The Color of Lawns

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
If only it were this easy. A 12 year old boy's scatty grandmother gives him an old riding lawnmower and he ends up with 15 employees, a broker, and an Enforcer (in the form of a prize-fighter he sponsors). I hope any kid who reads this also has been aware of the current state of the financial markets.
This is a short, light read about being a capitalist.


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Not for the Faint-Hearted

Guts : The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books by Gary Paulsen

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
Just not my type of book. Everyone wanted to know what Paulsen's true-life experiences were that gave him grist for his adventure story mill and this is the result. Whatever you do, don't read the first chapter if you're about to take a plane trip.
His story about the blizzard during the Iditarod makes me want to eradicate the concept. Fortunately, toward the end he tried to eat turtle eggs and got what was coming to him.
This is an excellent companion to his adventure stories, such as Hatchet, but precisely the sort of thing I don't enjoy. Strange, because he can also write stories as funny as Patrick McManus (see Harris and Me) and there's a terrific opportunity to inject humor in the scene where as a 16 year old he tries to get a 200 lb. buck home.
Definitely a guy read. Also, it seems to be just thrown together because it's just one anecdote after another.


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