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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I'm not sure how I managed to make it into my early 30s without ever reading this book before. But somehow, I did. And perhaps that affected my ability to enjoy it. I think if I had read this as a young adolescent, I might have enjoyed it more. Its sense of adventure would have been more enjoyable and its theology wouldn't have bothered me as much.
However, since I first read this as a 33 year old adult, I have to be honest and just admit that this book didn't work for me. It was slow and ponderous and the writing felt very labored. There wasn't much if any plot at all. Just a boy writing about how badly he wanted dogs so that he could hunt with them. Sorry if I can't relate to that at all as a) a cat person and b) someone who hates hunting. And then he gets the dogs and the rest of the book is him training them how to hunt and then them going out hunting. Where exactly is the excitement in that?
And of course, the ending was sad. I knew it would be but did it have to be that sad? Like, really. It just felt so telegraphed and obvious and also the dogs died because of the boy's own stupidity and selfishness so forgive me if I felt less than sympathetic toward him.
And lastly, can we just talk about how bad the theology is here? Like, the dogs died because God didn't want the family to be separated? Ugh, that's so terrible and not something that I would want to teach children. And the whole sacrificial imagery is just not healthy either.
I guess I remain confused as to why this book is considered a classic. It was boring, ponderous and preachy. The boy was an idiot. I didn't shed a tear at the end. I was just glad I had finally finished it.
Again, this is probably one that I would have liked way more if I had read it as a teenager. But reading it as a thirtysomething just seriously affected my enjoyment of it.
Again, why is this so beloved? Why does it have so many great reviews? Why is this book the one that is continually used in classrooms over and over? I recognize that me giving this a bad review means that I'll probably have to go into the witness protection program now but I gotta speak my truth. This book is bad. And people need to hear that. Sorry if that makes me a hater or shows that I didn't get it. I read over 100 books a year and most of them are better than this. If you haven't read this book yet, do yourself a favor and don't. Trust me. You don't need to.
However, since I first read this as a 33 year old adult, I have to be honest and just admit that this book didn't work for me. It was slow and ponderous and the writing felt very labored. There wasn't much if any plot at all. Just a boy writing about how badly he wanted dogs so that he could hunt with them. Sorry if I can't relate to that at all as a) a cat person and b) someone who hates hunting. And then he gets the dogs and the rest of the book is him training them how to hunt and then them going out hunting. Where exactly is the excitement in that?
And of course, the ending was sad. I knew it would be but did it have to be that sad? Like, really. It just felt so telegraphed and obvious and also the dogs died because of the boy's own stupidity and selfishness so forgive me if I felt less than sympathetic toward him.
And lastly, can we just talk about how bad the theology is here? Like, the dogs died because God didn't want the family to be separated? Ugh, that's so terrible and not something that I would want to teach children. And the whole sacrificial imagery is just not healthy either.
I guess I remain confused as to why this book is considered a classic. It was boring, ponderous and preachy. The boy was an idiot. I didn't shed a tear at the end. I was just glad I had finally finished it.
Again, this is probably one that I would have liked way more if I had read it as a teenager. But reading it as a thirtysomething just seriously affected my enjoyment of it.
Again, why is this so beloved? Why does it have so many great reviews? Why is this book the one that is continually used in classrooms over and over? I recognize that me giving this a bad review means that I'll probably have to go into the witness protection program now but I gotta speak my truth. This book is bad. And people need to hear that. Sorry if that makes me a hater or shows that I didn't get it. I read over 100 books a year and most of them are better than this. If you haven't read this book yet, do yourself a favor and don't. Trust me. You don't need to.
adventurous
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sobbed
I think this was the first book I ever sobbed over. I remember so clearly how the mom tried to put the insides back in the first dog who died, because it was so disgusting and sad, and I didn't know what entrails looked like, so I pictured a string of sausage... yeah. It's not often I remember little details like that though. And when the second dog died of depression. :( Funny how I remember entrails, but nobody's name.
For more of my babblings, please visit my blog, Snug Shelf
For more of my babblings, please visit my blog, Snug Shelf
When I was young, I read this book several times. It was a joy to read it aloud to my own children. They loved it as much as I did.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
