LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Out of the Dust, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Nature, Survival, and the Dust Bowl
Poverty, Charity, and Community
Coming of Age
Family and Forgiveness
Summary
Analysis
Billie Jo wishes Mad Dog would court her but doesn’t think he will because he could get any girl he wants. When Billie Jo’s father asks her what is wrong, she storms off up to her room, wishing her mother was around to comfort her instead. She thinks about how it is more difficult than ever to talk to her father.
On top of everything else, Billie Jo also has to contend with normal teenage desires. Although she was not confident in her looks before the accident, she thinks her hands make her even more undesirable, so she cannot imagine Mad Dog would be romantically interested in her.