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carlosdanger's review against another edition
2.0
Sorry, this was so slow. I tried but couldn’t get into it.
mxeducation's review against another edition
1.0
Wow- I don’t know if I’ve ever hated a book this much. A friend remarked that this is the kind of book that would turn a child off reading for life, and I could not agree more. Even if you are able to put aside the misogynistic rape-culture “undertones,” so much of this book is impossible to comprehend. I really felt like I had forgotten how to read. The 40 foot pole. The spiderweb. The pages and pages and pages of descriptions that somehow made it harder for me to imagine what Hamilton was trying to help me visualize. Oy. Veh.
yarydoll's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
llama_lord's review against another edition
2.0
There was nothing that I liked about this book. While the premise was interesting, the writing style was a huge turn off for me. The slow, whimsical, almost poetic quality of the story only made it hard to follow and I felt like I was constantly struggling to keep up with what was happening in the plot. I felt like I never knew what was going on in the first place. Basically, reading this was a chore.
I am baffled that this won the Newbery Medal. I can't imagine a middle school child even finishing this book, let alone enjoying it. All in all, this was a dud and I'm glad to be finished with it so I can move onto something else.
I am baffled that this won the Newbery Medal. I can't imagine a middle school child even finishing this book, let alone enjoying it. All in all, this was a dud and I'm glad to be finished with it so I can move onto something else.
taxideadaisy's review against another edition
3.0
You can like a book without respecting it, or respect it without much enjoying it. I’ve read a lot of books that I enjoyed but didn’t necessarily consider “important,” and a fair few that I might not have liked, but recognized their, let’s call it “nutritional content.”
I didn’t much like the characters in M.C. Higgins, the Great. I couldn’t relate to M.C.’s ways of thinking, most of the time. I wish I’d read it when I was younger, to have that perspective to weigh against reading it for the first time in my mid-fifties.
I often had trouble visualizing the settings or landmarks as described.
But all those things are my tastes, and I think that this book is bigger than my tastes, and not just because of the Newbery Medal emblem on the cover. The very things that make this a book I hadn’t picked up before, when I was younger … that the main characters aren’t animals, or girls who liked horses, or aliens … that it’s about, and from the viewpoint of, hardscrabble “hill people” descended from escaped slaves, living in the shadow of Appalachian strip mining/mountaintop removal mining… suspicious of other communities … these are real and deep and important.
It gets three stars in terms of how much I “liked” it, but if there was a rating for respect it’d get 4 or 4.5.
For what it’s worth, I liked it better than the Flannery O’Connor stories that I had heard about for decades but then found bitter and unpalatable.
In some ways, this book reminds me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Not because the characters are similar so much as for what they share, for their life energy and tenacity.
I think my favorite thing about M.C. Higgins, the Great (the book, not the character) would be the descriptions of the Killburns: the people with freckled skin and reddish hair, grey eyes, etc. My favorite thing about M.C. Higgins, the Great (the person) was his instinctive ease in the woods, his ability to throw a knife, the way he and Ben worked as a team.
I didn’t much like the characters in M.C. Higgins, the Great. I couldn’t relate to M.C.’s ways of thinking, most of the time. I wish I’d read it when I was younger, to have that perspective to weigh against reading it for the first time in my mid-fifties.
I often had trouble visualizing the settings or landmarks as described.
But all those things are my tastes, and I think that this book is bigger than my tastes, and not just because of the Newbery Medal emblem on the cover. The very things that make this a book I hadn’t picked up before, when I was younger … that the main characters aren’t animals, or girls who liked horses, or aliens … that it’s about, and from the viewpoint of, hardscrabble “hill people” descended from escaped slaves, living in the shadow of Appalachian strip mining/mountaintop removal mining… suspicious of other communities … these are real and deep and important.
It gets three stars in terms of how much I “liked” it, but if there was a rating for respect it’d get 4 or 4.5.
For what it’s worth, I liked it better than the Flannery O’Connor stories that I had heard about for decades but then found bitter and unpalatable.
In some ways, this book reminds me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Not because the characters are similar so much as for what they share, for their life energy and tenacity.
I think my favorite thing about M.C. Higgins, the Great (the book, not the character) would be the descriptions of the Killburns: the people with freckled skin and reddish hair, grey eyes, etc. My favorite thing about M.C. Higgins, the Great (the person) was his instinctive ease in the woods, his ability to throw a knife, the way he and Ben worked as a team.
maryehavens's review against another edition
3.0
There's a lot going on here and, for most of the story, I was trying to figure what the theme was. Progress in a world that stands still? Adolescent roostering from a coming of age boy? Ethnography? Xenophobia?
It's kind of all of that. What saves this book is the ending. Hamilton ties it all together.
This book won many awards, including the Newberry and National Book Award, and I can see why. Tons of layers and interpretations. I'm sure it's brilliant because of all these layers but it's still a bit hard to see.
It's kind of all of that. What saves this book is the ending. Hamilton ties it all together.
This book won many awards, including the Newberry and National Book Award, and I can see why. Tons of layers and interpretations. I'm sure it's brilliant because of all these layers but it's still a bit hard to see.
solaana's review against another edition
3.0
I think I remember liking it, but it's no Goodnight, Mr. Tom or Bridge to Terabithia, I don't care what those Newberry Award losers say.
avisreadsandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Animal death, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail