News of the World in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

May 17, 2017 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, literary-schmiterary, era-mid-late-1800s, era-civil-war, western, wouldnt-normally-read, coming-of-age, why-no-quotation-marks, 100-best-of-21st-c

He had thought he was done raising daughters. As for protecting this feral child he was all for it in principle but wished he could find somebody else to do it.

I was surprised by how much I liked this. It is completely enchanting. The writing style took a little bit of getting used to, but once I did, I was fully immersed in the story and I cared deeply for the characters (including his horses, Pasha and Fancy), even for characters we meet for just a few pages.

Not much of a review, I know. ...more

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Apr 28, 2017 Cathy rated it really liked it

I have been off Goodreads for a while because I've been pondering how to review this book, which is a story of an older, retired veteran of the Civil War (Captain Kidd) who takes in a young Caucasian girl that was captured by Kiowa when she was very young and is now "free." He travels the length of Texas to return her to her relatives, and in the meanwhile tries to communicate with this young girl, who believes wholeheartedly that she is Kiowa and is being taken from her family. My opinion on th I have been off Goodreads for a while because I've been pondering how to review this book, which is a story of an older, retired veteran of the Civil War (Captain Kidd) who takes in a young Caucasian girl that was captured by Kiowa when she was very young and is now "free." He travels the length of Texas to return her to her relatives, and in the meanwhile tries to communicate with this young girl, who believes wholeheartedly that she is Kiowa and is being taken from her family. My opinion on this book is likely to be unpopular, but nevertheless, it is my opinion. First, we'll start with the pros: This book is beautifully written. Paulette Jiles' prose is delicate, lovely, and accurate. It's really nice to travel through Texas with her as a guide. The main character is written with skill, and I love the Captain's fierceness and clarity, despite how aging is hindering him. I also liked how she built the friendship between Kidd and the little girl. Now, for the cons. I say this with reservation, but I must say it. This is one of the whitest books I've ever read. I say this because I struggled with the depictions of Native Americans, the references to the little girl's "wildness" and the perplexed despair every character felt upon finding that she'd forgotten her whiteness. Along the same lines, I enjoyed the historical references to how lawless Texas was during Reconstruction, but I felt it was a romanticized version of the dying South. I felt like I was being forced to feel that Captain Kidd was noble, and applaud his good deed until he got to the appointed destination. I also just didn't like how he was becoming so miserable and listless as an old man, but that all turned around and he was given a renewed sense of purpose because he was helping this child. It's a rescue story, and while I wanted to like it in a deeper way, I couldn't because it felt contrived and too sweet for me and my understanding of the historical period. So...lovely story, but some points off for a lack of realism. However! If someone can prove to me that Paulette Jiles did oodles of research and her descriptions of the period are spot on and there are credible references, I will amend my review. If not, this grouchy person of color will remain giving a mild side eye to this lovely, but implausible book. ...more

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May 21, 2018 Martin rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018books

A perfectly nice little book with a heartwarming, odd-couple, cantankerous relationship between "grandfatherly cowpoke" and "wild little girl" at its center. It had impressive period details about the post-civil war political chaos, a backstory of deep melancholy for our protag, and a couple heart-racing moments of thrill. Yet it left with with a bit of MEH. It was short and sweet and felt real and human but...not much happened? I'd argue that it felt caught between a character study and an adve ...more

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