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My Side of the Mountain (Mountain, #1)

Jean Craighead George

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Aug 18, 2016 Nick rated it liked it

Shelves: juvenile-fiction

Whenever I read one of the older children's classics, I remember why I disliked this kind of literature as a child. I would get part way through, and begin to ask "But why did..." and then get dirty looks from the teacher who clearly loved the book, for whatever reason.
Even then, the critical faculties of my brain would have caused me to cry out "He did WHAT???" too many times in this story. I read a lot of fantastical things, but my suspension of disbelief was totally derailed multiple times by Whenever I read one of the older children's classics, I remember why I disliked this kind of literature as a child. I would get part way through, and begin to ask "But why did..." and then get dirty looks from the teacher who clearly loved the book, for whatever reason.
Even then, the critical faculties of my brain would have caused me to cry out "He did WHAT???" too many times in this story. I read a lot of fantastical things, but my suspension of disbelief was totally derailed multiple times by this story.
Weirdly, Sam's initial escape from home was not one of those objectionable actions, at least not directly. I can see how a 12-year-old boy might want to get away from an overcrowded home, and to learn about how one of his ancestors lived. Still, he seems to want to abandon civilization entirely [except for the convenient library], including education, entertainment and even other people. For a 12-year-old, this is more than a little odd. He basically wants to become an early 19th century mountain man/hermit. That seems like a very extreme reaction, and we're never given a clear idea just why his reaction is that extreme.
Then, he just ups and goes, without real thought or planning. Seriously, he doesn't even learn how to build a fire before leaving, and insists on making his own fish-hooks out of wood. Again, why?
The reaction of his parents, though, was wildly difficult to believe, considering how unprepared their son was to face the wilderness. No training, no skills, no equipment, and only surviving the first few days by lucky encounters with strangers, and his parents don't check on him FOR MONTHS??? After all, he never even sent them a postcard to say that he was alive. And he shouldn't have been.
Sam only survived by writer fiat, and his parents should have arrived to find his picked-clean bones. His interactions with the local wildlife were interesting, and more believable than his own actions. Using the falcon for hunting rabbits was odd, since things I've read suggest that a rabbit is too big for this kind of bird to hunt. Again, though, it was necessary for the story to work, so the author made it happen.
The writing craftsmanship of the story was evident, but in retrospect none of the characters was fleshed out or believable, other than animals. The teacher, the librarian, the fire ranger...none of them quite felt right for a 20th century story. The weird lies the fire ranger told to the newspaper just didn't make sense.
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Jan 02, 2011 Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) marked it as to-read

Shelves: fuse-8-top-100-books

Dec 28, 2011 Gwen Dandridge rated it really liked it

Aug 10, 2016 Kelli rated it really liked it

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