What is the author's style in A Fine White Dust by Cynthia Rylant?

A Fine White Dust is written in the first person. The protagonist, thirteen-year-old Pete Cassidy, is the narrator of the story. It is appropriate that Pete narrate because it is his story to tell. The focus of "A Fine White Dust" is Pete's struggle to find his God. He is a very spiritual and religious young boy and has been from the time he can remember.

By telling story through the impressionable adolescent, the reader learns the conflicted feelings he has about his parents and their lack of interest in organized religion. When young Pete meets up with the revivalist preacher, who he refers to as The Preacher Man, his admiration for the stranger and his vulnerability are apparent in his words and thoughts that he shares in his story.

Through Pete's words, the reader learns that his devotion to the Preacher is growing each time he attends one of the revivalist sermons delivered by him. He is at the peak of susceptibility when the Preacher convinces him that he has been touched by God and that he should go off with him and help save people. When Pete's dreams of traveling with Preacher Man are disrupted, he tells of his anguish and pain.

In the end, however, through the character's voice, the reader is privy to his growth and understanding. He learns that his parents are wonderful and that great people are found in places other than church and that all those in church aren't what they seem to be.