The Dust of 100 Dogs »

A.S. King has been profiled in Writer's Digest magazine and is a member of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

A Spring 2009 Children's Indie Next List Pick for Teens!

In the late seventeenth century, famed teenage pirate Emer Morrisey was on the cusp of escaping the pirate life with her one true love and unfathomable riches when she was slain and cursed with "the dust of one hundred dogs," dooming her to one hundred lives as a dog before returning to a human body-with her memories intact.

Now she's a contemporary American teenager and all she needs is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica.

Exciting, fascinating, spellbinding. I'd follow Saffron into the briny deep.
—Heather Brewer, author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

A non-traditional pirate tale with a dangerously raw, mystical edge and a unique modern twist. Deliciously fresh and starkly unforgettable. —Lisa McMann,
New York Times best-selling author of Wake

Sparkling, original, both swashbuckling and contemporary...This gripping adventure is sure to be devoured by both teens and adults. —Lauren Baratz-Logsted,
author of Angel's Choice

AUTHOR INTERVIEW INSIDE THE BOOK!

Publishers Weekly

Seventeenth-century pirate Emer Morrisey, murdered and cursed to live the lives of 100 dogs, finally rematerializes as Saffron Adams, 1980s teenager, in King's far-reaching but uneven debut. Cognizant of her past lives, Saffron's sole ambition is to unearth a treasure buried in Jamaica, even as her oblivious parents urge her toward conventional success. Chapters alternate between Saffron's struggles to conceal her swashbuckling instincts and Emer's falling for a lackluster country boy-then escaping an arranged marriage-while en route to the high seas. Emer's dog incarnations appear in short chapters entitled "Dog Facts," which, though charming, feel superimposed; additional sections are devoted to an aggressive alcoholic living in modern Jamaica. The litany of narratives leaves authentic characters like Saffron's emotionally crippled mother vying for page time, and Saffron's (Emer-inspired) hostility-"Why was she forcing me to take a cutlass to the ligaments at the back of her knees?" thinks Saffron, imagining taking down her mother-feel like intrusion on otherwise poignant glimpses of an unraveling family. Readers will want to love this book, but may not find enough to sink their teeth into. Ages 14-up. (Feb.)

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