Scan barcode
A review by dnandrews797
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
3.0
This book was amazing but caused me emotional damage. Super glad I didn’t read this as a middle schooler because my mom would probably have had to come and get me from school. I loved the engaging episodic storytelling of Billy’s adventures with Little Ann and Old Dan in the Ozarks and the wonderful atmosphere and sense of youth created. What kept me from rating the book higher were two particular instances I couldn’t move past:
1. The cutting down of the giant sycamore to get at a raccoon. In terms of perspective, I feel like letting the raccoon and disappointing the dogs to preserve a tree that’s been growing for possibly hundreds of years would have been the right thing to do. Its this kind of thinking that’s ruining the planet today. Reading about this boy singlemindedly whacking away at something so ancient and majestic for the sake of killing one raccoon hurt me almost as much as the ending. Speaking of which…
2. I could deal with the dogs dying. Fine. I cried like a small child when it happened, but I could have dealt with their deaths if not for the fact that Billy’s parents basically said “well maybe it was all God’s plan for the dogs to die after they stopped being useful to us so we can all go live in the city. That was their purpose after all.” That felt extremely human-centered and arrogant as if all living creatures exist for their pleasure or to die for it (in the case of the raccoons).
Other than this it was a lovely little read that I blew through in an afternoon. I would recommend it to anyone.
1. The cutting down of the giant sycamore to get at a raccoon. In terms of perspective, I feel like letting the raccoon and disappointing the dogs to preserve a tree that’s been growing for possibly hundreds of years would have been the right thing to do. Its this kind of thinking that’s ruining the planet today. Reading about this boy singlemindedly whacking away at something so ancient and majestic for the sake of killing one raccoon hurt me almost as much as the ending. Speaking of which…
2. I could deal with the dogs dying. Fine. I cried like a small child when it happened, but I could have dealt with their deaths if not for the fact that Billy’s parents basically said “well maybe it was all God’s plan for the dogs to die after they stopped being useful to us so we can all go live in the city. That was their purpose after all.” That felt extremely human-centered and arrogant as if all living creatures exist for their pleasure or to die for it (in the case of the raccoons).
Other than this it was a lovely little read that I blew through in an afternoon. I would recommend it to anyone.