In Country

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Summary: Good starting-point for discussions!
Review: I taught the book to a class of German students and it was interesting to watch their reactions to the topic, the characters and the plot. The book certainly has some flaws but the narrative perspective makes up for a lot of these. Looking at post-Vietnam times through the eyes of a girl in a small town in Kentucky was fascinating, although Sam seems to "over-worry" at times. But it was great to imagine all the songs and movies that serve as a backdrop to her worries and thoughts. The book is a great starting point for discussions and for further studies of Vietnam literature and film.

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Summary: This book is an excellent story about discovering yourself
Review: I think this book is a really good example about a lost soul finding her past through the memory of her Father. This book is well developed and thought out. This book definately belongs on school reading lists!

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Summary: A wonderful book from start to finish!
Review: I thought that In Country was very well written. I especially loved that fact that Mason told the story through Sam's point of view. It was very inventive the way that Mason decided to not tell the story through the eyes of one that actually experienced the war themself, but from the perspective of one getting to know what it was all about.

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Summary: It's Okay
Review: I thought this book was okay. It wasn't bad in the sense that you couldn't even read it, but I found it hard to get into. The main character, Sam, starts to spend all of her time obsessing over the Vietnam War, which her father was killed in. She hangs out with her uncle and all of his friends who are veterans and tries to connect with all of them and she struggles to understand the experiences that they had in Vietnam. That's really all I got out of this book. I don't think that Mason did a great job creating a teenager's voice. If you're really into books about Vietnam and warfare, then you might really like this book.

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Summary: interesting themes, first-rate teenage voice
Review: I'm surprised by other readers' reviews. Of course Sam is "childish" -- she's a child! You have to judge a book on its own terms. "In Country" doesn't set out to describe Vietnam, but rather the aftermaths of the war for those who stayed home -- focusing on Sam, a seventeen-year-old whose father was killed before she was born. Mason creates a completely convincing teenage voice. She also does a nice job of touching on lots of aspects of the debates surrounding Vietnam, without straying from storytelling mode. I was interested in the story, moved by the ending, and tickled at remembering what it's like to be 17 and hot for Bruce Springsteen.

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Summary: Easy Read - A Bit Predictable
Review: If you are looking for a way to pleasantly pass an hour or two you could do worse than In Country. Interesting enough, but filled with too many stereotypical characters and predictable plot lines to be a truly stellar novel

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Summary: wonderful read
Review: In Country is a great book for anyone who likes to read Vietnam associated books or books about coming of age young women. All around great book. Moves quick enough to get through but still develops characters. One of my favorites.

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Summary: This is a great book
Review: In Country is a great coming of age novel as well as an anti-war story. Sam, our lead character, has to come to terms with the Vietnam War killing her father, and what he had to do over ther, and seriously messing up her uncle and several other veterans. It is a great story along the lines of The Bell Jar or any other coming of age story. It is good. I highly recommend it. This is Mason at her best.

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Summary: In Country was an amazing read!
Review: In Country was a pleasure to read, once I opened the pages to this novel it hypnotized me, I didn't want to put the book down, so much of what Bobbie Ann Mason wrote of in the novel was so true. Bravo.

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Summary: Not Terrible, Not Excellent
Review: IN COUNTRY, by Bobbie Ann Mason, is a post-Vietnam story about Sam, who is dealing with the aftermath of her father's death twenty years ago. As Sam faces her future, she has inner troubles to face, which is definitely understandable, especially as her character and myself are close in age. Sam's journey into adulthood looms in the near future, and she must pick a path to get to where she wants to be.
Sam lives with her uncle Emmett, whom she suspects is an Agent Orange victim. Fatherless and emotionally lonely, she tries to fit the pieces of her life into a puzzle, but they just don't seem to fit. With a baby stepbrother, a pregnant best friend, a flea-infested cat, and a small chunk of change, Sam shows the reader how to make the best of life's difficulties and tragedies.
Unfortunately, IN COUNTRY tends to drag on with unnecessary details, and my patience was thinned by the time I had reached the middle of the book. I was tempted to skip pages at some parts, but I decided to read the excess details that have absolutely no significance to the plot and theme.
This book teaches that as we go through hard and confusing times, we will always have a way to find truth and justice. Sam's journey to find her truth was almost like Odysseus trying to get back to Ithaca in the Odyssey- Sam had to overcome the obstacles by tying her best, and with a passion. Sam visits the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. to put the memory of her father at rest inside her soul, and to really feel the impact of the war. Sam learns that life goes on, even is she thinks it won't.
I would reccommend this book for people who like to read about the Vietnam War and the trials young people face in their lives. If you are an impatient person when it comes to books, you may want to avoid this one.