Book Review: Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Title: Winter's Bone

Author: Daniel Woodrell

Publisher: Back Bay Books

Pages: 224

Source: Gifted

Buy the Book: Amazon

Summery

Ree Dolly's father has skipped bail on charges that he ran a crystal meth lab, and the Dollys will lose their house if he doesn't show up for his next court date. With two young brothers depending on her, 16-year-old Ree knows she has to bring her father back, dead or alive. Living in the harsh poverty of the Ozarks, Ree learns quickly that asking questions of the rough Dolly clan can be a fatal mistake. But, as an unsettling revelation lurks, Ree discovers unforeseen depths in herself and in a family network that protects its own at any cost.

Review

Winter's Bone was not a bad book by any means. It's just wasn't my cup of tea. I just didn't enjoy it that much.

The main character Ree was a tough heroine you can easily sympathize and root for. She is the main reason why I kept reading this book. This is one of those stories about a girl who was forced to give up pretty much her life to look after her family. This is a responsibility a girl her age isn’t supposed to take. But Ree does everything she can to look after them, completely neglecting herself and her own needs and desires. 

Although the main character is the shinning aspect of the story, the side character pretty much felt one-dimensional. It’s probably because I didn’t see enough of them that I couldn’t connect with any of them.

I think what turned me off in Winter’s Bone was the writing and the story. Although this book was short, I still feel it could have been shorter. I didn't know what direction this story was meant to go, and I wasn’t satisfied by the conclusion. The book was full of some descriptions that I felt were meant to drag. I rarely skip through a book, but I couldn’t help doing that several times reading this one. Although I didn’t enjoy the writing, I really did enjoy the dialogue. I didn’t feel lost skipping through the book because the dialogue was enough to keep me on track.

All in all, I'm glad I read Winter's Bone. I don't usually read those kinds of books, so it's nice to try something new once in a while. It's just wasn't for me.

Final Rating