Rating: 
Summary: Ridin' Out in a Fury...
Review: I'm a 7th grader who just finished writing this review for my class and my teacher accused me of cheating. She said it was too good for a 7th grader to write. My mother suggested that I send my review in and consider it a vote of confidence. This action-filled western fiction, set in the late 1880's has an unpredictable ending. When a restless gunman rides into a hard working, god-fearing family, they provide him with honest work and stability. The untouchable gunman changes his negative actions into positive actions by fighting for justice of the commom man in a Wyoming valley of corrupted cattlemen. The setting provided a historic look into the past of the taming of the west and its enduring bloodshed of the ending of open ranges and the beginning of grazing wars between the farming homesteaders and the established ranchers. The main character's defenses of isolation and destitute unravel into a caring, justice-seeking, loyal man whose attributes contribrute to the small homesteading community. Finding his acceptance among man, the main character, unpredictably returns to his engraved dynamics of aloneness and shatters the lives of the people who grew so close to him. This novel impressed upon my mind the cliche'"The road to heaven is paved with good intentions", showing me that he couldn't distance his past and feel comfortable in his own skin where ever he roamed. SHANE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CHANGE A NEGATIVE TO A POSITIVE-BUT I SURE CAN! JESSE MILLER
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding
Review: In skimming the reviews below, it appears most of the negative ones are from adolescents and/or semi-literate readers. "Shane" is a classic story, a nearly pure good-vs.-evil myth. It's interesting to compare the Shane of the novel with the portrayal by Alan Ladd. There are some marked differences, but both the book and movie versions seem appropriate to the overall mood of the story.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book I've seen
Review: I don't know how say it but soon as I read the first paragraph I was hooked. I don't like to read that much but this was different. I have seen movies of old westerns that were corny and stupid but this book has taken the old westerns to a different level of thought. I think that Jack Schaefer should of had more credit for the later books that he wrote.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful book about choice
Review: Set against the backdrop of the westward expansion movement in US history, this novel is almost allegorical in nature. The characters play out their roles in a story as old as time; one of choice, the power of good and evil, and making one's own way in the world. Young Bob must learn that with every conscious decision, comes an element of responsibility. This responsibility is not only to oneself, but also to those who depend on and surround the decision maker. Shane is a man who has learned to live with the results of his decisions; Joe is a good, solid man, a good father and great role model. And Bob's mother, Marian, makes a serious decision as well, regarding her own life, and how she chooses to live it. On the surface, this is a story of ranchers v. cattlemen, but symbolically, it is more a story of choices, of love, and of self-reliance. Good book. I teach it often to my students, and they have always enjoyed it.
Rating: 
Summary: VERY BORING and could not keep my attention
Review: The book started out extremely boring and it took me a while to get into it. There are 16 chapters and it got a little better in about chaper 14. The book does have great quotes and figurative language, but other than that I would not recommend this book to readers. I did not enjoy it at all. Please so not waste your time on this book. It may be all right for adults, but it just does not keep kids attention.
Rating:
Summary: Needs more excitement.
Review: I really didn't enjoy this book at all. It's not my kind of book. If it had had more excitement and a little more detail I would have liked it more. The descriptions of the fights Shane got into were not my kind of detail. More excitement and laughter and fun would improve this book a great deal.
Rating:
Summary: This book has potential
Review: Ok, I am kind of stuck. I am trying to find the real meaning of "Shane", but with no avail. I KNOW there is a meaning, all the adults talk about it...but what is it? And, what are all the 'little' meanings (ex. What is the meaning of the stump? Does it show that Joe and Shane work well together?) PLEASE help me! email me or something. I am in 8th Grade and I just got done with the book. help.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME literary work
Review: I really like this book. I just finished reading it in my 7th grade English class. It has a lot of symbols and quotes that are often difficult to decipher, so I would recommend reading and then discussing it with an adult or in a book club or something. It really gave me an appreciation for great writing with all the symbols and literary devices. I usually hate all assigned school reading, but not SHANE! It's a great book but I wouldn't read it unless you are very good with reading comprehension or are over the age of 14.
Rating:
Summary: That's why they call them kids
Review: "I had to read it for school. and I hated it!" seems to be the common theme, here. As a middle school teacher, I can vouch for the observable fact that many many children 1. hate to read (sad) and 2. hate to read - even more - what they are told to read. Shane, while now somewhat dated, was a classic in it's time, and often imitated. One direct imitation is the Clint Eastwood movie, "Pale Rider", which serves as a wonderful comparison piece. As far as the young reviewers not being able to "understand" the novel "Shane", one can only ask if TV has destroyed their brain cells, or if they can't understand how Shane and Marion resisted their temptation to be with each other at the expense of friend and husband Joe Starret. In today's age, such restraint must surely seem confusing. A fine, easy- to- read book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Historical Fiction Western
Review: OK, I am only in 8th grade, and I just finished it. Is it me, or is America getting more stupid by the second? This book requires a lot of your brain power. It implies a lot of things. But seriously people, how easy can understanding this be? To any intellegent people out there, this book will suit you fine. If you especially like historical fiction, and westerns also, you'll love this. I don't even like historical fiction, and I liked it! I hope you enjoy it!
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