The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

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Title: The Yearling

Author: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Genre: Children's Books

Length: 513 pages

Published: 1930

Publisher: Scribner Book Company

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Young Jody adopts an orphaned fawn he calls Flag and makes it a part of his family and his best friend. But life in the Florida backwoods is harsh, and so, as his family fights off wolves, bears, and even alligators, and faces failure in their tenuous subsistence farming, Jody must finally part with his dear animal friend. There has been a film and even a musical based on this story.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

This was a really good coming of age story about a young boy who is carefree (and whose father permits him to shirk his chores much to his mother's chagrin), and raises a young fawn who was orphaned by his father when he had to use her organs to try to get some of the rattlesnake poison out of his veins. Jody spends the entire book learning how to grow up and eventually having to part with his pet and how to take care of the family's needs. 

Some parts of the story were a little slow and it took a long time before Jody finds the young fawn, but everything was definitely important to the build up of the story: understanding the neighbors, understanding the way his father and mother act, the reasons they do things, etc. In the end, Jody learns a lot of valuable lessons and grows up to be a man.

You can purchase The Yearling through Amazon in either hard copy or kindle format. 

Have you read The Yearling? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.