Rating: 
Summary: Sad but True
Review: The book The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter should be read by middle schoolers because it is a sad but compelling book which was a coming of age story. Although the ending was emotional and disapointing,it had a meaningful point. The novel had two perspectives.You could see the Indian's as well as the white people's point of view of eachother. True son, the main character, was raised by Indians when he was a child, but was taken back by the white men and couldn't believe that he had white blood. The lesson incorporated in The Light in the Forest was True Son had to sacrafice his life with the Indians,yet while doing so he saved a lot of people from being massacered.
Rating: 
Summary: My Opinion
Review: I had to read this book my Freshman year for English I Honors, and i honestly thought it was a waste of time. I had to force myself to stay awake and read the pages we were assigned to read each day. A majority of my class had to do the same. This book is so full of boring facts, and not much of a story line. There wasn't really a climax in the book either. Usually i don't want to put a book down, and stay up till 1 or 2 in the morning reading, but on this book, i never wanted to pick it up, and had to stay up till 1 or 2 reading it, because it took forever to read cuz it was so boring! Unless you want to waste your time, i would suggest not reading this book.
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Summary: This book stinks on ice!
Review: I had to do a book report on this and I found it hard tounderstand. There was not enough action to write about. I reallyreally really hated it. I do not recommend any other 4th graders try to read this awful book.
Rating: 
Summary: Brings Tears
Review: this is truely a very, very sad book, but after all, i loved it so much that i cried at the end. the way Mr. Richter wrote this will make you feel as if this all happens to be real. even though i hated it when we started to read it, becuase we had to read this for our English class, starting chapter three i totally fell in love with it... i sugest that most people will like this book.i'm looking forward to read the seaqual, beacuse there is one
Rating: 
Summary: The Light in the Forest
Review: This piece of literature, entitled The Light in the Forest, was poorly written. I think the author was drowsy when he wrote this book. My opinion is that there were too many Indian names and obscure words, the author used sluggish style. The sentences were too drawn out and monotonous. I do not like Conrad Richard's style. Others, however, may like this stuffy, stale book. On a scale of one to ten, I've concluded that this book deserves a two and a half. It's plot, however, did have potential. Another author could have possibly made this book worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, bad book
Review: This book was a good book, but it got very boring at parts. It was very dull and it jumped around. Some parts did get exciting, but not to good. I would recomend this book if you like reading about Indian stories. It is about a naturally white boy who got taken in by an Indian family. After about 10 years he had to go back to his real parents. The book was Ok, but i found it rather boring
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Summary: The "light" in The Light in the Forest
Review: This book comes out of the true roots of America's past, a book that stirs something deep in every person's heart, a yearning for freedom, an achingly sweet sadness that doesn't cause tears to gush but makes you feel a little ache inside you for what you have lost- or rather what True Son, the main character, has lost. Everyone has something of True Son in them- his plight: of having the blood of a white... but the heart and mind of an Indian. We all have something of the Indian in us- the love for nature, the love for animals, peace, solitude, and simple ways- which is why this book appeals so much to all of us. Through simple words we come to understand the anguish of True Son, a white boy raised as an Indian, being pulled in two separate directions. It is like any person today, having to make the choice between close friends and blood family. As we read, we feel the injustices done to the Indian, under the spell of True Son's simple dialect and way of speaking. Even the third-person narrative is as if True Son is talking to us. As he says "The Indian and deer would wither and die in such confinement, but the white man flourished in the stale sickly air of his house like fleas in his wall and borers in the cabin logs," we forget that we live in such confinement, and wonder with True Son at the white man's stupidity. You'll either love this book, as I did, or hate it, for there are still many people prejudiced against the Indians and their philosophy of life so far from material things. So if you luxuriate in "that instrument of torture called a bolster" and revel in the joys of material things, then perhaps this book is not for you. The ending on first read-through seems to leave a little to be desired. It's a little bit sad, but after a second consideration you will think that it is the best ending Conrad Richter could have given it. This beautifully written book will truly touch something in your heart and leave you with a wider view of the world, a better understanding and compassion of being torn between two totally different worlds- and which way your mind and heart take you, and which way your blood, heritage, and traditions take you. I definitely recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: My all-time favorite!
Review: I was not forced to read this book, like so many of the reviewers here. I was in my grade school library when I spotted the cover- two young, lean, armed Indians with mohawk haircuts walking through an impressionistic forest with a beam of light descending upon them. One Indian was entirely red, the other all white. I read the back cover. It was about a white captive among the Indians. I loved that subject as age ten and the book was my choice from the library that day. I must admit that it was tough going the first time I read it. It was sometimes hard to understand about whom he was referring to when True Son thought about his father and the book did lack action. I also admit that the ending was a let down. I wanted a cut and dried ending with no loose ends and LITF leaves the reader with a huge loose end. At ten years old, this book left me disappointed and confused.Yet I voluntarily read it again not less than two years later and I fell in love with it the second time. I have since then read it at least once every year and sometimes more. I am 29 now. I cannot adequately describe why this novel still moves me. I can say it is beautifully written and has a truly moving story about a boy caught between two very different worlds. Also Richter's description of the beauty of nature and the way people can see the same facets of nature and of mankind in two completly different ways is incredible. I could go on and on why this novel means so much to me, but I will state simply that it is my all time favorite.
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Summary: The Light in the forest online review by:Kelly Lansing
Review: The reason I gave this book 5 stars is because I took the book emotionally which is what I think makes a good book a good book.Honestly, before I hated this book and thought that I would never get done with it even though it was only 117 pages long. It must of been more toward the middle that the reader caught my eye{got me into it.}I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good reading challenge.
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Summary: WHITE INDIAN IN TWO WORLDS
Review: Four-year-old Johnny Butler was kidnapped by raiding Indians and raised as True Son--fully adopted to replace a dead Indian boy. For 11 years he has learned Indian ways from his new father, Cayuga. Considering himself a future warrior, he is stunned and rebelious when his father (and others) must surrender their white captives (including wives) to make a land deal with the White Man. Hurt, humiliated and terrified, True Son mentally spits on all Western civilization. He despises white ways--their attitude toward Nature, their cruelty to Indians, and their cramped, oppressive lifestyle. He privately plans to escape back into his true culture and real people at the first opportunity. But he reckons without knowledge of his biological family: an invalid mother who never recovered from his abduction; a kind but stern father who values his ledgers; an adoring little brother who had not yet been born. Worst of all is his hot-tempered uncle, who leads Peshtank "boys" on vicious, punitive raids against his people. Who is the real traitor to Peace between the races? How can this youth enjoy life without the loyal companionship of his best friend and "cousin." Half Arrow? Is it possible to take the Indian out of a boy whose blood and brain belong to the Native people? Both worlds claim him, yet in the final irony, both worlds may reject him. What does the future hold for a white youth who considers himself one with the enemies of the English in 1765? This is intense reading centered on a real moral dilemma, for which the youth is not responsible. Will he ever be free to choose his own path through life, to be accepted in either world? Will he have to betray white settlers, in order to prove his Indian heart? Presented with justice from both points of view, this short novel is an excellent example of Historical Fiction for readers of all ages.
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