True Grit

I just started the book True Grit by Charles Portis, which tells the story of a 14-year-old girl in Arkansas named Mattie Ross, during the 1800s.  This book jumps into the action right away, describing how Mattie's father was savagely murdered by a poor thief by the name of Tom Chaney, who then fled into Indian Territory to hide among the other fleeing criminals.  With two younger siblings and a mother who can't take care of what needs to be done, Mattie finds herself having to travel alone to the nearest city, to accompany a federal marshall into Indian Territory to avenge her father.  She has to threaten, bargain, and fight her way into getting a horse, help the lawsuit against Tom be established, find a marshall for the task, and follow him into dangerous territories armed only with her father's old pistol.  Despite the fact that everyone tells her she cannot go with the marshalls, being only a young girl, she courageously follows them, determined to finish the job.  So far, the marshalls and Mattie have just crossed the border into Indian Territory, and are trying to decide which way to head.  This book so far has been filled with very interesting characters, from the stubborn girl, to the drunk old marshall Rooster Cogburn, who's language is always riddled with curses.  I have enjoyed the remarkably fast pace of the book, and the action that takes place even before any of the characters are in any real danger.  From what I've read, I would recommend this to most readers, as it is a very enjoyable and exciting story, that teaches a lot about life in the 1800s.