JACK SCHAFER
Age Range: 12 and up
Eleven-year-old Robert Starrett, aka Bob, lived a quieter life in the Wyoming Valley in 1889, going to school and helping his parents on their homestead, living a perfect western life. Then a stranger comes, a person unlike anyone Bob has met before, and all he says is that his name is Shane. Shane is a mysterious man who can be fierce and scary but someone you can always trust. When Shane meets the Starrett family, he unexpectedly decides to stay with them and help with their land and cattle. When the cattle rangers fight for territory with the homesteaders, Bob begins to learn more about their new friend and what it means to fight or not fight for something you believe in.
Shane is a notable western classic, and though it is a short and easy-to-understand book, it is laid with more profound meaning in almost every sentence. I had to stop and reread some sentences many times to understand what the author was trying to portray underneath fully. Jack Schaefer does a fantastic job of describing moments and people that makes you start to picture the scenes in your mind. I was never very interested in reading westerns, but this one surprised me. Shane is a mysterious dark person with an unknown past, yet he somehow captures the attention and surprises everyone he meets.
The story is told from the point of view of Bob, the only child in the Starrett family. It is interesting because Bob doesn't say much to anyone the whole book, yet he is a part of every significant event, but he is never the center of attention, always there and listening in the background. If you are unsure if you like western books, read Shane anyway! I am sure you will be captured by this book just as I was!
Things to Mention: A few d ***'s and some men fight each other and get beat up. Three men die with not a lot of details.
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