The Yearling book review, with NO spoilers

I finished The Yearling late last night and I wish I was in a book club to discuss every part of it. Now I'm not going to give a thing away (you know how I hate that!) But there are a few things I wish I actually had known going into it.  I wish I had known this whole books is mostly about character development and setting. I kept waiting for the plot to start, but similar to Jayber Crow, this is just a calm, lovely read. I wish I could have let go of the expectation of conflict or struggle earlier on and just soaked up the scenery and people along the way.

My mom told me it was made into a movie, and I cannot fathom how this story would work on the screen. So much of it is descriptive setting and interpersonal growth, I just don't know how the heart of this book would translate. But maybe some day I'll watch it.

I told Rory this book was so descriptive that quite likely in a few months I'm going to say, "I'm so glad we took that trip to inland Florida this summer" even though we didn't actually go. But I have this whole world in my head and heart now, and I was swept up. And the people. Oh the main characters in this book are lovable and upright. Sometimes when Rory and I are watching a movie he'll say, "There's not one character I'm rooting for right now. I'm done watching this." And it's so true...modern stories seem void of good, solid, moral people. But this book follows a father and son, two of the best.

It's a sweet read. Enjoyable all the way through. But now after reading a 500 page WW2 book, and a 500 page Coming of Age book, I'm going for something super light. Next up: a recommendation from my friend Amanda, The Rosie Project.