When The Legends Die

Rating:
Summary: It tells of an indian boy who struggles to accept who he is.
Review: I thought that this was a very good book. I had to read it for a book report and I thought that it would not interest me at all. I was wrong. I actually wanted to read this book once I got started. I think that the author told the story in a very creative way. I like the ending when Tom decides to go back to living the old ways.

Rating:
Summary: What a waste of time ! !
Review: This has to be one of the worst books I've read in recent memory. Borland did not do a good job presenting his character and getting the reader's attention and compassion. Frankly, I found Tom bitter and insensitive. This is another "victim" book that seemed to drag on forever. The best part of this book for me was finishing it. I got to hand it to him to for recovering (not to give anything away) but do we really need a hundred pages on it. If your searching for a Native American novel, search somewhere else.

Rating:
Summary: An exetremely boring book; not worth one's time
Review: "When the Legends Die" is one of those books that seem to just drag on forever. There are so many minute details about everything, that by the time the author gets to his point (which he rarely does) the reader could care less about what the author has to say. Educators are basically exercising a form of tokenism with this book; students must read one book about whites, one about blacks, one by Native Americans, etc... However, I assure any teacher that a good percentage of your students will never get past the first section of this book.

Rating:
Summary: OK!!!!!
Review: This book is OK, sometimes it goes way to much into detail and you can get bored with it. You really get in to it at the end when he is hunting the bear and he goes back to his old Indian ways, I still have a few pages to go though.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: The book moves you through each of Tom's emotions, from hatred towards Red to the blissful feeling of the sheep herding.

Rating:
Summary: Dumbing down our education
Review: I think that a high school should read more involved books with better theme development. Books written for children do nothing more than lower the standards schools *claim* to have set so high. If you do not believe me, look to the bottom of this message and see that Amazon categorizes it as a children's book. There are many other stories that teach the same concepts that are not only much more involved, but a lot less boring. Good grammar and sentence structure always makes a book well written. A continuous string of five word sentences do not.

Rating:
Summary: lessa jay's review - an intriguing and captivating narrative
Review: The writing is simple. The sentance structure is simple, too. But the message is universal, one that every human on this earth should hear and understand before thier time on it is over. A story about a young indian boy, raised in "the old way" and taught "the old songs." After the tradgedy of his parents' death he is discovered to be living alone, which the white men think is wrong. He is told that he must learn the new ways and live like civilized people in the town. He fights the man, but the man is too big and eventually wins. He goes through live with a silent anger and eventually he takes it out in the only way he knows how: on the broncs he has learned to punish. When he rides, he kills and when he kills, he kills the hates and fears of his youth. Finally, he winds up full circle, right back where he started: in the woods of his childhood, coexisting with nature in the way he was taught. The title of this book says it all. A title, in a sence, should sum up the book. The legends in this book died, were resurrected, and died again, to stay dead, or to live on only in memory. The legend of the boy's childhood died in his schooling, his schooling died in his riding, in finally, his riding died when he resurrected his childhood legends and restored them to their former luster.

Rating:
Summary: James- A literary waste of time
Review: I found this portrayal of a Native American boy who was shunned by the white man's world and even his own people was very dull. The author lost me with his boring explanations of this young boys adventures. The author meant well with the message he was tring to convey, which was to have a sense of peace with himself and the earth, but he could have chosen a more interesting way to do it. I do not recommend this book to anyone, unless you are already interested in plots simular to this or if you have insomina.

Rating:
Summary: I, Carmen, thought that this book was easy to read.
Review: "When the Legands Die" by Hal Borland is a book that greatly depicts the hard changes the Indians had to undergo in order to conform to the society at the time. It has great symbols and themes that are all conected throughout it. The book is about a young Ute Indian who learns the old ways of his ancestors but is forced to forget them and learn English. He is a symbol of all different cultures who were forced to fit into a new society. The book was easy to read and held my attention. It was very naturistic and clearly told of the ways of the Indians which were respectful. This book desires four stars, and is great for all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Sara AnneMarie Shepard: Read this book if you have patience
Review: In my opinion, this book was extremely easy to read. At some points in the book it was hard to stay focused because it was so easy to read. I suppose the theme was the only thing keeping my going. Acceptance is a huge part of everyday life; therefore, I was interested in finding out how the characters handled it. Accepting everyone is critical to me. Personally I was a little disappointed that everyone was not accepted in this book. This book is about an Indian family who goes back to their homeland and lives by thier old ways. When his parents die, he is forced to go back to the city and live the modern way. He is not accepted in his school, which really upsets me because just because of his culture and beliefs he is ridiculed. He finds a job as a bronc rider and in the end of the book he returns home. He realizes that his homeland is where he really belongs. I recommend this book if you have a lot of patience and time.