THE RED PONY by John Steinbeck

 

Originally published in 1945.

John Steinbeck
(1902-1968)

The Red Pony is a standard novel to be read at the middle school level across the country. I remember I read the first third of the book as a part of my 7th grade literature class textbook, but the rest of the book was new to me.

As I mentioned, The Red Pony is split into sections - three of them. In actuality, they are 3 coming-of-age short stories about Jody, a boy growing up on a northern California ranch. 

Being Steinbeck stories, they are well-written, brutally realistic and every one has a sad twist.  I like Steinbeck, but it has to come in small doses.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: The Red Pony by John Steinbeck.