**This review may contain spoilers**

Dust City is a YA novel based on fairy tales. It tells the story of Henry Whelp, a young wolf whose father is locked up for killing Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. Henry lives at St. Remus, a ‘Home for Wayward Youths’.

Henry has one best friend in St. Remus. His name is Jack. As in Jack and the Beanstalk. Yes, that Jack. Jack is dating an elf girl name Siobhan, who also happens to live with her grandmother.

Anyway, St. Remus is filled with many other species, not just wolves. There’s ravens, foxes, mules, etc. There’s also Doc, who is also a wolf. For the most part, life in St. Remus isn’t exactly glamorous, but it is home.

That all ends when Doc is discovered hanging in his office, deader than a doornail. When Jack and Henry discover letters from Henry’s father, which Doc had been keeping from Henry, things start to change.

With the help of Siobhan, Jack escapes with Henry’s letters, leaving Henry to find his own way out of St. Remus. Once he escapes, he tracks down Siobhan and discovers Jack is missing, but he left the letters behind. After reading them, Henry decides to visit his father in prison. That visit sends Henry off on a quest for the truth. What really happened to the fairies of Eden? Eden, which rests above Dust City, is a place for hominids; giants, goblins, and other magical human-like creatures.

With the help of another young wolf named Fiona, Henry finds himself down in the underbelly of the City, working for a mobster named Skinner(aka Humpty Dumpty) and his water nixie henchmen.

Hot on Henry’s trail, though, is Detective White. Yes, she’s the Snow White, and she is one tough cookie. There’s also Cindy Rella, but she isn’t exactly important. Her claim to fame? Wearing uncomfortable glass heels. Yeah…

When Henry and Fiona discover the truth about the fairies and what the fairy dust is really doing to the animalia of Dust City, he knows what he has to do. The only problem is, no one believes him…until one fateful encounter with the bad dust helps him save the day.

The ending was a bit of a disappointment, but it wasn’t that bad. Overall, I’d give the book three stars out of five. It’s a quick, easy read, but it’s not really exciting or super adventurous. If you’re into fairy tales and want to try out a book that puts a spin on them, give Dust City a whirl.