Rating: 
Summary: Enthralling and Beautifully Written
Review: I have just finished reading this book, I couldn't put it down, it absorbed me from the very first page. The voice of the protaganist reminded me of "To Kill A Mockingbird" as did the relationship between Michele and his sister Maria. I thought this was a beautifully written book. I've never been to Italy, but I felt myself there with the characters - I could see and smell the surroundings - both beautiful (the hills and corn fields) and the suffocating (hole where Phillipo is held and the pig sty). The characters were beautifully crafted and very believable. I really loved this story. I have mixed feelings about the ending - part of me would have preferred Ammaniti to spoon feed us an end that tied up all the strings and told us exactly what became of the characters: the other part of me enjoys grappling with an ending that requires thought and imagination. We can at least be sure that Michele survives his final ordeal as the book is narrated by the adult Michele.I highly recommend this book - please read it.
Rating: 
Summary: No Suspension
Review: I'm afraid my opinion of this book is closer to reviewer "Cmonsassy's", as the story did not strike me as believable at any point. There are so many things about the story which would have to be explained -- and I can't really go into them without giving away too much of the book -- suffice it to say that some of the central threads of this story just didn't wash. Although engagingly written, from the very beginning I had difficulty suspending disbelief and immersing myself in the story, and the book never redeemed itself in the end. I was left with the impression that it was melodramatic, overwrought, and not particularly believable.
Rating:
Summary: Through The Eyes of a Child
Review: I'm Not Scared is that rare kind of novel that you can only rejoice in. It's that rare touching, crowd-pleasing effort that leaves you breathless and craving for more. It is a rich, complex, yet short, story that will amaze you with its power and audacity. Michele is a nine year old Italian boy who, like every other boy on the block, likes playing sports and playing dare with his friends and little sister. One day, he enters a delapidated house on a dare. And in there, he finds a covered-up hole. At its bottom is a small boy, dirty and sickly, scrawny and afraid. Michele has just stumbled upon a plot that involves almost every single male in town. Saying any more would ruin a completely surprising story. Let me just say that Michele befriends the little boy, Fillipo, and will try and help him out as best he can. Like Stephen King's The Body (which was made into the movie Stand By Me) or McCammon's Boy's Life, I'm Not Scared is a novel that belongs to one of the most beloved and yet most complicated genre there is; the coming of age tale. Told through the eyes of a child, the novel has that dream-like quality that almost seems magical on the page. You will live what Michele lives, and you will experience his loss of innoncence and move into manhood. The whole novel has a sad, nostalgic quality that drenches every page with emotions. I'm Not Scared is short (barely 200 pages long) and yet, it will probably be better than most book you've read in the last year. It is that rare rich book that will probably become a classic down the line. A great little gem that deserves to be discovered.
Rating: 
Summary: Tense Drama
Review: I'm not sure how to describe this book. Is it a shattering of innocence, a coming of age story, a mystery, a suspense novel or is it all of these? I was drawn into the story immediately by the short terse prose, the descriptions of the countryside and the dialogue and actions of the young children in the story. Ammaniti, has captured with accuracy the actions and thoughts of a child who is caught in an adult situation. As the reader you are viewing the events from the eyes of nine year old Michelle and you feel the same confusion and detachment that he does when placed in a situation where an incredible event is occuring. As he learns more and sees more from the actions of his parents and the other adults around him be begins to understand what is really happening and can no longer remain detached. He can no longer remain neutral, he must act. The book moves along at a quick pace and ends in a nail biting climax. This was a good story with beautiful detail and a realistic portrayal of a nine year olds reactions and thoughts. I really enjoyed this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Painful Read but Redeeming in Some Ways
Review: I'm sorry to say that I will not be able to join the enthralled voices in reviewing this title. This book is a book I never would have chosen to read on my own, and I only did so at the request of a friend. That understood, here are my thoughts: - The flow of the book was smooth and easy to read.
- The suspense of plotline naturally drew me in, though that is one of the easiest (cheapest) ways to keep your readers interested.
- The book is incredibly short with big words and alot of spacing. Though it is 200 pages, I read it in about 7 hours in one day, and I'm not a very fast reader.
- The writer indulged in some unnecessary (I think) glimpses of children's explorations of sexuality.
- The main character, Michele, is definitely endearing, especially with how he treats his sister, loves his parents and endangers himself in order to help in a disturbing situation. The writer is adept at writing a realistic 9 year old boy's perspective.
- The "disturbing situation" about the kidnapped boy Filipo is heart-wrenching. Not only does the author capture the painfulness of the situation in a subtle, understated manner, he also explores the psychological suffering of all involved. It's ugly, but it's an unfortunate reality.
- One reviewer has commented on biblical themes. While he has found some very specific parallels that didn't occur to me (except the Lazarus example the boy mentions), there is a quiet pervading sense of Providence that the author is kind enough to never destroy. As the boy believes in God and as so many things are allowed to happen by "coincidence," you get a sense of a providential hand guiding these poor young boys in overwhelming circumstances.
- The end didn't bring much closure. Some people don't like too much closure because it's not realistic. However, in this case, all the writer would have to do is write a few more lines to let you know how things turn out. After all I went through emotionally in this, I really feel like closure would have been merited.
- I did not like the author's final treatment of Filipo. I got the sense that Filipo didn't matter so much to him except as a tool for Michele's character development. Such treatment of characters in desperate situations (though fictitious) seems like a sign of poor writting to me. With all these factors taken together, I would rate this as a solid 3 stars (maybe 3.5 stars).
Rating:
Summary: A Painful Read but Redeeming in Some Ways
Review: I'm sorry to say that I will not be able to join the enthralled voices in reviewing this title. This book is a book I never would have chosen to read on my own, and I only did so at the request of a friend. That understood, here are my thoughts: - The flow of the book was smooth and easy to read.
- The suspense of plotline naturally drew me in, though that is one of the easiest (cheapest) ways to keep your readers interested.
- The book is incredibly short with big words and alot of spacing. Though it is 200 pages, I read it in about 7 hours in one day, and I'm not a very fast reader.
- The writer indulged in some unnecessary (I think) glimpses of children's explorations of sexuality.
- The main character, Michele, is definitely endearing, especially with how he treats his sister, loves his parents and endangers himself in order to help in a disturbing situation. The writer is adept at writing a realistic 9 year old boy's perspective.
- The "disturbing situation" about the kidnapped boy Filipo is heart-wrenching. Not only does the author capture the painfulness of the situation in a subtle, understated manner, he also explores the psychological suffering of all involved. It's ugly, but it's an unfortunate reality.
- One reviewer has commented on biblical themes. While he has found some very specific parallels that didn't occur to me (except the Lazarus example the boy mentions), there is a quiet pervading sense of Providence that the author is kind enough to never destroy. As the boy believes in God and as so many things are allowed to happen by "coincidence," you get a sense of a providential hand guiding these poor young boys in overwhelming circumstances.
- The end didn't bring much closure. Some people don't like too much closure because it's not realistic. However, in this case, all the writer would have to do is write a few more lines to let you know how things turn out. After all I went through emotionally in this, I really feel like closure would have been merited.
- I did not like the author's final treatment of Filipo. I got the sense that Filipo didn't matter so much to him except as a tool for Michele's character development. Such treatment of characters in desperate situations (though fictitious) seems like a sign of poor writting to me. With all these factors taken together, I would rate this as a solid 3 stars (maybe 3.5 stars).
Rating:
Summary: Non avere paura di crescere
Review: I, too, read the novel in Italian and have not seen the English translation. In Italian, at least, it's an intelligent, well crafted, exciting story with beautiful language and some real edge-of-your-seat scenes. The immature perspective of the unsophisticated, underinformed boy Michele (remembered by his adult self, who narrates) is very believable. I liked how the concept of not being afraid is inserted in several different aspects, among more than one character. The contrast between the seemingly pristine surface world of endless golden wheat and the filthy conditions inside the dark hole in the ground creates a perfect metaphor for a story that, in the end, is about not being afraid to grow up, for that is what Michele does, voluntarily leaving behind the innocence of childhood to enter the shadowier moral world of "i grandi," the grownups. The novel has been made into a movie in Italy that I saw recently on DVD. Like most movies, it simplifies the plot and alters the ending somewhat, but it follows the novel fairly closely. The all-important role of Michele was well cast, and the vast dreamy landscape was made a virtual character in the story.
Rating:
Summary: Some real life in 70s Italy
Review: Loose ends? Where? Obviously I read the novel in Italian--being Italian myself--and loved the book. Now I'm glad English-reading people may read it and posslibly love it too. The novel is tight and has a perfectly wrought plot mechanism. Ammaniti does not explain everything, but on a second reading all that was not explained becomes clear. But what is important is the atmosphere of those years, when all those of us (Italians) who lived in rural areas felt that living there meant being imprisoned in a medieval world, and that everything good was to be found in big cities. That feeling is wonderfully rendered in the novel and that's what I like most. As for kidnapping yeah, it was a major industry for some regions of the Deep South (namely Calabria) and yeah, sometime whole smalltowns or villages were involved. And then the vipers, well, what's the problem? We don't have rattlesnakes and copperheads in Italy (luckily!), so everybody knows the only dangerous snake is the viper--and that's the snake everybody knows and is afraid of. Anyway, enjoy this novel... it is much better than Benigni's stale comedy, or musty stereotypes of mandolin-playing captains...
Rating:
Summary: Horrible and beautiful
Review: Michele is an average nine year old boy who lives in a tiny hamlet in southern Italy. On a very hot summer day in 1978 he and a few of his friends from the village climb a hill on top of which they find a deserted house. When Michele has to cross the house he finds a boy who is locked in chains in a well. He does not tell his friends, but later he goes back to find out what is happening. Slowly but surely it becomes apparent that the boy is kidnapped and that all the grown ups in the village are involved. Michele's father tells him not to get into the vicinity of the boy anymore, but in the end pity wins it from the vow to his father and the end of the story happens at night. 'I am not scared' is a book about a boy who discovers a secret that is not bearable at his age. First he seeks refuge into ideas from fairytales, but in the end reality wins. This book is beautifully written, with grand descriptions of the summer heat in southern Italy and real Italian fights. Absolutely a must read.
Rating: 
Summary: My Opinion Differs From the 6 Previous Reviewers
Review: My mother used to enjoin me, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." If I follow her advice, you won't know why I didn't enjoy the book. I bought it, so I finished reading it. If I'd gotten it from the library, I'd have returned it without completing it. It might be a discussion piece for high school English class or a book club - to analyze and discuss for effect, characterization and plot - but the characters never engaged me and I found the plot plodding. Overall ... tedious, and the people small and unsympathetic.
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