugs me and feels very sloppy. I did not like that. The author felt the need to state things like “CRACK, THUMP,” etc. The writing felt extremely juvenile, and the sentences were simple and all over the place constantly. Well, I understood what the author was trying to do with the hallucinations and explain how addiction can make hallucinations feel like reality, even when it is not, I do not feel like this was executed well. It was never explained very well what was actually real and what wasn’t. I usually read books in a day, maybe two and I found myself really struggling to want to keep chipping away at this one, and it was almost a DNF for me. I also do not feel like it was a psychological thriller at all. There was no crazy twist in the story, there were lots of characters, but you don’t really see character development from anyone. You basically just watch a girl ramble to herself, and then actually fight people or hallucinate, which I’m still not sure when she actually got into altercations with other characters versus hallucinating it. The ending was horrible and felt very rushed. I like my thrillers to have a nice little bow wrapped story, and in this one, you don’t get any sort of resolution. There’s way too much left on sad and perhaps the author did it with hopes of writing a sequel, but I feel like this one needs a complete rewrite before she considers that. I waited until this book went on sale and spent five dollars on it, and I can’t imagine paying full price because I would’ve been upset and felt like it was a waste of money. Even at five dollars, I feel like I could’ve put that towards a much better book and it reinforced why I only read smaller authors on KU and then buy the book if I like it enough. I see what the author was trying to do, but it was so repetitive “the throat rattled”, “everything ends in dust”, it was just a waste of my time. I can’t in good faith recommend this book to anyone and can only hope the author takes feedback and applies it to future books.
I enjoyed the fact that the book is about looking for little glimmers to get you through the day to day stuff. But I do not feel that it showcased addiction well. Perhaps it’s because my version was the Kindle version, but the chapters would start in the middle and the format was not accurate at all, which is a personal preference but something that bugs me and feels very sloppy. I did not like that. The author felt the need to state things like “CRACK, THUMP,” etc. The writing felt extremely juvenile, and the sentences were simple and all over the place constantly. Well, I understood what the author was trying to do with the hallucinations and explain how addiction can make hallucinations feel like reality, even when it is not, I do not feel like this was executed well. It was never explained very well what was actually real and what wasn’t. I usually read books in a day, maybe two and I found myself really struggling to want to keep chipping away at this one, and it was almost a DNF for me. I also do not feel like it was a psychological thriller at all. There was no crazy twist in the story, there were lots of characters, but you don’t really see character development from anyone. You basically just watch a girl ramble to herself, and then actually fight people or hallucinate, which I’m still not sure when she actually got into altercations with other characters versus hallucinating it. The ending was horrible and felt very rushed. I like my thrillers to have a nice little bow wrapped story, and in this one, you don’t get any sort of resolution. There’s way too much left on sad and perhaps the author did it with hopes of writing a sequel, but I feel like this one needs a complete rewrite before she considers that. I waited until this book went on sale and spent five dollars on it, and I can’t imagine paying full price because I would’ve been upset and felt like it was a waste of money. Even at five dollars, I feel like I could’ve put that towards a much better book and it reinforced why I only read smaller authors on KU and then buy the book if I like it enough. I see what the author was trying to do, but it was so repetitive “the throat rattled”, “everything ends in dust”, it was just a waste of my time. I can’t in good faith recommend this book to anyone and can only hope the author takes feedback and applies it to future books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2026
I am so sad, but this was a bad trip. I was influenced into reading this book because of the premise I saw on instagram (girl slowely losing her grip on reality) and that was sooooo interesting to me. But it did not deliver at all. Everything was just so sudden, I feel like if little hints would’ve been put throughout the story it would be better. But now Sam was suddenly also addicted to drugs and the reveal was just bad. It could’ve been so good :(
I must say, i did really enjoy chapter 9 of the third part, that was beautiful and it gave me hope that maybe the ending of the book would be better. But that sadly wasn’t true. The writing was just too cringe. :((((
I must say, i did really enjoy chapter 9 of the third part, that was beautiful and it gave me hope that maybe the ending of the book would be better. But that sadly wasn’t true. The writing was just too cringe. :((((
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2025
I can’t lie this book was not at all what I was expecting. It was good but not exactly what I was after. Some of the writing like THUMP and CRACK during fight scenes made me cringe a bit but it was still very deep and insightful and cool jjst not very me.
November 16, 2025
Een flinke badtrip om het zacht te zeggen.
CRASH-THUD-DING-CRACK is ook echt een ick.
CRASH-THUD-DING-CRACK is ook echt een ick.
January 27, 2026
I have no words. this touched my soul deeply as someone who struggles with grief, depression and all the darkness that comes with being alive. this is a flashlight of a novel to anyone, for anyone that has felt the weight of darkness, the maze of our minds, the destruction that comes with being afraid. we are all afraid and that makes us feel so much and it's terrifying.
You Are But Dust is a terrifying, powerful and deep story on survival. This will stay with me for a long time and it's not only a highlight of how consuming the darkness can be but how bright it can get when you find the reason to live, in the simplest joy, moments of a random act. These are the reasons to be alive.
Please please please be mindful of your mental health and triggers when considering this book!
You Are But Dust is a terrifying, powerful and deep story on survival. This will stay with me for a long time and it's not only a highlight of how consuming the darkness can be but how bright it can get when you find the reason to live, in the simplest joy, moments of a random act. These are the reasons to be alive.
Please please please be mindful of your mental health and triggers when considering this book!
January 26, 2026
This book felt like a fever dream, and I absolutely loved it.
It was triggering in some parts, but also deeply meaningful. You Are But Dust confronts death and grief in a creatively nuanced way that makes Sam’s psychological spiral feel real enough to become your own. It’s the kind of narrative that can be deeply unsettling and strangely comforting at the same time, depending on where you are psychologically when you read it.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who finds comfort in sitting with deep, uncomfortable emotions rather than avoiding them.
It was triggering in some parts, but also deeply meaningful. You Are But Dust confronts death and grief in a creatively nuanced way that makes Sam’s psychological spiral feel real enough to become your own. It’s the kind of narrative that can be deeply unsettling and strangely comforting at the same time, depending on where you are psychologically when you read it.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who finds comfort in sitting with deep, uncomfortable emotions rather than avoiding them.
January 13, 2026
One of my most anticipated reads AND ITS AWFUL. I’m so disappointed. This book can CRASH THUD away from me
January 6, 2026
Samarra is drowning in grief after the death of her little sister, Evie—but grief is never one-size-fits-all. Samarra is fractured, isolated, and slowly losing her grip on reality. With no one willing to truly talk about Evie’s death, she finds unexpected comfort in the one being who will: Death.
Death becomes Samarra’s only source of solace. He quiets her pain, listens without judgment, and slowly reveals the truth behind Evie’s death. But when Death suddenly disappears, Samarra is left desperate—willing to do anything to feel that peace again, even if it means losing herself completely.
Hannah Clayton absolutely stunned me with this haunting psychological thriller. Dark, intimate, and emotionally gripping from start to finish, I was hooked from the first page and devoured this book in 5.5 hours. Beautifully written and deeply unsettling in the best way.
Death becomes Samarra’s only source of solace. He quiets her pain, listens without judgment, and slowly reveals the truth behind Evie’s death. But when Death suddenly disappears, Samarra is left desperate—willing to do anything to feel that peace again, even if it means losing herself completely.
Hannah Clayton absolutely stunned me with this haunting psychological thriller. Dark, intimate, and emotionally gripping from start to finish, I was hooked from the first page and devoured this book in 5.5 hours. Beautifully written and deeply unsettling in the best way.
January 23, 2026
I couldn’t even tell what was real or imagined!!! Could not put this book down and I loved the depth the author could convey using a background in clinical psychology.
January 13, 2026
I absolutely loved this book, yes it's a book about grief but it's not overly depressing more just a creepy ugly depiction of what grief does to your psyche, highly recommend.
October 19, 2025
A poignant journey exploring grief, loneliness, and the allure of death.
Hannah Clayton's second foray into YA has been a stellar triumph in showcasing character growth and the the uglier side of grief. Those who have lost a loved one, or have almost lost themselves, will feel seen by the uncensored writing and questionable actions of our hurting protagonist Sam. Rarely is death portrayed as what it can feel for many: an appealing escape. You Are But Dust takes this a step further and characterizes death itself, as they perform a charismatic dance with the protagonist and distort reality, this book is one that makes you question everything.
The greatest strength of this story is the true raw emotions of going through life's hardest challenge, and feeling alone, angry and numb to the world. Using humour to distract, substances to relax and violence to feel something; the characters are an unfiltered representation of an unpretty look at what we are all afraid of: becoming dust. And it will have you examining your own mortality every step of the way.
Hannah Clayton's second foray into YA has been a stellar triumph in showcasing character growth and the the uglier side of grief. Those who have lost a loved one, or have almost lost themselves, will feel seen by the uncensored writing and questionable actions of our hurting protagonist Sam. Rarely is death portrayed as what it can feel for many: an appealing escape. You Are But Dust takes this a step further and characterizes death itself, as they perform a charismatic dance with the protagonist and distort reality, this book is one that makes you question everything.
The greatest strength of this story is the true raw emotions of going through life's hardest challenge, and feeling alone, angry and numb to the world. Using humour to distract, substances to relax and violence to feel something; the characters are an unfiltered representation of an unpretty look at what we are all afraid of: becoming dust. And it will have you examining your own mortality every step of the way.
January 4, 2026
This book felt so hard to get through at times, but I couldn’t put it down and that’s the beauty of it. Grief and addiction are so hard to watch, and in this case, so hard to read. This was so well written and made me start to question the reality of where I was imagining the story would go. This book will stick with me for years to come.
January 5, 2026
Tung läsning, tuff att ta sig igenom emellanåt relaterat till handlingen men ville ändå inte lägga från mig boken! Skildrar mental ohälsa, död, sorg och ensamhet i kombination med drogmissbruk och dess konsekvenser. Lyfter även vikten av vänskap, sammanhållning och att stötta varandra genom tuffa stunder. Absolut läsvärd!
January 23, 2026
This book was so bad, the writing was just terrible! This was in no way a “psychological thriller” and it just felt like a run on story 1) it was inconsistent with what the character was saying vs her actions, 2) death was both a hallucination, untouchable, and apparently real where the main character could punch and kick him when it was convenient?? The story was felt like it was one continuous chapter, reusing same plot points and conflicts within every chunk of chapters. I felt like I was stuck on the Infinity Train with a terrible main character and plot that needed to be stretched to the max. I felt like the writing got worse and worse as I continued to read, something a middle schooler could write if not better
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2026
woah
WOW THIS WAS AMAZING. I’m so ,,, open? This book hurt but it was necessary and more people should read it.
WOW THIS WAS AMAZING. I’m so ,,, open? This book hurt but it was necessary and more people should read it.
January 21, 2026
i read this book in one day
January 9, 2026
This book is honestly not what i Imagined it to be.
Promised was a psychological thriller, but instead it felt like a “ it was all just a dream “ story with a weird amount of violence.
Besides that, the language was pretty repetitive after a while and words like THUMP, BANG, THUD felt very out of place. The symbolical talking about dust got a bit overused in my opinion.
Just expect more than “ someone losing their mind”. I was not prepared for the heavy violence that sometimes went on for pages and pages. That quite set me off because it was described as psychological yet no deep psychological themes have been discovered in the story.
The end was very anticlimactic even rushed. Sam had a very rushed character development. It felt weird that +6 months of such a heavy drug, kind of ended in the last chapter. I think relapses and so are such a big part of addiction that don’t get talked about enough.
Promised was a psychological thriller, but instead it felt like a “ it was all just a dream “ story with a weird amount of violence.
Besides that, the language was pretty repetitive after a while and words like THUMP, BANG, THUD felt very out of place. The symbolical talking about dust got a bit overused in my opinion.
Just expect more than “ someone losing their mind”. I was not prepared for the heavy violence that sometimes went on for pages and pages. That quite set me off because it was described as psychological yet no deep psychological themes have been discovered in the story.
The end was very anticlimactic even rushed. Sam had a very rushed character development. It felt weird that +6 months of such a heavy drug, kind of ended in the last chapter. I think relapses and so are such a big part of addiction that don’t get talked about enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2026
Way too chaotic and not at all what I expected from the advertisement on TikTok
January 22, 2026
“Maybe it always had to be like this. It always had to get worse before it could even think about getting better.” The most chaotic book and I had no clue what was happening most of the time cause the main character was hallucinating but that was the point lol.
January 6, 2026
Written by someone who has some kind of psychology degree and it shows. It has a great take on depression and anxiety mixed in with addiction problems and how it affects relationships/relationship with self. Great book for mental health, psychology nerds and can change your view on how life works/how to live.
January 2, 2026
I enjoyed the first 35% of this book & I do like the idea of it. But I felt like it ended up feeling really dragged out & I found myself often losing interest & putting it down.
October 26, 2025
i really liked the premise of this book and the thought of it however my feelings after reading this are so conflicted because there were parts i didnt enjoy and some i did so i feel like i’m straight in the middle with this one. i really liked the idea of how grief can really control every thought and your actions and seeing how death controlled her i really liked that part and her relationships with zain and ria, however some parts just really fell flat to me and just felt like it was sometimes dragging abit to get to the point and just was a little more bored at times. this book is definitely not a bad book because like i said i still enjoyed alot of parts but some parts just fell flat for me sadly. the message of this book is beautiful though and something i definitely relate to.
thank you to hannah clayton for the arc :)
thank you to hannah clayton for the arc :)
January 7, 2026
It wasn't for me. Although I loved the idea in the beginning. the first 100 pages we're great. good exposition, great premise. but after page 150 it started to feel repetitive. Sam fights almost everyone and when it seems like she won't win it, then after some miracle (mostly Death tells her to kill the person) she magically finds strenght. Her plot armor is insane, haha. I understand that she is hallucinating, so It's not weird that she wins everytime, but after the 3th fight, It's feels like a drag to read. Because you already know most of the times how it will end.
Also the dialogue feels repetitive. Why does Death needs to say Goddamn in nearly every sentence from the second half of the book?
Also the THUD, CRACK, were a bit ofputting. They were just too much. Mostly because there were so many fight scenes.
Again, I really liked the premise of the story. Trying to be eye to eye with Death. To make Death a person (sort of). To have Dust be so important. How grieve can consume you, I loved all of that, but how the book is written is just not for me and that is mostly because of the repetitiveness and the lack of charactergrowth. That's why I couldn't put the first 100 pages away, but after that it missed something for me.
Also the dialogue feels repetitive. Why does Death needs to say Goddamn in nearly every sentence from the second half of the book?
Also the THUD, CRACK, were a bit ofputting. They were just too much. Mostly because there were so many fight scenes.
Again, I really liked the premise of the story. Trying to be eye to eye with Death. To make Death a person (sort of). To have Dust be so important. How grieve can consume you, I loved all of that, but how the book is written is just not for me and that is mostly because of the repetitiveness and the lack of charactergrowth. That's why I couldn't put the first 100 pages away, but after that it missed something for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2026
interesting concept but the book felt slightly repetitive in terms of sam’s interactions with ‘death’.
the ending felt like somewhat of a let down- it would’ve been nice to see what happens to sam or her coming to terms with what was real and what wasn’t.
i enjoy the symbolism throughout and it was easy to recognise the message the book was trying to put across.
there could’ve been a bit more character development of sam’s mum, maybe more details about their relationship after sam begins to ‘get better’.
overall it was interesting and a good concept.
the ending felt like somewhat of a let down- it would’ve been nice to see what happens to sam or her coming to terms with what was real and what wasn’t.
i enjoy the symbolism throughout and it was easy to recognise the message the book was trying to put across.
there could’ve been a bit more character development of sam’s mum, maybe more details about their relationship after sam begins to ‘get better’.
overall it was interesting and a good concept.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2026
Honestly, I stuck it out because I was excited to read this book based on how it was advertised on social media. I think the back of the book does not prepare you for the inside and I did not enjoy it as much as I was wanting to. I was surprised with what I got when I actually read it. Took me about 2 -2 1/2 hrs to read it and yes sometimes I got a bit confused.
I was expecting more grief, psychologically/mental/girl in pieces vibes based on what I gathered from advertisement.
I was expecting more grief, psychologically/mental/girl in pieces vibes based on what I gathered from advertisement.
January 26, 2026
It was a difficult read. Not because it wasn’t well written but because it too well written. I’m out of words to express how I feel about it.
While dealing with people around me who are abusing substances and very much into substances without acknowledging the harm, reading this made my heart break.
While dealing with people around me who are abusing substances and very much into substances without acknowledging the harm, reading this made my heart break.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews