Friday, July 18, 2008

Harris and Me

Harris and Me Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen

rating: 3 of 5 stars

I loved How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen last year. I actually laughed out loud when I read it, so I was happy to mooch another Paulsen book.

I read most of this today at the pool. The story follows an 11-year old boy who is sent to live with distant relatives for the summer to escape his alcoholic parents. He becomes fast friends with his 9-year old cousin, Harris, and the two spend the summer on the farm concocting amazing adventures for themselves (usually with hilariously disastrous results).

I could see where teenage boys would really get a kick out of this book, and I would mostly recommend it for them. Having said that, there is a fair amount of mild swearing and an issue of some "dourty peectures" that the narrator brings to the farm.

4 comments:

Amanda said...

My son loved Hatchett - would you recommend this book to a kid who is not quite 8 but is reading far beyond his years? My son reads at about 6th grade level, so we have to be careful not to give him stuff that's too easy to read but also not to give him stuff that's too advanced in subject. A 7-year-old doesn't quite understand middle-school level subjects, but at the same time, he can't get stuck reading things like Magic Tree House, which would take him 15 mins to gobble down. You mention mild swearing...people have such different definitions of mild, you know?

-Amanda
5-Squared (a book review blog)

Tricia said...

Hey Amanda,
I have a kid the same age and I would not recommend it for them. The School Library Journal gives it a PG-13 Award and Publisher's Weekly recommends it for 12+. I can understand how frustrating it must be for you!

trish said...

Hehe...this book sounds cute! Nice review. :-)

Anonymous said...

My daughter read this book in 6th grade and I read it with her. We both loved it! We also read How Angel Peterson Got His Name and loved that as well.