Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 7))
In this mesmerizing variation of the "stranger comes to town" plot, a Saskatchewan farming community falls under the spell of a mysterious visitor. Only 11-year-old Robert sees through the smoke and mirrors when the newcomer, Mr. Abram, promises to end the area's drought if the town helps him build a rainmill. Robert's younger brother, Matthew, disappeared some months earlier, and after the arrival of Mr. Abram, several other children do, too, but the adults quickly become oblivious to the loss. Robert, who immerses himself whenever possible in adventure stories, eventually tries to rescue his brother and break the hold of the devil-like Abram. Magic enters the story in the form of butterflies, frozen statues, and a dust-like substance connected to the soul. Well-chosen imagery, skillfully crafted sentences, and a remarkably effective sense of atmosphere distinguish Slade's work. Although the two differ in setting and subject, Dust resembles last year's Tribes in its originality as well as its deft execution. 2003, Wendy Lamb/Random, $15.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 11 up. Starred Review. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ann M.G. Gray (Library Media Connection, February 2004)
After his younger brother, Matthew, disappears one day on a walk to town, 11-year-old Robert is determined to find him. At first his parents are devastated by the disappearance, but as time passes it seems as if they have totally forgotten about Matthew. Two other children in town also mysteriously disappear after newcomer, Abram, visits the school to show his butterfly collection. Abram seems to have the whole town mesmerized. Using magic mirrors and suggestions, he convinces the townspeople to sign on to help him build a rain mill. He promises this tower will bring rain to the drought-plagued community. Everyone in town, except Robert and his uncle Alden, seems to have forgotten the missing children and to have bought into the powers of the rain mill. Robert, however, never gives up hope. Months after the children's disappearance, Robert manages to discover that Abram has been harvesting the souls of the missing children and turning them into butterflies. Using the rain mill to signal aliens, he plans to give these butterflies to traders from outer space. Robert foils the evil plot and manages to rescue the children just as the traders arrive. Science fiction fans will enjoy the action and intrigue that this book has to offer. Recommended. 2003, Random House Children's Publishing, 192pp., $15.95 hc. Ages 12 to 18.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March 2003 (Vol. 56, No. 7))
Robert Steelgate knows he should have offered to walk with his brother Matthew into town on the day the younger boy accepted a ride from a stranger and disappeared. In spite of this burden of guilt, Robert knows he isn’t responsible for the disappearance of other children from the area, or the wave of forgetfulness and odd behavior that has taken hold of the adults in his drought-plagued farming region. Even his parents have ceased to show concern for their missing boy as, like their neighbors, they become caught up in newcomer Abram Harsich’s plan to build a rain “mill” that will make their land fertile again. Few persons resist con-man Harsich’s influence, and one by one neighbors who won’t join the construction crew pay the price with fatal heart attacks and devastated property. Robert both observes and senses that all these occurrences are related, and when he musters the courage to trespass on Harsich’s house and mill, he discovers a diabolical pact that has put the missing children and townsfolk within the mysterious man’s power. Slade generates genuine edge-of-the-seat tension, cannily conjuring evil from the very ordinariness of the Depression-era Canadian Dust Bowl town. He succeeds so well, in fact, that the final unmasking of Harsich and his machine come as a bit of a disappointment, relying on gizmos and aliens and supernatural transformations rather than horrifying reality to carry the climax. Still, readers are so compellingly swept into the action that they’re bound to ride the wind wherever Slade--and Harsich--take them. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2003, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2003, Lamb, 192p, $17.99 and $15.95. Grades 5-8.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2003)
When Abram Harsich comes to Robert's drought-stricken town with his Mirror of All Things and grand plans for a rain machine, the mesmerized residents forget their troubles--and their children who are mysteriously disappearing. Eleven-year-old Robert watches the ensuing events quietly and, with increasing unease, begins to question what is happening. His determination and heroic actions are the steady focus of the tale. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2003, Random/Lamb, 185pp, $15.95, $17.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Michael Levy (VOYA, February 2003 (Vol. 25, No. 6))
Ray Bradbury is a clear influence on this fine tale of quiet horror set in Dust Bowl-era Saskatchewan, with just a touch of H. P. Lovecraft thrown in for good measure. Children have begun to disappear in and around the small prairie town of Horshoe. Oddly, however, their parents seem to forget them far too quickly. Ever since the decidedly odd stranger Abram Harsich came to town, with his magic mirror and his claim that he knows how to build a rain-making machine, people seem to go through their lives in a happy daze. They spend their limited and hard-earned savings on things they cannot really afford and devote many of their working hours to the construction of Harsich's enormous, windmill-like machine. Eleven-year-old Robert Steelgate, whose younger brother Matt is among the missing children, remains suspicious, however, as does Robert's Uncle Alden, an aspiring fantasy writer and one of the few adults who has not signed up to work for Harsich. As Robert becomes increasingly aware of exactly how oddly his parents and the other adults of Horshoe are behaving, a series of mysterious, seemingly supernatural calamities befall Uncle Alden's farm. Then the butterflies appear, and Robert discovers that Harsich might be in contact with things not of this world. This beautifully written novel, most reminiscent perhaps of Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes (Simon & Schuster, 1962), features strong character development, an authentic setting, and some genuinely spooky moments. It could well deserve award consideration. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Wendy Lamb Books/Random House, 192p, $15.95. Ages 11 to 18.