Portis' most famous novel set in the old west and featuring a strong, perceptive, and straight-talking young heroine named Mattie Ross. The dialogue is told in the vernacular of the time and the comedic timing is pitch perfect while a looming sense of threat and danger gives the novel weight and movement. All the characters are interesting, flawed, and evolving as are the relationships between them. Both movie adaptations are good but the book is far better. This is one of my all time favorite novels.

A quick read, and funny.

Mattie's adventures have made for great book club discussions. This classic is filled with energy, dry humor, and a healthy dose of sass. If you are interested in trying out a Western, I'd start with this one as well as a contemporary title, 'News of the World' by Paulette Jiles.

Don't like "westerns"? You're missing out! Young Mattie hires a cowboy with "true grit" to help her avenge her father... but no one has as much grit as our young heroine. Fantastic story!

Unlike the usual, books-to-movies question of "Is the book better than the movie?" I kept getting asked "Which movie is better", as if the book didn't even deserve a seat at the table. For the record, the book, though pretty short, is every bit as good as either of the movies.

A book that can be read and re-read. All the characters are smart (even the “dumb” ones), and these characters are lively, coming off the page and filling the imagination. Top notch. Highly recommended. The two movies made from this book are terrific, but the book outdoes them.

This classic western novel features Mattie Ross, a sassy and over-confident 14-year-old girl who sets out to seek revenge against the low-life criminal who killed her noble father. This classic book is full of dead-pan humor, and Mattie is an iconic American character, much along the lines of Huckleberry Finn or Scout Finch. But, frankly, the book felt a bit dull and dusty.

I am not a reader of westerns, but I picked this one up as it is often said that it has broader appeal to those who don't typically read in the genre. I liked the fact that there was a snarky female narrator but otherwise this just wasn't my cup of tea. I'm sure fans of the western genre would enjoy this.

I was a bit too familiar with the story of Maggie and Rooster for this to be truly enjoyable, having seen both movie versions. That is, there are no surprises here, as both movies are quite faithful to the book. Mattie is a difficult character to like, and one never can see past her unreasonable conviction in her own rectitude (which is totally in character, by the way, as she's fourteen; I can recall having it all figured out at that age). Rooster is much less a character in the books than the actors who play him make him out to be. He drinks, he was a Confederate, and he's reportedly a great tracker, though not apparently in this account. That's all, really. The story is (now, at least) Western cliché. This is not a bad story, and it has its charms, but it would probably be more revelatory to a younger reader than I.

This book has a great feel. The voice of the narrator is vivid and brings the whole western atmosphere to life. I personally like the wild west thing so I can't say if it'll be a general reader's cup of tea or not but there's a lot of action, the characters are interesting, and it has style. It's the sort of book you find yourself wanting to read again. I was a bit disappointed with the ending though. It felt a bit abrupt.