Dust Bowl Children

by Wile E. Young

Times are hard for folks and it’s even harder for siblings Calvin and Abigail Shepherd after the untimely death of their mother at the height of the Great Depression. With dust storms ravaging their home in Ross, Oklahoma, they wonder how they are going to make ends meet.

Already ostracized due to being children of an unwed and unusual mother, suspicion only grows when strange happenings begin to plague the town. Missing children, deformed animals, and strange deaths are only the beginning of this storm of the natural and supernatural.

As the dust blows, the Shepherd siblings find themselves stalked by an ancient evil that will stop at nothing to get what belongs to it, and that their mother might have had more secrets than they ever could’ve imagined in this dark retelling of Hansel and Gretel.

Genres: Horror, Historical Fiction

382 pages, Paperback

Published June 27, 2022

Reviews

[Escapereality4now · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Dust Bowl Children”, by Wile E Young, was a dark retelling of Hansel and Gretel. What a fantastic audiobook this is!! The narrators are outstanding. I thoroughly enjoyed this haunting, creepy story.

Calvin and Abigail lose their mom during the great depression. “Dust Bowl Children” alternates points of view between Abigail and Calvin. Young fleshed out these characters extremely well. The reader gets a glimpse of their grief, confusion, and survival.
As Abigail and Calvin go through life, they also their mom often. She lives in their minds.

Young captured the mood of the great depression perfectly.. I loved the bleak undertones and the dust rolling landscape. The beautiful writing brings this story to light.

“Dust Bowl Children” is well paced. I felt Young, spent time orchestrating the development of the plot. There is never a dull moment. There are some fascinating scenes in this book: deformed animals, fear, gore, carrion, missing kids, rotting flesh and unusual innards. “Dust Bowl Children” is much more than the hellish visuals. Young takes us on a dark journey.

“Dust Bowl Children” audiobook is a production of encycoolicalyse.

[Paul Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bleak world unfolds as chapters switch perceptions from siblings Calvin and Abigail, each lends us their fears of life during the Great Depression in the dust bowl of Oklahoma. If we only had to worry about starving and dehydration then things wouldn’t be bad, instead odd occurrences are happening all over town, deformed animals, missing children, strange noises and sightings, these make going without food and water feel acceptable.
In the eerie dimness of dust storms and sweat, blood is muddied with grit and so are the characters that bring this wonderful story to life. Fear is palpable in this story and the writing is as beautiful as this story is horrific. Something evil has come to claim it’s due.

[Joan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Wile E. Young and Emily Young.

I began this story cause i really liked the cover art. The title reminded me that the story might be located in Oklahoma. The novel gave me the Feels.

It reminded me of a darker version of vintage western stories of the 1970s and up.

Supernatural
Western horror
Dark Fantasy

[Jaeden Horror reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is it, my favorite book I have ever read! I loved all the characters so much. They were written phenomenally well. Oh my this is definitely going to be on my mind for a loooooonnnggg time!

Seriously, this is possibly my favorite horror book of all time.

I wouldn’t even be mad if there were to be a part 2.

I love you so much, Calvin Shepherd. You just want what is right for everyone.

I’m thinking about re-reading this again in a few days. That’s how much I loved this book!

I’ll definitely re-read this at least once a year, at least, moving forward.

[Linda Mcintire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book! Just creepy enough without going overboard. It is horror, though, not historical fiction. Don’t let the title fool you! This would have been a 5 star for me if it weren’t for a few things that I felt weren’t historically accurate. They bugged me just enough to drop it down a star. It is still a solid 4 star for me. Looking forward to reading more by these authors!!

[Jesse Bollinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story was truly phenomenal. I loved the historical aspect as well as the characters. The characters leapt off the page and were extremely likable. The creepy factor escalated as the story went on. There was a sense of unease creeping throughout the novel and it hit 100% by the end. I loved this story! Some of the images that were conveyed will stick with me for a long time in my nightmares. I read a lot of horror novels, and it takes a lot to get to me. I was honestly creeped out by many parts of this story.

[Melany · Rating 5 out of 5]

great storytelling. hard to put down. loved the characters. give us more.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book switches back and forth between the 2 main characters point of views.
You immediately get drawn in to them, like and care about the characters. It’s hard to like characters immediately in a short amount of time, but the authors do a good job of sucking you in.
I listened to the book in 2 days in audible and couldn’t stop. I had to keep listening to figure out what was going to happen next. The imagery is vivid, the characters well developed and easy to love or hate.
Unique story with a great ending! Definitely recommend this book and look forward to future books

[Kilgallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid story with excellent character development. I find myself drawn to the time period that this takes place in and the authors showed great skill in immersing the reader in the reality of the depression .From the constant threat of hunger, the loss of life and livelihood, to the unrelenting dust storms, the setting was bleak and inhospitable. The addition of the horror aspect of the story felt natural and never seemed forced or gratuitous. The pacing of the book was quite well done and I so appreciated the ending. Well worth a read!

[Sean Isgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pacing of this story was fantastic. The characters were well done and the story was very well thought out. It’s May 2023 as I write this and I would say this is the best book I have read in 2023.

[Robert Bowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly creepy!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent horror novel

[Dustin Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it. Nice little folk horror story.