Members with This Book
Most Helpful Reviews
see all reviews
Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “My dad grew up farming in Arkansas, so I felt like this was a great way to take a peek into what might have been his childhood. My dad does not read a lot, but I bought this form him in the book on tape form and he loved it.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Not a great book for one to invest some time if you are really running scarce of it...however one can understand a few bits about the life style of the old American farmers post reading a really slow book...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
see all reviews-
“A Painted House by John Grisham is about a young boy, Luke Chandler, and the summer that would forever change his life. Luke lives on a cotton farm in Arkansas and they have had a really good year for growing cotton, but soon it changes. The Chandlers have to hire help to pick the cotton. They hire “hill people” and they hire Mexicans shipped straight from Mexico. These new visitors come with many experiences. Some of these experiences taught Luke a lot about life, but some taught him a lot about death.
Carla M wrote this review 6 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The book begins with Luke and his grandfather looking for people to help them pick their cotton. They go to town looking for the Mexicans to arrive, but they would not be in until later, so Luke and his grandfather leave town. They park on the side of the road and wait for “hill people”-otherwise known as “hillbillies”- to come through looking for work. The Spruills finally come through and agree to work for the Chandler’s. Little did they know, one member of the Spruill family would become quiet a problem.
Seven year old, Luke Chandler is the main character in this book. He is very dynamic because he learns some many things about life in one summer. He learns how life comes into this world and he learns how a life can leave this world. He has to help his father and grandfather pick cotton, but his dream is to play for the St. Louis Cardinals. He saves all his money to buy a Cardinal red jacket to wear to school on the first day of school.
Hank Spruill is the trouble maker of the Spruill family. His neck is “as thick as a tree trunk” and he is very obnoxious. His favorite hobby is getting into fights. One day while they were one a break from picking cotton, Hank started making fun of the Chandlers to Luke. He said they were to poor and their house would never be painted. Trot Spruill stuck up for Luke on that day and soon they started to see white paint on their house.
Cowboy is one of the Mexican farm workers. He throws a mean curveball, but also has a bad temper. Cowboy and Hank do not get along and soon their battle gets way to serious. Luke catches Tally Spruill and Cowboy together a couple times and wonders what they are doing.
The theme of this book is be careful what you go looking for because you just might find it. Luke becomes very explorative during this particular summer. He went sneaking around at night and listening in on things that were none of his business. Soon all of his eavesdropping got him into serious trouble, but he had it coming.
I liked this book because it took place in Arkansas. Many of the places the mentioned where places I have been to or have heard a lot about. It was a good experience to learn more about the history of cotton picking and how important it was to many farm families in the south. I did not like that some of the characters were so confusing, such as Tally and Trot. They did many things and there was not explanation as to why they decided to do them.
Page Count: 372
Genre: realistic fiction
”“Unlike his other books. Interesting”
Jenny E wrote this review 13 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I enjoyed this book....it didn't seem to be the same as most of his books, very untypical of John Grisham....but the story was good.
Inkberry wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I felt for the little boy in the story, but he probably didn't know anything else.”“Not a great book for one to invest some time if you are really running scarce of it...however one can understand a few bits about the life style of the old American farmers post reading a really slow book...”
~~~~ HaMundR@ ~~~~ wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Even though John Grisham typically writes for older audiences, I think that we can definitely use this book in a higher-grade classroom, like 8th grade. I think that a great way to use this in the classroom would be to have the students do character sketches as they are reading the book. There are so many different characters, and this is a great way to get them involved in the different roles of the characters, and gives them a visual representation as well.”
Jennifer C wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I love stories about people.”
Jennifer A wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Not a law book, but still a good book!!! John Grisham really knows how to keep people reading a book, even if it´s not a legal one!!!”
Alejandro M wrote this review 4 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Love this book....”
Mrs. Huyck wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book was amazing it also was FANTASTIC”
VA :) FOOTBALL ROCKS!!!!!! wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Slow... perhaps a little dull... but I enjoyed the change of pace... it was interesting enough to read until the end. I liked the sense of 'ordinary'... books don't have to be heavy in plot to be a good read... I liked the descriptions of everyday life... makes me want to start that vegetable garden that I've been planning to do for a long time!”
Joanne N wrote this review Friday, November 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
