May I suggest "Hero" by Perry Moore.
It's an unusual combination of two genre' for young adults... superhero and gay literature.

I'm about two chapters into it, and don't know where it's going just yet. But the superhero aspect, while undeniable, is not overwhelming.

It's more clear that the coming of age aspects of the story are going to rule.

Check it out.

yeah I agree with ozchick's answer. An adult Mattie would be 'taunting'

This is probably Charles Portis' most simple and straightforward work. While the plot is a little plain, I think this book shines with little glimpses the weird humor that Portis capitalized on in his later stuff.

It's a little upsetting that this is Portis' most famous novel. But isn't that how things generally go?

I liked it. I'm not generally a fan of westerns, but this seemed very genuine to me (I think romance and westerns trend strongly towards camp). I liked that the characters were unique and fallible. I liked the basic premise of the story. I liked the writing style and dialogue, and it made me open up Wikipedia and learn something about the western frontier at the time the story takes place. The story was tight and brisk and didn't drag on, and the resolution was good (I hate lazy endings).

Overall, about 4.3 stars.

May I suggest that the next book from the list be "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night" by Mark Haddon?

I picked it from the offered list, based upon the curious title from sherlock holmes, but found the book on disc and started listening to it. I've discovered the chapter numbers are not sequential, though they are in order...2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and while I couldn't figure out why at first, now that I write them down, I see they are only the Prime Numbers. And that may have a significance to the story.

It's quirky, and I think we'll enjoy this one.
What'da say, Questionland?

The copy of the book I bought had an introduction by Donna Tartt, which raved about the book as a classic of literature. Frankly, I think that is over-rating it by a factor of a lot.

But, it is certainly a better book than I expected from a "western". The first person narrative was done well, and with enough craft that Mattie's character was revealed by what she said and what she did not say. I expect that a real Mattie would be difficult to like but easy to respect, but putting the narrative into her voice made her a much more sympathetic character.

I like that it is such a spare narrative. Compared to say, "Streets of Laredo" it was refreshingly crisp and allows the reader to infuse as much or as little into it as feels right. But then, I like narrative stories, rather than reflective writing, or novels which are critiques on modern society etc.

What did you think of it?

I see it neither as a metaphor, nor a cheap plot device. It didn't really stick out to me, perhaps the "just-so" storytelling kept me from seeing that event as anything special.

Could be an allusion to the "Heroes’ Journey?" Mattie doesn't go through all the steps of the monomyth but she does hit a good number of them: The Call to Adventure, The Road of Trials, and Crossing of the First Threshold spring to mind. Perhaps the fall into the pit represents Rescue from without for Mattie as she has to be rescued by both LaBeouf and Rooster?

Mattie has also shown him kindness in dressing his first wound to his arm. Rooster wasn't paying it any attention. He just wanted coffee.

I think it flows with the story. I attribute LaBoeuf's change of heart to two things:

1. Mattie was involved in the action enough and worked hard enough that at some point, she came to be subconsciously perceived as a member of the team and not a kid.

2. So much other stuff was going on (shootout at the cabin, LaBoeuf's first injury, arguing with Rooster) that he wasn't able to spend much mental energy thinking about it (or even noticing it) anymore.

I agree. She's very much "an eye for an eye". I don't see her as having any conflict with her religious beliefs. She is amazingly strong in her convictions and beliefs, no matter how colored or bias they may be toward or against Democrats, out of staters, city folk or criminals.

(And yes, I agree Mattie was the real "True Grit".)

I think it does flow with the story. By that time he has seen that she is determined, does not complain and does her bit.

Mattie's attempts to cut him out of the chase for Chaney must have been infuriating, given the size of the reward and how long he had been after him. That he does soften his attitude to her demonstrates that he is not the shallow boaster that she initially paints him as.

Mattie's view of him changes too. She is pretty scathing to start with, but when she says at the end that she has not seen him since, there was regret there.

I felt like Mattie was very much a subscriber to the Old Testament's "an eye for an eye" style of judgment/justice than the New Testament's "he who is without guilt cast the first stone" style. Mattie is unforgiving in her relentless pursuit of revenge which she sees a justice, in the biblical sense.

God is the ultimate judge (in Mattie's universe) but Mattie was his vehicle for judgment of Tom Chaney on Earth.

Mattie is a tough character who led a tough life, so I don't think she ever subscribed to the love-and-forgiveness parts of the Bible.

There was very much a do-it-yourself air in the book (having to hire your own marshal to track down a murderer?). God may be the ultimate judge, but it seems like the book's characters were deciding to take matters into their own hands until Jesus showed up again. No live-and-let-live. The faster they killed him, the faster he's delivered to God's justice. Obviously, this belief is still going strong all over the place (as in "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out").

Nothing is free but the grace of God, but Mattie's grace is not free.

Mattie also quoted "the wicked flee where none pursueth," so it sounds as if she felt a personal responsibility to track down Chaney. It may be out of a desire to prevent him killing anyone else, but mostly feels like inaction subtly condones his behavior.

What's the time frame on this? When must we finish it by?

Is this a once a month thing, or just when we get around to it?

I'm looking forward to suggesting the next book.

I'm a sixth of the way into the book.
I'm noting that Mattie comments when a person is an Indian, a half-breed, a darkie or a negro, but is also very accurate and caustic in her judgements of all people, regardless of their color. She comments her neighbor is a good man, and he proves it. She also calls a spade a spade when negotiating with the livery stable man and we can see from his comments that he's not entirely trustworthy either.

I don't think Mattie's attitude or prejudices are out of bounds...simple a reflection of the time and place where she is born. (Similarly, Tom Sawyer and Huck Fynn also were a product of their environment, yet we get the point from how they treat others and when they think of others too.)

I think True Grit is definitely a fun read! I got my copy from the library. I knew from the first sentence that I was mistaken to judge a book by its genre (to borrow a phrase from Matt from Denver). I didn't think I'd like it but I instantly liked it a lot! ;) 'Tis good!

I'm reading the book (haven't watched the movie yet) & I think the language just *is* old-timey. ?? I like your insight-- Mattie is a bit of a proud young woman. I think if she were less proper, respectable, or educated it would read differently, as it's from her perspective, but in general haven't people gotten a lot less formal over the years? Both in speech and propriety.

Some of the phrases in the book are lots of fun and I want to remember to use them!

Because the book is written from Mattie's perspective, I assume Portis has tried to reflect what he thought a a woman of her time and place would think. That having been said, there was a contrast between her assessment of Yarnell, which was based upon her own knowledge of him and her generalised description of some of the Native Americans as uncivilised (not got the book with me, so may not have that quite right).

I got the sense that Mattie carried with her the prejudices of her time, but that when she met individuals she used her own criteria in assessing any person, whether that be positive or not.

The descriptions do include ethnicity, - for example Mr Lee who owns the shopwhere Rooster was living - but it seems to me that the reference to him being Chinese is more a basic description than a loaded label.

Mattie most if all - given her age, inexperience and the fact that of all of them she had no financial motive, just sheer bloody minded determination.

What about the Texas Ranger? As I recall, even though shot, he gets Mattie out of the pit, then falls over dead. Wasn't that in the book, or only in the Dinsey movie?

I agree with Russ and katallred that the only way you'll know if a book is actually really good or not is to try reading some of it. Nancy Pearl has a nice rule of thumb that I try to adhere to whenever possible -- take your age, subtract it from the number 100, and that's the number of pages you should try to read before giving up. If you're 100 years old, you can judge a book by its cover alone. :)

I haven't read True Grit yet (just got my copy from the library yesterday -- check it out now, and you'll get an extra week to finish it because all locations of the Seattle Public Library are closed due to budget cuts from August 29th through September 5th). But one of the things that got me excited about reading this book is the fact that the main character is a 14-year-old girl determined to avenge her father's murder. That's a pretty unusual protagonist for an old-timey Western story.

David Wright has compiled a great list of other old-timey Westerns that includes some other titles that play with the conventions of the genre in interesting ways (my favorite is Warlock by Oakley Hall). If you end up reading and liking True Grit, you might also want to check out one other that's not on his list: The Furies by Niven Busch, in which another strong-willed young female protagonist, Vance Jeffords, locks horns with her powerful rancher father in a years-long struggle over her choices and inheritance.

People are stoked about this book because:

1. It was made into a John Wayne movie years ago (older generation appeal).

2. It was made into a Coen Brothers movie this year (younger generation appeal).

3. The story is compelling and real.

4. The characters are DELICIOUS.

The newer movie is very faithful to the book. Pick it up on Netflix and see what you think. If you like it, read the book.

I'm no great fan of Westerns, and I loved the book, to the point where I have, over the course of the years, offended many people with my scorn for the original movie (which veers dramatically away from the book's storyline). I was much happier with the Coen Brothers' version of the story, but I still prefer the book.

You know the saying, "Never judge a book by its cover?" There ought to be another one that says "Never judge a book by its genre." You're liable to miss out of some truly great literature if you do, and that sounds like what you're doing here.

Now, I've never read "True Grit," but I've seen both films, neither of which were my idea of an old-timey Western. The story was about revenge, determination, and coming of age; the West (actually Arkansas and Texas) was merely the setting. It could just as easily have been set during the Depression, or the Napoleonic era, or ancient Rome, or as a sci fi novel.

Anyway, the book has a sterling reputation. No one I know who has read it has regretted it, and that includes plenty of people who aren't Western fans. Others have already suggested how you can try it out for cheap or free.