Many thanks to Hardie Grant Kids for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Dusty in the Outwilds made me so nostalgic for my childhood days of having a day of just wandering around all weekend and exploring a beach or a forest and coming back with treasured feathers or cool rocks. 

 

When Dusty discovers the beloved bushland family property might be sold, she decides her only hope is to find her aunt Meg who went off to live “out wild” years ago and never returned. With only quiet whispers in the family and a mysterious photograph to go off, Dusty and her friends (and dog, of course!) discover the magical and, at times dangerous, Outwilds – a place they thought was just a fantasy told to her as bedtime stories. 

 

Even though this book is middle grade, it explores some serious themes of anxiety (Dusty’s friend has a fear of heights and this is beautifully explored) and how adults in a family deal with a family trauma and how this can affect their children. There were two major twists in the story, both of which I didn’t guess until literally the page before it happened! 

 

Dusty is a daring and genuine 12/13-year-old protagonist, and her internal monologue was so relatable; Rhiannon Williams did a fantastic job nailing her voice!