 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Rifle
- By Gary Paulsen
- Genre: Historical Fiction
Common Sense Media says
Historical yarn follows the life of a gun.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this book has straightforward writing and good storytelling, with an original approach that uses a gun as the main character. Simple but effective prose conveys a powerful message, and the Revolutionary setting provides a historical backdrop for a contemporary issue.
What's the story?
With his usual economy of words, Gary Paulsen spins a trenchant historical yarn around one gun, a flintlock that dates back to the Revolutionary War. This one-in-a-million "sweet" shooting rifle threads its way across 200 years. Tucked away in an attic, it resurfaces in contemporary times with devastating impact.
Gunsmith Cornish McManus lovingly crafts a once-in-a lifetime flintlock muzzle-loader, but is sadly forced to part with it when Clare, the love of his life, wants to begin a family. John Byam, a mountain man, must have the rifle. "Sweet," Byam says, nodding. "Like honey from a tree after a long, dead winter. I'll buy it." With his deal, Byam gets swept up in the Revolutionary War, where death results from use of the rifle.
After the Revolution, the rifle falls into the hands of Sarah, who tucks it away between the timbers in her attic, where it stays until 1993. The rifle, discovered by two children, exchanges hands many times until its fatal act on Christmas Eve, when the spark of a Christmas candle uncannily ignites, setting off the charge that kills.
Is it any good?
The first quarter of the book is devoted to the making of the weapon, and contains so much detail that some readers will find it tedious. It does, however, have the effect of creating a romantic, nostalgic reverence for the heft and warmth of a finely crafted weapon, which makes its final act all the more poignant. The author gives a logical foundation to an unlikely, unlucky turn of events, when the rifle explodes without so much as a finger on the trigger. This tragic outcome is all the more haunting when the full weight of loss is enumerated in moments of a life not lived.
Gary Paulsen invites readers to trouble over the idea "as Tim Harrow believed, as millions believed, that guns didn't kill people, people kill people." His unsentimental, matter-of-fact retelling of horrific events gives them all them more power, and he uses pointed characterizations to devastating effect. He clearly has a case to make, and makes it powerfully, but he avoids seeming too preachy.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about guns.
Do you think guns or people are to blame for gun-related deaths?
How do you feel about the rifle in this story?
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AGE
Gary Paulsen could do better
As a 14 year old war geek, I did not think this book was very good, it has a bad ending where a 14 year old gets shot in the head, and I don't think it is very appropriate ending. It had its interesting moments but I think Gary Paulsen could do better. But this book does give a good message to check guns if they are loaded which I learned at age 5.
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AGE
must read now!
It is necessary to know this book. Cornish McManus has just started his own gunsmithing career. For the next year, he works on an immensely accurate or “Sweet†rifle, working through the night, taking extra care to make the rifle beautiful, making sure there were no flaws. Here Paulsen demonstrates his talent for description of details, focusing on Cornish’s care for the rifle, making such a statement in so very few pages. Soon after the rifle is finished, Cornish decides to sell the rifle in order to raise money for his fiancé before starting a family and thus, it comes into Legend to be John Byam’s hands. When he dies, the rifle is put into an attic and lost for years, and when it is found, will it have a fatal impact on one modern boy? This book is a must read. Paulsen has passed the test of literature for youth with flying colors! His knack for detail is demonstrated by the fact that it is not too wordy, does not bore you and forces you to keep reading, and he fit it all into 105 pages only! If you have a love for reading, and a background knowledge of war and weapons, this is the book for you! The constant atmosphere of death and despair makes it the Lemony Snicket of its time. You will never find a moment of content or pure happiness within its dark and gloomy contents. And yet, that is what draws us, compels us, to read. To see the issues of our fellow man and the despairs of mortal life as we know it, being a pointless existence in the ever expanding reaches of deep space. You won’t want to stop! Here’s to you Gary, on a job well done!
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AGE
great for ages 11+
I think it is a great book for ages 11+ because there is some hard words in the book but everything is spot on.
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AGE
it is good fr 9+
i love thebook becase i have to do do it in a book report.
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AGE
The Rifle , my opinion
itss goood , beginning is a bit boring , but very detaileedd . yeahhh .
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AGE
THE BEST
This book had everything a good book should have..........a begining, a middle, and an end filled with death and sarrow!!!!!!
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Kid, 12 years old
February 13, 2012
AGE
medium well
its a great book but there is some foul language used and it can be boring at certian parts
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| Author: | Gary Paulsen |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Historical Fiction |
| Publisher: | Random House |
| Publication date: | January 1, 1995 |
| Number of pages: | 105 |
| Hardcover price: | $13.00 |
| Paperback price: | $5.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 12 - 17 |
| Read aloud: | 11 |
| Read alone: | 12 |
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