Four Miles to Pinecone

Well i am in 7th grade and i live in Minnesota and we had to read this book in class and its a wondeful book i really got into it! This is a great book for teens so check it out! Shannon

Minnesota author John Hassler uses Four Miles to Pinecone as an allegory to itself. He opens by stating summer is over then proceeds to tell a tale of growing up and making decisions of one particular summer. In the end, the book becomes its own forty-seven page assignment (and then some) as described in the early chapters. Hassler weaves an intricate tale using metaphors along the way. Particularly poignant is the main characters inability to use a manual transmission on a car. Hassler writes how he often gets stuck in one gear due to unfamiliarity with a clutch. This is a metaphor for his character's inablity to change gears in his life. He insists on working in a grocery store, and plans to do so forever (so it seems), or how he cannot turn in his friend whose become a burglar.The is a very well-thought and developed story line. It is an older work by an accomplished author, but is worth reading nonetheless. It is a middle school level book, and should be part of many schools' required reading lists.

Being a teenage boy growing up in Minnesota, I took an extra personal interest in the story. I could relate to the scenes that he was writing about and as I got deeper and deeper into the plot, it felt like I was actually in the story. Hassler's events were short and to the point. He covered a lot of detail in only one hundred fifteen pages. I prefer books that have a straightforward plot and one that has good principles. I feel that 4 Miles to Pinecone is a book that has all of that.

I thought this was a great book. It had had a good plot, and made you want to read more.

This is an interesting story by an excellent author. It makes a point about decisions everyone must make to do the right thing or take the easy way out. Part of the story is set in town in the world of a teenager--school, part-time job, friends, etc. Part of the story is set in a rural area of wildlife and cabins. Anyone of any age should enjoy this fast-reading story. All of Mr.Hassler's books are top-notch; this one for young people is also. It makes a good point without being preachy.