Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

"A simple, honest, touching story about a boy and his dogs, hunting raccoons in the foothills of the Ozark mountains. It has faith, love and loyalty and it hit just as hard as an adult as it did when I was a kid." 

3 Stars

Pros: Billy's love for his pups, Old Dan and Little Ann is the most pure and genuine love there is and there's never any doubting it/Touched upon the idea of God/Heaven/Faith in a tender and respectful way. 

Cons: I had trouble with the passage of time in this novel, I was unsure of how much time had passed between chapters, so all of it seemed to happen very quickly, it was a little jarring at times/I do not approve of hunting unless you're using all parts of the animal and need to kill said animal to survive, even then, I'm not a fan of it, so the whole constant hunting of small woodland creatures was a bit cringe-worthy. 

Full Review

One night, on his way home from work, Billy Coleman witnesses a dog fight. He, at first, can't help but watch in awe as one dog manages to fight off multiple opponents. When he intervenes, scaring off the other dogs, the trembling victor eventually sniffs his offered hand. Billy takes the dog home, feeds him and after one night of exhausted sleep, the dog is on his way again. 

Billy doesn't stop him. He watches with a bittersweet smile as the dog trots off. He'd noticed a collar with the name, "Buddie" scratched into it in a childish scrawl. And that confirmed what Billy already suspected. This dog was faithfully on his way to find his owner, wherever he may be. 

It reminds Billy of his own childhood. The same deep, unbreakable bond that he felt for two of the best pups the world ever knew, old Dan and little Anne.

At the ripe old age of 12, Billy comes down with an incurable case of puppy love. All he wants are two hounds that he can hunt raccoons with and though his parents want to help, they have no money to spare, so Billy works and saves every single cent. It takes two years but he finally has enough and sends away for two pups from an ad he saw in a newspaper. And when the two pups arrive, Billy knows instantly that his life has changed. 

He spends the next years running the foothills of the Ozark Mountains with his two coon hound pups, old Dan and little Anne. Though I didn't like the hunting aspect, the story of the simple, honest love of Billy for his dogs, pulls at the heartstrings just as much as it did when I was 10. And Rawls' respectful thoughts on faith and God were deep and honest. A book that was enjoyed when I was a child and now as an adult. A wonderful Christmas present :).