M.C. Higgins, the Great Audiobook

" I've been reading this for about a month now and I can't get into it. It's so bizarre. He swings around on the top of a pole and attacks girls in the forest. It's a newberry so I can't give it a 1 star, but... "

" It's dense and a little bit difficult to get through, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. It was well worth the effort. As a heads up, there is a part where the main character chases a girl through the woods with a knife in the dark, catches her, and demands a kiss. That's not what the book is about, though. "

" Read as an assignment. I was really quite enthralled with the character development in this book. I could easily talk about this one over dinner until long after dessert arrived. It is an unusually flavored book with little plot, stark symbolism, and some real wisdom. "

" Despite Hamilton's lovely prose and complex, intriguing themes, I simply could not get into this book. I couldn't stand any of the characters (which wouldn't have been a problem if they had at least been interesting, but sadly they weren't), the semi-mystical plot points felt unnecessary and haphazard, and the complacent attitudes toward prejudice and abuse were infuriating. "

" I don't get it! "

" This book describes three days in the life of M.C. Higgins and the difficult dynamic of his family. I found the story to be slow at times and the portion of the book devoted to day one seemed to drag on and on. I wonder what other books were in the running for the Newbery that year. "

" How about a boy who spends his time sitting on a seat high on a pole, pedaling away and going nowhere. This book went nowhere for me. Odd. "

" I loved this book. It's definitely a quick and fun read. Like all good books, it makes you think. "

" Unfortunately, I did not learn anything from this book. It was flushed through one ear and out the other. But, I blame MISD--a public school system--where we learned to read aloud, read quickly, and read without really reading at all. "

" I found this book really confusing and I couldn't connect with the characters at all. "

" This book felt a little scattered and aimless. Memorable characters for sure but I'm not quire sure what the point of the story was. "

" ...not so much. "

" I liked learning about mountain life...... "

" Really great story! "

" I liked the ending but the rest was weird. "

" Loved it as a kid...my son loved it when he got to the proper age. "

" This book was a real chore to get through! I really don't know how it got the Newberry Award, and I would be interested to find out what kids like it and why. It seemed so random. "

" Interesting story about life in the rural mountains of Ohio. Kind of confusing at parts, and slow storyline. "