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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-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:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I distinctly remember reading this book when I was a kid and crying at the end, and being fully surprised at that reaction even though I really enjoyed the book. That memory, and not really remembering many details about the plot itself, is what led to me reading it with my kid who is now around the same age. But... it wasn't great. There were no tears this time. There were some eye rolls about all the talk of God, but definitely not tears.
It's not all bad, and the experience of looking back on a book you loved a lifetime ago, and sharing that with your own kid, was definitely worthwhile. But in some ways it's like watching an old home movie of yourself and recognizing how awkward and eager and young and dumb you were. It was a different time, and I was a different person.
It's not all bad, and the experience of looking back on a book you loved a lifetime ago, and sharing that with your own kid, was definitely worthwhile. But in some ways it's like watching an old home movie of yourself and recognizing how awkward and eager and young and dumb you were. It was a different time, and I was a different person.
My advice to you: if you're reading a classic, do so only in the privacy of your own home or you're bound to run into people who have read the book and love spoiling the end. I know I did more than once. Drat!
I read this years ago but it left it's mark, as I remember being completely enveloped in this story and I remember feeling very sad at the end...
This used to be my favorite book and, honestly, after reading it again, it's not my favorite anymore. I don't love it any less, it's just not as magical anymore. It gets a little slow in the middle, giving these detailed accounts of various coon hunts. But I love the section towards the end about the hunting competition. I do wish he would call his sisters by their names, it's a bit odd calling them "the oldest one," "the youngest one," etc. and it also can get confusing at times. I love the descriptions of the mountain area they live in though, it makes me want to go outside. And I really do think that any book that can make me cry deserves at least a 4 star rating, and the last 15 pages of this book always make me cry like a baby.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I -hated- this. I made it 82 pages into it and so far the stratification of class was vaguely interesting, since it’s about a kid who is very poor and really wants two hound dogs so he can go hunt some coons. He gets treated poorly by the town folk because of his clothes and manner and what not, and I identified with that. My mom would make us our clothes and we got teased. And then it turns into him training the hounds up and desperately wanting to go kill coons.
It’s just so… stupid to me? I mean I’m sure catching the coons would help out the poor family to some degree. Pelts and meat and all that, but it turns into didactic, heavy-handed lessons at every turn coupled with plot beats I do not care about at all. It’s hyper masculine and coaches this faux tenderness with his crying about nearly everything, but everything. He comes across as selfish not tender.
We grew up poor and couldn’t have pets, so I’m obviously missing the animal attachment thing that comes with that early life development. You’d think I’d identify more with a kid who can’t have a pet. But I just don’t care that you don’t have a pet, man. Your family is living hand-to-mouth. Stop being an asshole, adding stress on top of that just because you want dogs. And it has to be two! I don’t care that you want to kill something and now you gotta show perseverance to chop a tree down because a coons up there and your dogs won’t respect you otherwise. You can Fuck right off, Billy.
It’s just so… stupid to me? I mean I’m sure catching the coons would help out the poor family to some degree. Pelts and meat and all that, but it turns into didactic, heavy-handed lessons at every turn coupled with plot beats I do not care about at all. It’s hyper masculine and coaches this faux tenderness with his crying about nearly everything, but everything. He comes across as selfish not tender.
We grew up poor and couldn’t have pets, so I’m obviously missing the animal attachment thing that comes with that early life development. You’d think I’d identify more with a kid who can’t have a pet. But I just don’t care that you don’t have a pet, man. Your family is living hand-to-mouth. Stop being an asshole, adding stress on top of that just because you want dogs. And it has to be two! I don’t care that you want to kill something and now you gotta show perseverance to chop a tree down because a coons up there and your dogs won’t respect you otherwise. You can Fuck right off, Billy.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
a wonderful read with Isaac. Man, I love that Billy and his hunting dogs and all of the lessons they impart. I would call this a must-read for young kids, especially as a read-aloud.
This book is still entertaining. I loved the description of the Ozarks and family life during the time when my Granny was a girl.