DiDonovan

Of Dust and Tides is a short story collection about new adults just entering the adult world, and provides a range of characters and visions about how this world changes and challenges its new arrivals.

Take eighteen-year-old Dorrie, who sets off on a mission to find a long-absent father, Ollie, and discovers the meaning of rock gods, accidents of birth, and blood ties as she confronts a man whose world doesn't include 'nice girls', even if they are kin. Dorrie's uncertain connection with him leads her full-circle to discover what is really of value in her world in 'Ollie's Daughter'.

For a different perspective, turn to 'Portrait of Jori', in which an art student's life is changed by the man he becomes involved with. Art community scandals and politics, high-class living and patrons with unusual tastes, and issues of trust amid the trappings of wealth all emerge as themes in a thought-provoking tale of talent and the real cost of benefactors who take over lives.

Another powerful winner is 'Impure Earth', where the world is unprepared for a challenge to the status quo of the Pures and Assorteds, and survival tactics become steeped in rage and love alike. In such a future, war is forbidden and a thing of books and legend - and in such a world, it must be faced and fought again, introducing many new tests to a society carefully reconstructed to include cyborgs and strict rules.

In such a world, whoever has control is not necessarily the same as he who wields wisdom, as Tarquin and Immurra come to discover when they head a new kind of force and influence on the future of a broken society unfamiliar with the word 'revolution', among others.

Each carefully-crafted story provides a different perspective on evolving connections, adult lives, and new ventures. Each very different tale presents stories of survival, confrontation and change; and each follows characters that grow from their encounters.

Of Dust and Tides is replete with new beginnings and how they happen, and is an outstanding gathering especially recommended for new adult readers venturing into the world, offering lessons on its challenges and growth opportunities using succinct language and close encounters that pair disparate individuals and cross-purposes with paths that ultimately lead to connections and hope.