I received this book for free through Goodreads First Read. Therefore, there is no back of the book to inform me what I'm about to read. I have never...moreI received this book for free through Goodreads First Read. Therefore, there is no back of the book to inform me what I'm about to read. I have never heard of the author, not had I read his other book. I simply chose this book as I do all books, by the cover image :)
I blew through this book. Partly because it's not very long, but mostly because I loved it. It's a completely fictional work with a happy ending. I enjoyed it as an adult, but I can also see it being the kind of book you would read to younger ones as well. It's not childish, though. Not a Mr. Popper's Penguins type of story, even though the plot is as far fetched. It's not written in a made-for-children tone.
This book is about a bear and a boy, essentially. The boy, Charlie Hall, is struggling with tragedy at home and he meets a bear who changes his life. The tone of the book lines you up as Charlie's peer. In some ways, his only friend and confidant. Giving you play-by-play thought processes of an 8th grade boy. The author does a great job of spelling out boy thought. I giggled more than once at the way Charlie sees the world, and love, and life.
The way Cameron chose to end his story surprised me a lot. The whoooooole book, we are Charlie's friend. Being fed his inner most thoughts. And trusting him, when the world isn't. Then, the author decides to end the book with grown-up Charlie sort of dancing around the idea that maybe in some way, none of it was true. Sort of one last jerk to see if we really believe him :) I almost gasped. "Oh no you didn't!" ran through my thoughts.
I have seen many mixed reviews on this book, calling it too mushy or too unrealistic.
I don’t think this boook was SUPPOSED to be realistic. I think i...moreI have seen many mixed reviews on this book, calling it too mushy or too unrealistic.
I don’t think this boook was SUPPOSED to be realistic. I think it’s a fable of sorts, and you’re supposed to learn lessons about life and love as the story unfolds.
The story is VERY short.
It’s also a love story. And an adventure story. And a coming of age story. It’s a story to learn from.
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
It seems like everyone knows about this book. But somehow, I went 26 years without ever reading it, and I only randomly read it on a whim because it was a very short book tape.
I can’t understand why people haven’t been urging me to read this book my whole life.
In short, it’s a about a Sheppard who goes in search of treasure, and finds love. But along the way he learns! And we learn with him.
This one’s on the shelf for me to read to my children one day. It’s a very good book.(less)
I really liked this book. At first, the whole concept of reading a grown-up book with bunny rabbits as main characters gets you, but eventually you ge...moreI really liked this book. At first, the whole concept of reading a grown-up book with bunny rabbits as main characters gets you, but eventually you get to know the characters and just fall in to the groove of the story as if they were human. I love the story, the trials and triumphs. I love the "characters" and the way you could relate to them, even though they were bunnies. I didn't like all the words the author made up, and names. Why do you have to make up a word that is IMPOSSIBLE to say? Like "Hlessi" or "Thethuthinnang". But hey, I figured it out. I would say that if this book were a movie, it would be at least PG if not PG-13. The violence was a bit graphic when bunnies fought, and some of the bad guys were just too mean for this to be mistaken as a children's book, EVEN with the main characters being bunnies. (less)
Loading...
