The Loner

by Ester Wier

Book Overview

The boy with no name doesn't remember his past; all he knows is that he has to survive, and that means picking fruit on various farms across the southwest. Staying with anyone who'll take him, he... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0590443526
• ISBN13: 9780590443524
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Wonderful "Coming of Age" Story

I loved this book! It has action, introspection, and wonderful descriptions throughout. To follow the main character from the beginning of the story when he doesn't even have a name, to the end and throughout all his adventures is a terrific experience for the reader.

I loved this book

In the book you feel sympathy toward the main charactor, David.david is an orphan looking for someplace where he will feel belonging. This book is about finding where you belong and being loved. David in the end finds that he does not want to be a loner and he wishes to belong and to love those who love him.

Haunting tale, still all too relevant

I remember my fifth-grade teacher readings this book to our class. It has stayed with me for some thirty years--the homeless boy, nameless, finding an identity, a family, and a home. Boss was a powerful complex character, whose grief and loneliness I understand even then--and it is a tough book, in which David earns his right to be a part of a family and a community. Why has the sparse, touching book never been filmed?

Outstanding book for young readers

This is a book that I happened across one day while browsing through a pile of discarded books. The saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure" holds true for this fine piece of children's literature. I used this book when I worked with a reluctant reader. It worked like magic! We had great fun reading and discussing this story of a homeless boy who is "adopted" by the owner of a sheep ranch.Later, I adopted this book as a class novel for my sixth grade language arts classes. What a blast! The Loner has plenty of action and suspense. It lends itself to wonderful discussions. It is chockful of moral questions. It's enlightening and heartwarming.I strongly recommend this as a book for parents to read along with their children. You will both benefit.

A boy named David learns to care for others and be himself.

A boy named David starts out as a Loner and cares and looks out for only himself. He meets a lady named Boss and begins to care for her.He helps her with sheep herding and tries to make her happy. Some situations in this story are very important,but there are too many for my amout of time .So instead of going into such explicit details, I'll leave you to read it yourself. ENJOY!