The Beet Fields

[Allison]

AUTHOR CATEGORY- GARY PAULSEN
RATING:**
Status: Read May 11, 2014

"The boy" in this book (that is what he is called throughout) runs away from his drunken (and inappropriate) parents at the beginning of the book and the rest of the book follows him running way through different parts of America. As he is on the run, he grows up, encounters many of the different types of people that make up America (farmers, Mexican field-workers, European immigrants, war-victim's families, carnies, police, to name a few) and learns about their lives and about how much he does not want the life that he was leading before he ran away. He is treated very fairly by some people and very poorly by others, and he gets to see much of human nature. He ends with the carnival, learning all about the carnival life, oddities of carnivals, and too much about women.

My rating on this might be a little bit misleading. I didn't dislike this book, but it wasn't necessarily one that I would keep for a classroom library and I want to remember that. The writing is very good, but the mature details don't necessarily help in any way-they are really just there for entertainment value.

[Ashlyn]

Category: Gary Paulsen
Rating: ***
Read May 25-May 26

Summary: A sixteen-year-old runaway escapes his bad home life (intoxicated parents, emotional and sexual abuse) and strikes it out on his own. The reader follows him on his adventure and maturation as he encounters Mexican immigrant laborers, farmers, gamblers, corrupt law officers, prisoners, and carnival workers. The boy learns how to make a life for himself and "falls in love" with a few beautiful, unattainable women along the way.

Personal Reaction: I really enjoyed reading Paulsen's writing style. Though I don't consider myself in the author's target audience for this book, I still found the protagonist's voice authentic and at times entertaining. I married into a family of five boys (no girls), and sometimes I laughed out loud while reading the boy's inner monologue because it reminds me exactly of the things I have heard my husband and his brothers say. For that reason, I think boys in grades 8 through 12 would really like this book. The boy is concerned with what it means to "be a man" in the world, which dictates many of his decisions and reactions. I didn't love every moment, but I cared about the boy because of his good reasons for running away from home and desire to improve his life.

A word of caution: there are some references to drugs and sex as the boy matures and experiments. The novel showcases strippers, alcohol, and cigarettes as part of a "cool," independent lifestyle. Teachers and parents of secondary students reading this book should discuss the consequences of these scenarios with readers.