I really wonder if I would have liked this book more if I had read it with the rest of the world years ago. I can't help but compare it to dystopian novels that are out now, which isn't very fair because those authors have had many, many examples to get theirs right. So it's really hard for me to review this without completely ripping the book's throat out for its lack of world building and terrible pacing. On the surface, it's a great story, but I didn't feel any of the strong emotional connections others mention when they talk fondly of this classic. 
 Also, the ending was ridiculous. There is no way a young boy and a baby would have survived in the wild alone. I do not buy that.