mamabh 's review for:

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

1.0

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I never had to read this in school so I didn’t understand the hype, but my second grader is reading it so I decided to read with him. I don’t get it. It is fuuulllll of sexist and patriarchal overtones that confuse my kid. And he has complained several times about the violence. I wasn’t sad when the dogs died. Because I didn’t care—I was too distracted by everything else, including how whiny Billy is and what sad archetypes his mother and father are, to develop any affinity for them. I don’t see the literary value of this book or why it’s worth reading. My son’s teacher assigned this book for independent study, but I am hoping for something completely different next.