Woodrell, Daniel ; Winter's Bone ; Informal Buddy read ; Start date 24 Nov 2014

[K~Terror]

I'm up to Chapter 12

I like the dialogue but sometimes I have to rewind the audio and listen closer to determine what's being said exactly...

Ree certainly lives in a different kind of world. When I read this book, the author really makes Ree's way of life feel so real. She is a tough girl!

[Shinjini]

I agree! Ree is the kind of character I hope every teenager in literature can be like. She is strong, independent and not afraid to take a stand, to fight for herself. I'm only in chapter 6 but I am really liking it so far. The writing is a little complicated as in sometimes I am having to read a paragraph more than once to understand and follow what's happening but it isn't happening very often. It has some wise quotes like the one Cait mentioned and this one.

Victoria said, “Ree, I forget—you take it black, or with cream?”

“With cream when there is any.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

What a girl!

[Cait S]

Just got to the end of Chapter 11. LOVING Ree still.

When the man won't see her or talk to her and she curses him out and is all "You tell him Ree Dolly said that!" I was like TELL HIM, CHILD! She's awesome. I can see why Jennifer Lawrence played her, honestly.

[K~Terror]

I finished it today.

(view spoiler)[ After I got used to the writing, I felt the author did a beautiful job painting a picture of the poverty and desolation of Ree's world. Ree was such a strong person and just 'did' whatever was needed, for her family - her brothers and her mama.

At first I did NOT like uncle tear drop but then he grew on me. It's not the type of family I'm used to but I think he cared for Ree and her brothers and meant to help take care of them. Or at least, helped out Ree so that she was able to provide for them.

I adored her friend Gail, despite my first impression of her when Ree wondered where Gail's fight went to. Especially when she showed up at Ree's with Ned. You could tell that Gail and Ree really cared about each other.

Towards the end of the story, there was a horrific act that took place and it really showed what Ree and the women in that world were made of. Can't imagine how hard it was for Ree to have to bring back the 'proof'.

I really did like the story but have to admit it took awhile to shake the darkness from the story. The ending was probably as good as it could be and provided some hope that maybe there could be a better future for Ree and her brothers. In my sequel, that would happen anyway.

(hide spoiler)]

Now I want to see the movie..

[Kay Kay]

I read Winter's Bone and I was not thrilled. What is the target audience for this book? Was it young adult?

[Kay Kay]

Well, here is my opinion. I felt like the characters and the context could have used more fleshing out. The idea for the story was interesting. I wonder if they did a better job with some of the background stuff for the movie. This book just did not grab me.

[Kay Kay]

Does this book glorify the drug culture?

[K~Terror]

@Karrie - I don't think the target audience is YA. Looks like Adult/Fiction/Mystery/Book Club. It did take me awhile for the book to take hold of me. I can see that the writing style and the grittiness of the book may not be appealing to some, let alone if you felt short changed by character development. Not really sure there is really anything glorified necessarily in this story. (view spoiler)[ Personally, it left me feeling sad for the people who lived in Ree's harsh world and the things she had to do in order to survive and provide for her family, at the young age of 16. (hide spoiler)]

I'll have to let you know if the movie did the book justice or surpassed/fell short of expectations!

[Margaret]

Karrie wrote: "Does this book glorify the drug culture?"

Karrie: I don't think it glorifies the drug culture at all, it brought such a view that who would want to live that way? I struggled with the lack of characterization and the grittiness but I think that the author purposely didn't flesh out his characters in order to bring a certain detached feeling to the story. I personally like my characters to come alive but in this case, it worked. Not my favorite book but I appreciate the art of the writing. :)

[Shinjini]

I finished this last night. These are my thoughts.

(view spoiler)[ First things first, Ree has become one of my favourite teenage heroines of literature that I've read so far. As I said before, I love her guts! She is such a strong and independent girl with a no-nonsense attitude. She isn't the mincing words type. I can also see why Jennifer Lawrence was chosen to play the role. I was imagining her as Ree all the time I was reading this.

The writing was haunting. The despair and the bleakness of Ree's world was written in a wonderful manner. I could actually feel her emotions as she went through each day. After she got attacked by the womenfolk when she visited the Thump family for the second time was completely unnecessary and dirty. The way they all kicked her and kept kicking until she passed out really enraged me. This book had some really shocking moments. The writing was sometimes too complicated and felt like the author was trying too hard. That is one reason why I didn't give this book the full five stars.

Ree's life and her troubles made me feel thankful towards my family for being able to provide me with basic comforts. Most of us take our lives for granted. Not many people have the basic necessities that we are blessed with. This book made me realise this and I feel so fortunate and thankful for the life my parents gave me. (hide spoiler)]

A few questions:

(view spoiler)[ 1. What did you think Jessup had snitched about? And what do you think led to him being a snitch?

2. Do you think the attack on Ree was justified? What were the women so angry or afraid about?

3. What did you think about Gail and Ree's friendship and the way Gail helped Rees recover?

4. Why did the women help Ree in the end? (hide spoiler)]

Sorry if I sound like a teacher. I just wanted to hear your opinions. :)

[Shinjini]

Karrie and Margaret, I felt the same way about the characters. At the end of the book we barely knew the characters. I think the author kept it that way for a reason and maybe he wanted to keep them detached. Grit lit is not a genre I am familiar with but I liked the book because it made me realise the horrors of the world Ree, in fact all of us, live in.

Now I feel like I must watch the movie.