This book was a pleasant surprise for me. Stand By Me is one of my favorite movies, so I was excited to read the story that it was based on, but I never expected it to be quite as good as it actually was. One thing that astounded me was just how poetic and beautifully written it was. I was amazed at how such a simple plot that spanned such a short amount of time was delivered in such a way to make it so complex and profound.
One thing that struck me in this book was the variation among the four main characters. They all seem similar on the surface: they are all 12-year-old boys who share the same interests, jokes, friends, and enemies, but once we get further along in the book, we begin to see exactly how different they all really are. Gordie appears to be the most thoughtful among the boys, enjoying reading and writing and doing well in school. Chris is seen by most as being a criminal in the making based on the reputations of his brothers, but we also eventually see how misunderstood he is, as well as how similar to Gordie he actually is as opposed to Teddy and Vern. This variation helps to develop these characters more as individuals rather than a single group of four boys, which further emphasizes the significance of each of their own individual experiences.
Another thing I noticed in this book was the situational metaphors that were used to convey the emotion in certain scenes. One place this stood out to me was the part where the boys finally get to the body and a storm starts up. This is described throughout the scene, and while it may be seen as just further setting up the scene, it can also be interpreted as conveying the uneasiness of the moment.
The last thing I noticed in this book was including a single moment and using as a changing point in the plot in a metaphorical way. This was most apparent in the scene when Gordie sees a deer in the woods early in the morning before they find the body. He talks about how this moment stayed with him throughout his life and how he often went back to it. This moment is so simple, but the way it is talked about in the book leaves it up to interpretation to the reader as to how this metaphor might be a changing point for Gordie.
One thing that struck me in this book was the variation among the four main characters. They all seem similar on the surface: they are all 12-year-old boys who share the same interests, jokes, friends, and enemies, but once we get further along in the book, we begin to see exactly how different they all really are. Gordie appears to be the most thoughtful among the boys, enjoying reading and writing and doing well in school. Chris is seen by most as being a criminal in the making based on the reputations of his brothers, but we also eventually see how misunderstood he is, as well as how similar to Gordie he actually is as opposed to Teddy and Vern. This variation helps to develop these characters more as individuals rather than a single group of four boys, which further emphasizes the significance of each of their own individual experiences.
Another thing I noticed in this book was the situational metaphors that were used to convey the emotion in certain scenes. One place this stood out to me was the part where the boys finally get to the body and a storm starts up. This is described throughout the scene, and while it may be seen as just further setting up the scene, it can also be interpreted as conveying the uneasiness of the moment.
The last thing I noticed in this book was including a single moment and using as a changing point in the plot in a metaphorical way. This was most apparent in the scene when Gordie sees a deer in the woods early in the morning before they find the body. He talks about how this moment stayed with him throughout his life and how he often went back to it. This moment is so simple, but the way it is talked about in the book leaves it up to interpretation to the reader as to how this metaphor might be a changing point for Gordie.