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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
OH MY GOODNESS!! I just finished reading this book, as it was the one of two books my husband read in grade school. I had never heard of it and I can see why.....such a sad book!! Your grandfather just "gives up" on life??? And what happened to poor Little Willy's parents in the first place?? He has the strain of working the farm by himself (at the age of ten!) and then he uses his college money to enter a race that he might loose because of Stone Fox, a Shoshone Indian who has never lost a race! Then poor little Willy gets smacked by this dude and ends up with a black eye! Who does this!? The poor kid then kills his dog from the strain of trying to win. WTH??? At least Stone Fox had a heart and let Willy win, but I feel bad for him as well - trying to buy back the lands that were taken from his people by "the white man."
I had to read this book in third grade. But it wasn't a homework assignment - we all read it together in class. The whole thing made me so upset that I had to leave the classroom because I was crying so much and my teacher was actually very concerned about how upset I was. If you're a young, animal-loving kid, how can you not get upset about a dog dying right before the finish line?!
I probably should give it a 2 rating, but ... since so many kids like it, I bumped it because I am much too old for the intended audience. The reason I would have rated it a 2 is primarily because of the abrupt ending. "The race ended. The End." Did he get the money? Did he save the farm? Did his Grandpa get better? Did he go to college? And then there are the lingering questions: why did Stone Fox interfere at the end of the race when he wants to get land for his people? And, why did he punch the obviously little kid the face? Too much left unsaid, even for a kids' book.
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail
OMG! I totally forgot about this book! I read it years and years ago (I had to have been like...8 or something...) and I remember being absolutely DEVISTATED! 'Why are books like this?' I thought. 'Why does it take my joy rather than give it to me?' I remember re-reading it over and over because that simply COULD NOT be the ending. But it was, and I was pissed off. Infuriated! Betrayed by the words and the books I loved so much. I put it down and, apparently, buried it deep within the confines and recesses of my mind, never to be thought of again.
Until...
I finished reading 'The Incredible Journey' and I didn't really like the book. But as I was turning the final few pages, as I was reading about the young dog running home towards his master, of the old dog morphing into a puppy again at the sight of his beloved one; reuniting with the one thing that kept him going those many long weeks, images of a racing dog speed through my mind. Images that didn't quite belong to this book I was currently reading. Pictures of a sad little boy, holding his deflated, dead dog. A good dog who had given his life for the boy to accomplish his goal. And I felt this sadness take over me. What WAS this story that had invaded my head?
I sat and thought long and hard, until finally I gave up and googled 'Books where the Dog dies at the end,' because I knew I was not making this up. And sure enough, number 4 on that list was Stone Fox. Searchlight. The good boy was Searchlight.
And then it all came rushing back to me.
If that isn't the true mark of a masterpiece, I don't know what is.
Until...
I finished reading 'The Incredible Journey' and I didn't really like the book. But as I was turning the final few pages, as I was reading about the young dog running home towards his master, of the old dog morphing into a puppy again at the sight of his beloved one; reuniting with the one thing that kept him going those many long weeks, images of a racing dog speed through my mind. Images that didn't quite belong to this book I was currently reading. Pictures of a sad little boy, holding his deflated, dead dog. A good dog who had given his life for the boy to accomplish his goal. And I felt this sadness take over me. What WAS this story that had invaded my head?
I sat and thought long and hard, until finally I gave up and googled 'Books where the Dog dies at the end,' because I knew I was not making this up. And sure enough, number 4 on that list was Stone Fox. Searchlight. The good boy was Searchlight.
And then it all came rushing back to me.
If that isn't the true mark of a masterpiece, I don't know what is.
Read it with my 7 year old. She liked it, but didn’t obsess over it as she has other books. It was a quick and easy read though
I don't do dead dogs. Anything with a dead dog is automatically 2 stars or less.
WHHHHYYYY??
I still remember my third grade teacher reading this book out loud to us over the course of several days. Then staring, bewildered, as she got to The Scene and began to cry hopelessly.
As a kid without a fully developed empathy system, I laughed.
But now I look back and remember one thing... DON'T EVER RE-READ THIS BOOK. Also avoiding Marley and Me for this exact reason.
I still remember my third grade teacher reading this book out loud to us over the course of several days. Then staring, bewildered, as she got to The Scene and began to cry hopelessly.
As a kid without a fully developed empathy system, I laughed.
But now I look back and remember one thing... DON'T EVER RE-READ THIS BOOK. Also avoiding Marley and Me for this exact reason.