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A review by dorothy_gale
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
4.0
This was not what I expected, but I gave it 4 stars because of the incredible detail, the interesting point of view which broadened over time, the fact that it was written in 1903 and managed to hold my attention, and its ability to push my buttons around the treatment of animals and the characterization of women. Surprisingly, the characterization of Natives was not bad.
I had added it to my list a year ago because it was a classic, and because it shows up on lists of books on resilience. I bumped it up after seeing that a movie version came out starring Harrison Ford (of course my daughter wanted to see it), so I needed to screen it. After finishing the book, I thought there is no way I'm letting my 7 and 8yo see it. I checked the movie ratings, and it's PG (for some violence, peril, thematic elements and mild language.) All versions of the movie (I think there are at least 4) are PG. So then I checked Commonsensemedia.org for their take on age appropriateness of the book. Experts said ages 12+, parents said 13+, kids said 12+. So, they must've stripped quite a bit out for the movies. My kids are animal lovers though, so I think Harrison Ford can wait.
As of today, this book had a 3.87 average by 326,848 reviewers. It will likely be the lowest-rated book I will read this year, but I suspect the lower ratings come from younger audiences who were assigned to read it.
I had added it to my list a year ago because it was a classic, and because it shows up on lists of books on resilience. I bumped it up after seeing that a movie version came out starring Harrison Ford (of course my daughter wanted to see it), so I needed to screen it. After finishing the book, I thought there is no way I'm letting my 7 and 8yo see it. I checked the movie ratings, and it's PG (for some violence, peril, thematic elements and mild language.) All versions of the movie (I think there are at least 4) are PG. So then I checked Commonsensemedia.org for their take on age appropriateness of the book. Experts said ages 12+, parents said 13+, kids said 12+. So, they must've stripped quite a bit out for the movies. My kids are animal lovers though, so I think Harrison Ford can wait.
As of today, this book had a 3.87 average by 326,848 reviewers. It will likely be the lowest-rated book I will read this year, but I suspect the lower ratings come from younger audiences who were assigned to read it.