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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spoilers
For a book that spends a lot of time dealing with death and violence. The ending is spends surprisingly little time on them. It is more concerned with the transformation. How the earth holds Jody at times and at others it bruises him. How his Jody works through betrayal and loneliness. And finally, how Jody moves on: “He must be up early in the morning, to milk the cow and bring in wood and work the crops.” Yet, that is not the image that the book ends on. It ends with a memory: two yearlings running with each other, frozen in time, “gone forever.”
For a book that spends a lot of time dealing with death and violence. The ending is spends surprisingly little time on them. It is more concerned with the transformation. How the earth holds Jody at times and at others it bruises him. How his Jody works through betrayal and loneliness. And finally, how Jody moves on: “He must be up early in the morning, to milk the cow and bring in wood and work the crops.” Yet, that is not the image that the book ends on. It ends with a memory: two yearlings running with each other, frozen in time, “gone forever.”
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
adventurous
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really liked this book. It was a great coming of age tale, and had a real effect on me. Penny was a great character who in ways reminded me of Atticus Finch. The ending was impactful and poignant. I would recommend this book to anyone, but I think how much you enjoy it depends on where you're at in your walk of life.
However, I have to recommend it with a caveat. It would have been 5 stars, but I was a bit bothered by the author's usage of the word "nigger". The word is used by the narrator, not the characters. I understand that the book is from a different era, but it's nonetheless likely to upset some, myself included.
However, I have to recommend it with a caveat. It would have been 5 stars, but I was a bit bothered by the author's usage of the word "nigger". The word is used by the narrator, not the characters. I understand that the book is from a different era, but it's nonetheless likely to upset some, myself included.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs
One of the most depressing books I ever read as a child. Very well written but I think it also is partly responsible for destroying some of my youthful innocence hence the low rating. Not a book I would recommend for anyone under 12.
Honestly, I didn’t like it at all. It’s not funny how much I could not stand this book. I couldn’t get into it, and waited for it to get better. Sadly, it didn’t get better. I’m utterly confused as to why it won a Pulitzer Prize.
I had a hard time relating to the main character, Jody. His family’s poor, and they live in backwoods Florida. I found him pretty annoying, actually. And they way the talked! The dialogue grated on my nerves, and that’s when I could actually figure out what they were saying. I didn’t understand most of what they were saying, and spent most of the book wondering what they were saying. Maybe that’s how the people talked where Jody lived, but reading it was a nightmare. Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot of dialogue, which is probably the only reason why I finished the book.
I really don’t get the point of the book. I kept waiting for something to happen…and it really didn’t.
Rating: 1 out of 5. This was one of the worst books I’ve ever read.
I had a hard time relating to the main character, Jody. His family’s poor, and they live in backwoods Florida. I found him pretty annoying, actually. And they way the talked! The dialogue grated on my nerves, and that’s when I could actually figure out what they were saying. I didn’t understand most of what they were saying, and spent most of the book wondering what they were saying. Maybe that’s how the people talked where Jody lived, but reading it was a nightmare. Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot of dialogue, which is probably the only reason why I finished the book.
I really don’t get the point of the book. I kept waiting for something to happen…and it really didn’t.
Rating: 1 out of 5. This was one of the worst books I’ve ever read.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I love this book.
My older kids fondly remember reading it together years ago, and the younger ones enjoyed it afresh. Everyone agrees it is 4.5-5 stars.
I have one boy this time that I can relate easily to Jody Baxter, so it felt like it hit close to home on this re-read.
It is one of my favorite “coming of age” stories that I read with my kids.
My older kids fondly remember reading it together years ago, and the younger ones enjoyed it afresh. Everyone agrees it is 4.5-5 stars.
I have one boy this time that I can relate easily to Jody Baxter, so it felt like it hit close to home on this re-read.
It is one of my favorite “coming of age” stories that I read with my kids.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated