THE LIGHT IN THE FOREST <i> by Conrad Richter (Bantam: $3.50) </i>

“The Light in the Forest” has been considered a classic boy’s book since it originally was published in 1953. Conrad Richter’s tale of divided loyalties centers on John Butler, a boy raised by the Lenni Lenapi Indians, then returned to his white family. Perhaps because Richter intended the book for juveniles readers, the characters are relentlessly one-note. The honest, dignified, nature-loving Indians are not merely Noble, but Noblest Savages; the white settlers are petty, cruel and deceitful. The bleak, somewhat abrupt ending is considerably stronger than the happy conclusion tacked onto the popular Disney film.