Preacher's Boy

It is an easy, fun read but there is also a deeper meaning. It is a mixture of Huck Finn, and the prodigal son. I enjoyed.

I read it all in one night!

I may just need to return to all of Katherine Paterson's books. As a Pastor's Kid, I like this book. As a human being with giant flaws, I love this book.

Great book

Don't get me wrong, this book wasn't bad. I just felt that it never got the spark that distinguishes an "okay" book from a really good book.First of all, it seemed to me that the book was really slow-moving. It didn't take me that long to finish the entire book, but I think it was halfway before I felt that the book really got moving.Robbie was a problem for me as well. There are some characters that you come to love, and some that you just want to hate, but Robbie just seemed lukewarm to me, and it took me awhile to even like him enough to care very much what was happening. Besides this, Robbie can take the time to become philisophical, much older for his years, such as in his musings about how "Violet" got changed to "Vile", etc, but can't seem to figure out up from down in other instances.There are quite a few things that seem extraneous, and don't help to move forward the plot very well.The other thing that irks me is that Robbie's father is JUST TOO PERFECT. I know that he's the preacher, etc, but nobody is THAT perfect.

What a wonderful way of going back in time and age. To experience the innocence, or not so innocent, of youth in the 19 th century, as we follow 11 year old Robbie through the confusion of childhood, turn of century angst and being a preachers son. And so much more.Will read this again because it was such an experience and joy to immerse myself into this story.

Good story, moving plot. Daughter used it for a book report, and I read it for fun. Creative. Engaging. Great - yet believable ending. Pleased with this purchase.

Noted author Paterson has one the prestigious Newbery Medal twice in her prolific career; with this book, she very well may find herself a candidate once again. The crystalline prose, the finely wrought setting, and the unforgettable characters that are the hallmarks of her work are all present again in this historical novel of turn-of-the-20th-century small-town Vermont. This is the story of Robbie Hewitt, indeed a preacher's boy, who, in the finest Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer traditions, finds himself definitely at odds with the role his family and his father's flock expect of him. Like his literary predecessors, Robbie must face a nigh impossible situation which leads to an ultimate maturing. This reviewer must wonder if Ms. Paterson is familiar with the thought and teaching of contemporary theologian Matthew Fox because there are some striking similarities in her novel. What a great master's thesis or doctoral dissertation that would make! However, the theology never clouds the plot or Robbie and the book is a very satisfying read.