Rating: 3 stars
Cover Synopsis: Freckles, a nameless waif has the job of guarding the boundaries of a large tract of the dense Indiana swamps. He learns the area through keen observation. He gives his heart to a girl he calls the Swamp Angel.
I really didn't want to read this book. It was the book selected for my monthly book club -- and it was selected by one of the member's children, an 8-year-old boy. Besides, the synopsis didn't sound too intriguing to me.
It was a little slow-starting. But once the so-called Swamp Angel character joins the plot, things get a bit more interesting. She's a plucky girl with wit, humor and courage. Whereas I had a hard time adoring the title character, no matter how much the author implored me to. In the story, practically every character is overcome with intense emotion at some point -- a lot of weepiness. But as a reader, I didn't really feel it. Just felt like the author was trying too hard.
A decent book, but not one of my favorites. The good characters are good (saintly, in fact, if you believe the narrator) and the bad characters are bad. Very simplistic, which isn't necessarily wrong, it just wasn't my style. I was hoping for a little character development, instead of having to accept that the characters are already perfect.
This is the first book so far in my experiment that has felt like a homework assignment. Took a while to get going, but all in all, it was OK.
